August 26, 2007: Slate Mountain Trail

Adam, Crystal and their son Raith decided to take their Chevrolet Blazer out to earn it's stripes with us today! It performed great - they even tackled a really wild logging road in it! I didn't have a chance to get the exhaust repaired on the Land Rover until Monday, so she was breathing through one nostril on this trip.

The trailhead is about ten miles north of Placerville on Mosquito Road - a winding mountain road that gets progressively more narrow and twisty. Eventually, you're down to one lane (with random turnouts along the way) that crosses an extremely narrow wooden bridge.We finally turned left on 12N70 and entered the Eldorado National Forest. 12N70 starts out as a paved road, but eventually turns to graded dirt a few miles down. HOWEVER, not content to tackle a mere DR: 2 trail, Adam and I spotted a logging road just behind the sign marking the entrance of the National Forest and decided it might make a fun detour...

So off we go, up some random logging trail littered with debris and sharply-peaked moguls! Sarenna was looking at me like I was mildly insane (maybe she's on to something?) and I'm pretty sure Crystal had the same expression - right up until the Blazer dragged it's frame through the dirt and we decided to call off the adventure. Now we had to get OUT of the mess we were in! Adam executed a graceful 100-point turn - with Crystal holding Raith and watching from OUTSIDE the truck - and got the Blazer aimed back downhill.



While Adam was descending the slope, I had to perform an emergency binkie retrieval, only to discover that I couldn't get back into the truck! Where I was parked had an off-camber tilt which left the door sill about 2.5 feet off the ground. After a particularly ungraceful headfirst dive into the truck, it was my turn to follow Adam down and get back to the trail we'd originally planned on...



Where the pavement ends on 12N70 marks the 'official' start of the Slate Mountain Trail. It's rated a DR: 2 and that's pretty accurate with the exception of the spur which leads to the Slate Mountain Lookout Tower. Mild ruts and a wide, relatively well-graded road though the forest continue on until you reach the spur trail to Slate Mountain Lookout Tower (12N76).This trail is unavoidably brushy, both from the sides and overhead branches, very narrow and has some patches of rock and ruts where a non-4WD equipped truck might run into trouble. The Manzanita, Live Oak and Sugar Pines claw at every painted surface, leaving a web of fine scratches. The trail winds its way up through the trees, crossing some very 'interesting' settlements along the way. (Do I hear banjos playing in the distance?) I wouldn't stop to ask for directions! Eventually, the trail dead-ends in a 'T' and to the left, up the hill, you can see the radio towers on the summit. We followed the left fork which intersects a steep, gated road on the right. The gate is closed, but not locked, so we decided to back both trucks up the slope and have lunch.

We hiked to the summit only to discover that the Slate Mountain Lookout Tower doesn't exist anymore!!! The concrete foundation and stairs are still there, but the actual tower is gone. In it's place is a large antenna array which is gated off - probably a good thing as we had three very curious boys with us!

The view from the peak was fantastic and the boys had fun exploring and throwing rocks. Eventually, we walked back down to the trucks, had lunch and more-or-less relaxed while Danny, Jayden and Raith ran wild. It was already 4:00PM so rather than head down the spur to the main trail, we decided to continue down 12N76 for a few miles to where it intersects Mosquito Road.

The road is no less brushy until you reach Mosquito Road, where it suddenly widens out and is in much better shape. This road is a nice change from the claustrophobic spur trail and leads right back to Highway 50 in Placerville.

We've already talked about going back and finishing the main trail and the boys had a great time playing on the mountain. Besides, Adam and I still have to see where that logging road leads... :)


Directions:

Take Hwy. 50 East to Placerville
Exit at Main St. and head East until it crosses under the freeway
Main turns into Mosquito Road and heads North
Turn left on 12N70 and follow it to where the pavement ends

Trail Notes:

The Slate Mountain Trail is an easy trail, but there is a loose surface, so a vehicle with 4WD is recommended. The spur trail is very brushy so you'll have to be willing to accept some scratches as part of the deal. It is hot and dry, despite the altitude, so bring plenty of water.