Subject: [ParanormalCalifornia] Our Adventures At Big Trees Grove & Iowa Hill California On 9/12/15
Date: 10/1/2015 9:38:33 A.M. Pacific Standard Time
From: ParanormalCalifornia@yahoogroups.com
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As most of you are aware I spend allot of my time conducting paranormal field work and you cant do it just by sitting home. As a matter in fact very few people in this field have logged the amount of hours I have in it so definitely you have to be committed to the cause even if a place turns out not to have anything strange.
 
Our trips would take us to the top of the one steepest narrowest roads in California to a giant Sequoia forest known as Big Grove and to the semi ghost town of Iowa Hill nearby.Both places are above the North Fork of the American River. There is no river like the American in the country and this is an area I have been working with the past few months because I am finding that it holds some gems.
 
Our journey would take us into the Tahoe National Forest and the more I work with it the more addicting it becomes. Who would ever have known that there is a forest of giant trees north of Lake Tahoe or a ghost town that resides so high up within the Sierra Nevada's? So when you read these reports try to imagine that this expedition is a combination of history and beauty all rolled up into one.
 
Its so important that we try to visit as many locations as possible as with drought continuing places like this are burning down and they cant be replaced. I do not even care if they are haunted or have paranormal activity all I care is getting them eventually on our website so others can enjoy them. If I find anything strange I generally see it as a perk but not a necessity since during my long years of doing this I have had bigfoot, alien and ghost encounters literally eye to eye so I do not need further proof.
 
We would set off early in the morning before even the sun was to rise. When I plan these expeditions, adventures and events they start off very early in the morning. That is because for our viewers I try to jam pack them with other bonus locations and it shows in my photography. The more ground you cover the better its not a matter of just visiting one place its a matter of being thorough at all cost.
 
Speaking of fires when I had gotten towards Truckee another living ghost town we hit some really rough patches of smoke. I had no idea there was a massive fire in a couple counties over at the time I thought the fire was near Iowa Hill in the mountains above since the forest was barely visible. At the time I had no idea I just knew that once again we were losing more beloved wilderness areas in northern California.
 
There was a time when I was driving all the trucks and cars were pulled on over to the side of the road. Not me I kept going its a very odd trek because you get on the expressway in Truckee heading west below the very mountains where Iowa Hill is located and then you have to head south to the canyon and all the way back east again. It is to bad they did not make a few more logging roads or a few country routes up into this area of the sierras.
 
Eventually we would get to our turn off up in Colfax another living ghost town. Trust me folks when I say this but semi ghost towns are everywhere here out west and everyone of them holds many historic gems. Some of those gems are haunted or have some very intriguing history if you take the time to visit these locations.
 
Little did I know I was heading down the wrong road there are multiple canyon roads that head east most of them will lead you to the American River some of them are back ways into Iowa Hill area. As a matter in fact the entire Foresthill area is like this and with views of the Foresthill divide it is one of the most intense beautiful places in the range.
 
I ended up driving down this narrow dirt road for miles in this canyon or ravine. Along the way you follow this cliff below it is a tributary of the American River. I would take us all the way to the American River where you can drive over this suspension bridge high up. My family was not having it they were scared to drive over the bridge I was pretty excited about giving it a go its safe its just old is all.
 
The view in this area is very nice you have Devil's and Bunch Canyon along with Live Oak Ravine. The Canyon we were in is overgrown like a jungle. It looks like something out of a movie with the rapids below and heavy foliage. There really is nothing out here when you get to the river there is an old mining camp site although little remains there is a tunnel in the mountain that goes back for about 30' where mining transpired. They often called these camps bars that were located on the American River.
 
I was pretty limited to where I could go my jeep was in the shop being fixed and the car I was using was very sporty. Do not get me wrong I love driving sports cars also especially in the mountains its allot of fun but because of this my ability to explore some of these offbeat roads was impossible. Considering that past the bridge had a sign warning you not to take it unless you had 4WD I had to turn around and head out of the canyon. Supposedly this is not to far from the old Yankee Jim's mining camp which during its hey day was one of the largest in the region as boom towns were built overnight.
 
But I will say this I liked my time back here there was these pools below the bridge that were bright greenish blue where the water was very deep. I walked along the bridge and just admired the view it sure seems that the American River has some of the tallest bridges in the country. As a matter in fact the Foresthill Bridge is the highest deck bridge in California and the fourth highest in the US.
 
Eventually I had gotten back to where I had to go beginning to ascend through a place called Slaughter Ravine which in turn would take us to a mining camp known as Mineral Bar. The bridge was used by pioneers and miners back in the day its been reinforced however for foot traffic only. The new bridge however continues to take you across the North Fork Of The American River where you can head on up to Iowa Hill.
 
