As Mike said, it was a good day. The drive from Foresthill took about two hours and is a very windy road that passes through several deep, and very steep canyons. The temperature was nice and we were able to drive out there in t-shirts in an open Jeep at 8 a.m. There were a LOT of bicyclists on Mosquito Ridge Road and with the shadows and curves we had to be on the lookout for them. According to Brent and Dale there has been significant erosion making the rock ledges much more difficult than they had seen in the past. There were a lot of brush and trees encroaching on the trail. The larger trees that would prevent access had been cut and removed by someone but the trail did not appear to have been maintained this year so there was a lot of vehicle contact with the brush. We did a fair amount of hand clearing of down trees, branches, brush and debris. We went as far as the stream that crosses the trail just before you drop down towards the lake.
Brent almost got too close to a young rattlesnake when he was spotting for Dale until the snake decided to let him know that he didn't appreciate Brent's presence. Brent might have an opportunity to be in the next Olympics based on how fast he moved! Hopefully Dale just has a sprain and not a fracture. However, fractures sometimes heal faster than severe ankle sprains. Dale iced his ankle while we aired up so hopefully that will help. It was nice that Mike had an opportunity to get his Jeep out again after all the Gallagher family has been through. Although Dale's truck had charging problems, it was nice to see everyone pull together to get us back home safely.
