WST: michigan bluff to Deadwood overnighter - day 1
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 8.52 mi
- Elevation gain
- 3,097 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Difficult
- Elevation loss
- 2,792 ft
- Max elevation
- 4,114 ft
- TrailRank
- 30
- Min elevation
- 1,775 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Time
- 8 hours 18 minutes
- Coordinates
- 1966
- Uploaded
- April 22, 2012
- Recorded
- April 2012
near Michigan Bluff, California (United States)
Viewed 1075 times, downloaded 8 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
First backpacking trip of the year along Western States Trail. The flowers are starting to come out in force. Quite a few runners preparing for the ws100 (http://ws100.com/) - a nice bunch of incredible people. .gpx datapoints captured with MyTrails on DroidX.
Comments (3)
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I would like to know more. Parking? Is the difficulty due to elevation changes or other features? Round trip almost 18 miles or almsot 9? Thanks for posting!
@PeachyHiker: I parked in the town of Michigan Bluff - limited diagonal parking spaces across from trail plaque at end of road and more straight-in parking north of the plaque commemorating Western States Trail to Last Chance Site.
The trail is well-used and easy to follow. There were several side-trails, but those were obviously less-traveled. At this time of year, I saw no evidence of horse traffic. There were enough runners on Saturday morning that I spent a fair amount of time off the trail waiting for them to pass - all seemed extra nice though. Only five on Friday with one day hiker, so weekdays would probably be best if you want to avoid the crowds. Some poison-oak encroaching on the trail as it descended into El Dorado Canyon from Michigan Bluff. Small nuisance flys along both sides of the Canyon.
You can see from my track that I explored in and around Deadwood. I found a nice spring flowing at the end of the northernmost excursion (also indicated on USGS topo map) and I camped in a flat spot in the middle of an unused road (covered in duff) on the south-east excursion from deadwood. A Michigan Bluff resident said that kids frequently drink/party near deadwood and advised camping outside of the townsite, but Foresthill road was snowed-in above 5000' (verified day before), so no way to drive in at this time. My campsite was high enough above the Middle fork of the American that it was wonderfully peaceful Friday night, with only an occasional owl calling out.
If you just out-and-back from Michigan Bluff, mileage would be closer to 11.5 miles round trip. My GPS receiver lost sync for a bit, but the ws100 folks have provided a more detailed cross-section:
http://ws100.com/phototour/09_DeadwoodToMichiganBluff/DeadwoodToMichiganBluff.html
Are there standard definitions for difficulty levels?
I don't remember slope being significant anywhere, but I was just plodding along and enjoying the scenery. I was also carrying ~45lbs as I'm trying to get in shape for longer trips. Someone in good shape with a lighter pack might classify this as a good out and back day hike. You can also follow the trail all the way to Squaw Valley if inclined;-). The same Michigan Bluff resident mentioned that serious runners will leave town early in the morning and go all the way to Last Chance and back by early afternoon - but they are an extreme breed to say the least.
Over multiple days, or with a lighter load, maybe this should be better classified as merely "difficult". I'd pack plenty of water if it's going to be hot and pay careful attention to weather forecast. Weather can change quickly this time of year. The previous weekend apparently saw significant temperature drop and ~6" of snow during the day.
I hope this helps.
Pleasant hiking.
Excellent and much appreciated details! Many thanks and Happy Trails!