There was shade and history along the Flume Trail, several thru-hikers and small streams along the PCT, and a heated descent on the Bob’s Hat. Today we went up the Flume Trail to the PCT, took that back to the Bob’s Hat Trail, and followed Bob’s Hat back down to the trailhead. On our previous trips to Castle Crags, we did a 3 rd/4 th Class climb to the top of Castle Dome (4,966 ft / 1,514 m) and an out-and-back hike on the PCT past Burstarse Falls to Sabin’s Point. But we were back in town – “rehydrating” – before it got too hot. That said, there was plenty of shade and even a few, still flowing, water courses to keep the heat at bay – at least in the morning. At the mouth of Big Cottonwood, the water dropped 400 vertical feet to the Utah Power plant to generate electricity. The original structure was an impressive 5 feet wide and about 3 feet deep and traversed about 1.5 miles of canyon. We got another early start but noticed that the heat built sooner and higher down here than it had up at Boulder Peak. History: The wooden flume was built in the early 1890s from about Stairs Gulch to the mouth of Big Cottonwood. Specifically, a loop formed from the Flume and Bob’s Hat Trails and the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in Castle Crags State Park. The majority of this hike takes place on an old flume that is used to carry water down to Bass Lake. I think the bike rental shop is moving from Spooner to the end of the trail in July 2012.After going high for our first hike in the Mount Shasta area, we decided to go some 4,000 feet (1,220 m) lower for our second. Theres a reason this trail is named the Flume Trail. If you plan to do turn-around option get an early start in order to avoid the crowds on the trail. If I did it again I would start at Spooner Lake and at end of the flume part of trail turn around and ride back to trail head. The only scary part for me was the 40 foot walk through the landslide area. The property is now managed by the BLM after the American River. You would fall a looong way if you fell off the trail but the chances are slim (the shuttle driver says he doesn't know of anyone that has taken this route but said injuries do occur going down the sandy road at the end). This flume was one of the largest ever built in El Dorado County at 153 high and 750 long. The flume trail hugs side of mountain (it is an old flume bed once used as water source for Virginia City) but pretty buff and not very steep or difficult. The scenery on the whole trip is good, on flume part of trail the views of the lake are awesome. I'm 50 year old intermediate biker (couple of 2 hour rides a week and the gym) and made it up the climb fine with a few stops. A dirt road climbs for 4 miles and goes around small lake, a trail descends the 'flume' for ~5 miles then a very sandy steep roadbed goes down to the shuttle pickup. This is the perfect vacation bike ride, it's easy to rent bikes at trail head with nice people at Spooner lake, ride the trail then take their shuttle back to shop (google 'flume bike trail' for rental info). Bottom line: If you attempt for the first time, understand that it will take more effort than you probably expect! I can say with confidence that if we had better understood the challenge it would be, we definitely would have passed on this ride. Overall, our biggest disappointment was that we felt misinformed about the degree of difficulty. The shuttle service back to the trail head is a must unless you want to spend another three hours +/- getting back. Flume Gorge Trail The Flume Gorge Trail is now ONE-WAY ONLY with the only option being to walk the entire loop in one direction (the old 'short trail/Rim Path' is now closed). However, the rental shop at Spooner Lake was great and the equipment was also nice. No doubt the views are divine but after all the toil it takes to get to them (+/- 8 miles) we were in less of an admiring mood. Length 2.3 miElevation gain 787 ftRoute type Out & back. Unfortunately, we spent a good deal of time walking our bikes secondary to the steep climbs, sandy terrain, and occasional technical turns. Old Flume Trail (Red Shack Trail) Moderate 4.3 (574) Placerville, California. We are both quite fit (cross-training exercise 3-4x/week minimum) and casually road bike fairly frequently. Our ride quickly went from enjoying to surviving as this trail was much more demanding than expected of described. The Flume Trail was highly recommended and so we gave it a shot. My wife and I wanted to moutain bike during the first part of our Honeymoon when staying in North Lake Tahoe.
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