Red Bluff - day 2

I went for a 2 hour bike ride this a.m. – thankfully, it is MUCH cooler than yesterday, 76 degrees instead of 84 degrees at the same time. Now it’s only 80 and what a diff that makes! I had to wait until almost 7pm last nite to go for a hike – and then I only made it about 2 miles before quitting and trying to take a shower to cool off. Of course, the showers are not working so I just splashed water around my body.

I also entered the river where there was a boat launch, but just up to my knees – the water look REALLY rapid and I’d be afraid to go any farther, even in a boat…

This morning, I was looking for the 10 mile North trailhead as I rode from both the south, east, and middle trailheads and really wanted to find a nice, long ride I can bring Mujasi to with me next time, as he is such an avid biker!

The trail seemed to end at the road into/out of the park & to the freeway exit. I took it, asked several people, and then saw a visitor center that I rode to and asked in there. They were so helpful, as they tend to be, went online, but couldn’t find anything close to that.

Riding back, after stopping at a yardsale, I re-read the sign and realized I missed the period between the 1 and the 0! It’s only a 1 mile ride…grrrr

Several people are on the trail, mostly with their dogs, and I spot the usual small animals and birds: turkey buzzards, yellow finches, grey squirrels or maybe chipmunks, lizards. It is extremely dry, so dry I can’t believe they are allowing fires in the campground, with the grass and small brush turning the golden yellow California summers are known for.

The trail winds along the Sacramento River for awhile and I can see the remnants of old cement boat launches as well as low-lying marshes. Apparently this is the site of the old dam, where since the 1960’s they used to block off the river every year – sometimes for the entire year, sometimes for several months at a time – to divert the water into canals for southern California and farmland. Until they ‘realized’ they were endangering many species of fish, to say the least: the steelhead trout, coho salmon, are among the few.

So now, they’ve built a huge ‘pumping station’ with what they’re calling ‘fish screens’ to pump the water out of the river instead of diverting it. The screens are supposedly preventing the endangered fish from being swept up and destroyed. Hopefully, it is working.

But again, the solution is to find ways to maintain the same lifestyle level, instead of honing back the lifestyle and living more in sync with the Mother Earth.