Once you cross the bridge the road becomes very steep at times its a single lane road and you should honk around corners because yes you can go right off the cliff. Before things get really hairy pay close attention up in a hill in the woods is a velociraptor although its fake it kind of catches you off guard lol.  The road kind of follows the Foresthill Divide with the American River below. It climbs for a few thousand feet believe me when I say that but for me this road was nothing. I drive roads like this all the time and ill smoke a cigar while driving them.
 
I read on allot of sites how treacherous the road is and steep. But I know of some roads that are far more deadly then Iowa Hill I mean technically most of the road is narrow but yet two cars can pass one another and although there are some hairpin turns most curves are not to sharp. It is steep but not steep enough where you cant take a car I had no issues climbing to the top of the sierras.
 
When the climb levels off that is when you are in the living ghost town of Iowa Hill. I stopped at this what appeared to be an abandoned house as you enter town. There was no vehicles there but it had a new grill so I did not go inside. The thing about living ghost towns is even if it looks abandoned allot of times folks will live in these places so you have to make good judgement calls. I figured id come back later to Iowa Hill to check things out further I set my eyes on Big Trees Grove. When I passed through Iowa Hill downtown I seen a guy who looked like Santa Claus I waved guess I kind of caught him off guard lol. I heard this is a friendly place but Tammy said she was creeped out here.
 
Placer Big Trees Grove
 
Once you get pass Iowa Hill you drive over the Sugar Pine Reservoir dam from that point on you begin to hit all sorts of dirt roads. Its very easy to get lost back here trust me you have to pay attention as you drive over ridges, mountains and through heavily forested roads. The thing about the Iowa Hill area is that your in the national forest and there are no amenities up here.
 
The drive is quite long its about 22 miles of dirt roads through two areas that have been ravaged by Forest Fires. Although there were forested areas there was other areas the trees were burnt and stripped of any foliage for what appeared to be miles. If there was bigfoot up here he is not there anymore as there is nowhere to hide. I seen a pile of logs at least 40' high because the forestry is trying to clean it up then replant trees.
 
As we traveled across these large valleys the road actually reaches a low point but again begins to climb when you head over this mosquito ridge to Big Trees Grove. I was getting a little worried there was so much smoke in the air visibility was poor and you could smell burning wood everywhere. I was also a bit disappointed because normally I take allot of scenic photos for our fans but not this time. You could not see any scenery from afar the smoke cut down the visibility next to none.
 
Eventually we would get out of the burnt down forest and begin taking some more narrow logging roads. I was amazed at how many new roads were being integrated up here.It appears in a couple years this is going to be a much more larger outdoor recreation Mecca with campgrounds, hiking trails etc etc and when it does ill be there will bells on.
 
The road was getting a bit to rough for the car but I took it anyway's those that know me also know ill risk it all and sometimes it pays off. There were some men logging and at the same time I drove by a massive tree was falling. All of sudden this huge dust cloud hit the road and I drove right through it. I wish I had my cam operating I just shut it off then the tree came down and I drove through it. The whole earth shook when it came down but I guess new logging roads and areas are being integrated into this area hence why they have lumberman back here.
 
I passed by this road that supposedly led to some ruins of some kind of general store. I never did get to see it the car was just not good enough to get back here. I also passed by a few other sites that were mining camps such as Italian Bar. These bars seem to be found along the dirt road I took up to Big Grove. Although nothing really remains at one time these sites had miners, tents and maybe some other structures as well. Today not much exist at these locations maybe you might find some piles of wood or some nails metal detecting but that is about it. I also seen the road that leads up to the ghost town of Deadwood and some of you may remember that journey we took a few years ago so I been up in this region before. Last time I was here we did investigations at Last Chance and Michigan Bluff two semi ghost towns similar to Iowa Hill.
 
I finally had reached the side road which took me into Big Grove. You can park there then hit the trails there are two of them I definitely wanted to take both to enjoy the forest to the max here. Although there is only six massive big trees left all named at WWI heroes there are many other trees that grow here that are not far behind from becoming gigantic if the area remains protected from fires and human activity. The fires that transpired in the region were knocking at this locations doorstep in the past.  
 
We grabbed our pack then headed down the forest trail where we ran into a herd of cattle running throughout the woods. I kind of found it a bit strange to see cows running around with there bells ringing as they were running all over the place scared shitless. I never seen cattle in the woods till I moved up this way and now its very common but still weird. These cattle were running up the steep mountain side in the woods and grazing up in a woodsy hillside ridge.
 
This forest has a mystical feeling about it kind of reminds me of something you might see in some Lord Of The Rings movie or all of sudden see wizards, fairies and dwarves lol. The sky was kind of hazy we could smell wood burning but the fire was nowhere nearly as bad here as the Mosquito Ridge area. Many of the trees we passed by were large at first I did not know if they were the giant sequoias because some of them in the grove are not to far behind in height and girth.
 
