Well, it was a bust.
On our July 12, 2020, hike to Barker Camp, we noted that the section of Cold Fork Trail that goes east over to East Low Gap appeared to have been newly restored, after having been destroyed by fire in 2008.
Delighted at the prospect of checking out this new trail, we headed back to Rat Trap Gap the following Sunday, July 19, 2020. Unfortunately, the trail is not completely renovated. Newly cleared trail stops and starts for a distance, and then finally gives up altogether.
Ever hopeful that we would find more newly cleared trail, we continued on, very often log-hopping, following new trail, old trail, animal trail, and imagined trail, until we’d been at it for over two hours and found that we’d only covered a little over one mile, with about the same distance still to go to make it to East Low Gap. Out of both time and energy, we called it a day and turned back.
There has definitely been a serious attempt to renovate this trail over the last year. We are hopeful that it is a work in progress, especially as the whitethorn is threatening to wipe out all traces of any passageway along that ridgetop whatsoever. We will keep it on our radar!
We saw many of the same plants in bloom as we did on our hike to Barker Camp, but here is a short slideshow of a few species to add to the list of blooming plants in this part of the Yolla Bolly–Middle Eel Wilderness. All photos were taken by Don Burk. Enjoy! -Laurie & Don Burk
