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I live just north of Truckee. One day my GF had to go do some surveying over towards Nevada City. The easy way would have been out to 80, down to NC, and surv
by jmspring 8y ago
I live just north of Truckee. One day my GF had to go do some surveying over towards Nevada City. The easy way would have been out to 80, down to NC, and survey. Probably 2-2.5 hours of driving. I had the day free and said, "hey, lets try the back way -- via Downieville, Forest, Alleghany, etc. She said sure. That didn't work out so well.
Everything was going great, narrow roads crossing part of the Yuba River, gorgeous country, tight switchbacks and dangerous drops. Ended up on Foote Crossing Road, crossed the Yuba, climbed up a ways on a road maybe 2-3 wider than my Tacoma. Come around a corner, a chunk of slate had slid down covering the road days before. The options were backup 2+ miles or try and move the rock. Having a tow rope, we tried to move the large rock -- it moved, just not enough. After about 2.5 hours, a group came from the other direction and helped us out.
You have to be careful when out there. Before I do something like that again, despite thinking I was prepared, I'll do a bit more research and probably add a high lift jack and some other toys.
- jonnycoder 8y agoYea that happened on the Foresthill/Georgetown side above the Rubicon River after the King fire a few years ago. A lot of washouts happened during the winters after the burn. It’s still pretty neat to explore and find stuff like that as long as you aren’t in a hurry.
- Paul_Dessert 8y agoDo you live in Foresthill? I'm not too far away in shingle springs.
- thaumaturgy 8y agoHowdy neighbor! I'm not far away. I really like the Meadow Lake and Old Man Mountain area. It should be about 45 minutes flat from Truckee to Nevada City over 20. The road you took is a nice drive, but yeah, that intersection at Tyler Foote is no joke. If you take the wrong turn there, you'll end up like that woman that got stuck in mud for a few days in the middle of a storm 11 miles out in the middle of nowhere.
- jmspring 8y agoI’m actually 45 min from Truckee - near Gold Lakes Highway. So I was including that time :) The roads are fun to explore, but you shouldn’t be on a schedule doing so.
- yellowapple 8y agoHowdy (former) neighbor! I'm guessing Sierraville or Loyalton? Yeah, 49 is a fun drive for sure. Used to do it every once in awhile if I had to jump between visiting family in Loyalton and visiting family in Yuba City. Sometimes I'd even do it to/from home in Truckee (though the 80/20 route is definitely faster), especially if there's an unavoidable snowstorm and I expect Donner Pass to be closed (70 is a bit of an easier drive, but significantly longer). Never ran into any rock slides, though. My grandma, on the other hand, narrowly missed a boulder that fell on 80 (somewhere between the Hirschdale Rd. and Floriston exits). Fun times.
- jmspring 8y agoHowdy! These were old logging/mining/horse trails that are all over. Read up on Foote Crossong Road - quite interesting. I’m up by Gold Lakes Hey/Graeagle. Ended up here and enjoying the nature. A tad remote at times.
- yellowapple 8y agoAh, gotcha! Yeah, those are... somewhat more treacherous, to say the least :) Haven't tried Foote Crossing specifically; maybe one of these days when I have a day to kill. If you ever feel like exploring a bit further south (and if you haven't already), try driving around on the Long Valley / Dog Valley / Henness Pass roads. Really fun way to "commute" between Truckee/Loyalton/Verdi/Bordertown. Absolutely beautiful out there, too. Come similarly-prepared, though.
- donkeyd 8y agoMaybe a small drone could be useful in this situation. It would allow you to scout the road ahead before venturing in too deep.