  I forgot to grab a pamphlet in the beginning of the trail because I went around the box straight to the trail therefore I was not to sure about some of the sites which had numbers in front of them. But eventually when we came over this hill hiking we seen the Pershing Tree which is 12' in diameter. Although nearby the Joffre Tree is 25' taller. There are little bridges that cross over seasonal creeks and in the Spring flowers that grow in abundance. Supposedly there is also an underground river found here and people say you can hear it flow. I never heard it flow but I bet the caverns below this grove are pretty beautiful if there were a way into them. These trees can easily suck up 1000 gallons per day of water perhaps that is why they thrive here for this reason.
 
Many of the sites with numbers can provide the hiker with info about vegetation in the area which is on the pamphlet. When you hike through here you do not even feel like your in the Tahoe National Forest. But over the past few years I have learned that there is no place in the world like this national forest as its very diverse at times. There are parts of the trail that are so overgrown you will feel like your in some jungle its really nice back here and quiet also. There is this one section in the woods where three giant sequoias are found in alignment next to one another.
 
Many of the trees here are young most around 700 years old one of them over a 1000. They are not as old compared to other areas in California I visited. For example the trees up at Calaveras are said to be 2000 years old and there are quite a few. I also seen giant red woods up near San Francisco a couple years ago. There are only six big groves left in the world so I felt just walking around here I held the highest of honors. This is not a place you see everyday its not just a typical forest either the grove is home to a variety of rare plants.
 
We would eventually stop at one of the giant trees where we had a picnic here near a seasonal creek. I seen an older man come through with his son probably and later a guy jogging. Other then that there was no other people up here it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop literally. Its so silent its nearly eerie here besides hearing the birds chirp this place is quieter then a church lol. Sometimes desolation can be creepy for some I mean if your by yourself back here there is nobody going to hear you scream if you get lost or a mountain lion pounces you. Big Grove is kind of isolated within the national forest with very little access which makes this place all the more special. Speaking of isolated when we were hiking around the grove we kept smelling this rotten eggs stench! Bigfoot? Sulphur from underwater springs? Skunk? We do not know because the smell came and went a couple times then dissipated for the remainder of the hike. The last time I went to a giant sequoia grove we were attacked by a Bigfoot like creature in some way, shape or form it really put me on alert and you have to be in a remote place like this.
 
Not to far away from where we picnicked  there is this massive fallen giant sequoia which is so long that it crossed the upper and lower portion of the trail.The forestry cut a portion of it away so you could walk through it. My son ran on top of it all the way up I thought that was pretty fun but this is a great place for boys to be boys if your kids like trees. There is also another fallen sequoia on the forest trail as well it appears both trees had fallen in 1861 and today they are just fun to climb. Its good to see the kids play only wished there was more nature I seen one butterfly however with fall nearby there was no flowers and wildlife is scarce.
 
Where we picnicked was also near the Roosevelt Tree which believe it or not survived a lightening strike which caught a portion of the tree on fire. Despite that its resilience has survived and the tree continues to grow. Perhaps every tree here has a back story sadly however back in the mid 1800's many of the miners cut such trees. You cant help but wonder how many giant sequoias were lost to men who perhaps ignored there significance. It is so important all of us protect these trees with our lives that includes in the future making sure they do not succumb to a forest fire. Personally with our technology a water system that can sense heat should be integrated here or by the time firefighters get here not much would be left.
 
When we begin to hike on back the jogger ran into me again and told me he seen a bear near us where we were chilling at. I never heard or seen the bear which sucks because as most of you know I enjoy to film bear in the woods. Since my cam ended up failing last time I seen one I been trying to make it up with new bear footage. I was not surprised the bear this time of year are more active looking for food before winter. I seen a lady go into the woods she had to be 60 years old and I warned her about it. She shrugged it off and still went into the woods alone no bear mace NOTHING! People up here are so use to nature its a part of life I am the same way but you still have to be careful and respect nature.
 
I found some berries and perhaps these type of nuts growing in the woods. Its very possible that bigfoot roams here I have not heard of sightings here but other places near here. The trail only covers a couple miles of the area but beyond that is a very dense unexplored forest. I really loved it here to be honest I wish I did not have to leave in the apocalypse this would be one of my stomping grounds lol. I felt so safe here I could have taken a nap under one of the 250' trees. As most of you know in my years of operating PGS I have visited some of the Biggest Trees in the world such as the Senator and The Fairchild Oak. I have also seen a cut down tree in Calaveras Big Trees that had a stump over 20' across. These are the wonders of the world if you cant visit and share something like this your falling short because there is nothing like it in the world. To be able to take my family and share it with our fans is simply awesome. Sure I did not find any ghosts, bigfoot or see aliens hovering over us but for me I truly walked within a forest of giants and now we would journey to Iowa Hill.

Lord Rick

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