This hike held lots of surprises for us, making it especially enjoyable. Our goal this warm and sunny Sunday was simply to get down to some relic fruit trees below Jedidiah’s Overlook, Sacramento River Bend Recreation Area, leaving from Iron Canyon Trailhead on Highway 36. We had no planned route; we are well acquainted with the area and figured we’d just get down there as best we could.
Heading counterclockwise on Iron Canyon Loop Trail (at 0.2 miles from the trailhead), we came to its intersection with Scout Trail less than halfway around the loop (~1.3 miles from the trailhead), close to a powerline pylon. For all the years we have hiked this area, we had never been on the Scout Trail. We finally said, “why not!” and took a chance on it. So glad we did! From the intersection with Iron Canyon Loop Trail, Scout Trail starts out as a rough and rocky abandoned road that drops gently down to an easy crossing at Turtle Creek.
The crossing was in an amazing little riparian micro-niche where we found twining ookow, maidenhair fern, buckeye, and scarlet larkspur all in bloom; fritillary in fruit; and lots more. Nowhere else on the Hog Lake Plateau have we found twining ookow!
Photo by Don Burk.
Climbing out of Turtle Creek canyon on the other side, Scout Trail continues northwest through flat grasslands with sparse blue oaks. Along this dry and open section of the trail, we stumbled upon one of the most gorgeous miniature wildflowers ever: Bidwell’s knotweed. New to us, this minuscule flower is a CNPS List 4.3 species. A very exciting find.
Soon Scout Trail ends at Vista Trail, for a total one-way distance of ~2.2 miles from the trailhead. We highly recommend this moderately easy little trail and we will be sure to check it out frequently in the future. We remember when it first appeared. It was built by Carson Dunbar as his Eagle Scout (Troop 154) project, completed on April 24, 2010, and started out as a roughly marked track that was not on the map. It is now well marked and well worth a visit!
May 2, 2021. Photo by Don Burk.
Much of the rest of our Sunday hike was off-trail. We found the relic fruit trees, down by the river, near an old rock wall. (They were almonds.) We climbed back up toward the top of the cliffs and found another new trail: an unmarked trail that hugs the cliff face and affords awesome views and relatively easy access to the area below Jedidiah’s Overlook. Back atop the cliffs, we returned to Iron Canyon Loop Trail and completed the loop for a total hike distance of ~7 miles.
May 2, 2021. Photo by Don Burk.
Here’s a slideshow of some of the things we saw on this very fun hike. All photos by Don Burk. Enjoy! ~Laurie & Don Burk
