What does a backpacker in backpacking withdrawal do on the hottest yet weekend of the year? She, along with 9 friends, goes backpacking in the hot, hot Cache Creek Wilderness, of course.
To be fair, this trip was planned several weeks ago so we didn’t purposely choose to go out in this heat, but we certainly weren’t going to let it stop us. We met at the Redbud trail head at 10 am with our almost lightweight packs (heat = lighter gear, yay). However, loading them up with water kind of took the joy out of having a lightweight pack. We took our time getting to Wilson Valley – it’s about seven miles to the valley, and the trail goes up and over two ridges. Although parts of the trail are shaded, there are plenty of sunny, exposed areas too. The terrain and scenery is similar to hiking the East Bay regional parks or Henry Coe (though the trails aren’t as steep).
I would normally rate the Redbud Trail to Wilson Valley as an Easy Stroll In The Park (on the Calipidder Arbitrary Scale of Trail Difficulty, or CASTD), but the heat, much like altitude will do, kicked the difficulty up several notches to the Movie Theaters Are Air Conditioned, So Tell Me Again What I’m Doing Out Here level. But all was well when we finally got to camp and discovered the MOST WONDERFUL SWIMMING HOLE EVER! If you had told me what was waiting for me at camp, I would have ran the whole trail. Okay, to be honest, it wasn’t the best swimming hole, it was kind of murky and I have swam in many better ones, but the serendipitous discovery of it was exactly what we needed after seven miles of hiking in 100 degree weather.
On Sunday’s hike out I think I was better hydrated, because although it was warmer out by a few degrees I was much more comfortable. I took some flower photos (just brought my point and shoot on this trip, so nothing special) and guzzled 5 liters of water. At the creek crossing on the return we sat and relaxed in the cool water before the last 2 miles back to the car. Everyone was prepared and did really well in the heat except the dog, who got a bit overheated but is now okay. Or maybe he just tired himself out chasing lizards and tadpoles.
This isn’t an area I’d advise visiting in this kind of heat. It’s a great place to find wildflowers, but you’ll want to time a wildflower visit before it gets too hot – although there were still many blooming, they were starting to fade. It was mostly different flowers than what I saw last year when we visited in March and caught the early bloom (when it was windy and cold). Maybe next year I’ll time it so that the weather and flowers will be just right.
Hike Stats
- 13.3 miles round trip
- ~2300 foot gain/loss
Thanks for sharing this beautiful area.
I’ve done few day hikes here, but never anything extensive. A couple of years ago my Sweetie and I did a few miles during a gorgeous and temperate spring day on our way to Harbin Hot Springs.
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Calipidder,
I love Cache Creek environs – so much to explore, on foot or mountain bike, and the creek is full of meandering surprises!
December is great weather for dayhiking on the Redbud
Trail at Cache Creek. There weren’t any wildflowers to enjoy,
but we did get some good Redbud
Trail landscape photos. We took a sidehike down to The Jams,
a waterfall on Cache Creek. There wasn’t any flow in the creek when we
were there, but I’ll be interested to go back there sometime when the
creek is flowing.
I’ve been looking for a good place to backpack nears Sacramento.
Any one know of a better place than here? Never been, sounds like a nice easy hike.
Bro you should go…it’s a great weekend backpacking trip. Your dog will love it.
RIP, Redbud Trail (Curse you, Rocky Fire!). Recover quickly…
At least the wildflowers should be nice next spring!
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