Middle Fork American River

Sometimes gems lie close to home. I’ve passed through the town of Auburn, California quite a few times, but rarely have ventured off to explore the area with its distinctive red soils. Auburn is just northeast of Sacramento, a gateway to the low elevation foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

Yesterday for a rare day off work, I went hiking in the Auburn State Recreation Area with a close friend. We hiked and scrambled among rocks along the middle fork of the American River, an untamed Sierra river of rapids, sand and gravel bars, and crisp cool waters flowing through steep forested hills. Given the worsening drought in California, I imagine the flow may have been low compared to historic levels.

Bedrock, boulders and cobbles of various sizes were littered among the river basin, much of the bedrock having a greenish serpentine hue and smooth undulations from centuries of erosive forces. Milky white quartz could be found as smooth stones in the river bed or as white veins that sharply interrupted the darker bedrock. At a shady spot at the edge of a river - a lunchspot - a large yellow-brown banana slug slowly meandered up a huge vertical rock face. With no vegetation nearby, it seemed off course for finding a food or mate.

The steep south-facing hill slopes along the river were covered in abundant flowers, especially blue lupines and California poppies, their brilliant orange petals consistently smaller here than in other grasslands or gardens. I found milkweeds and a white species of Castilleja too. Butterflies were abundant and included a large yellow but black-striped species, and a black shimmering species. They wouldn't sit still long enough to be photographed except at a large blooming tree where they congregated in abundance.