Note:All
the pictures below have larger versions you can view by clicking on the
thumbnails. The pictures should open in a new window.
This scenic area isn't immune to threat of fire as is evidenced by this burned mountainside. We drove through large areas of scorched forest on our way out. This is a result of the Power Fire. The fire started on Oct. 6, 2004 and burned nealy 17,000 acres before it was contained on Oct. 21, 2004, according to the US Forest Service.
Bear
River feeds into the Mokelumne River from Lower Bear River Reservoir.
This is the North Fork of the Mokelumne River. It runs due west from Salt Springs Reservoir to Lake Camanche.
This
rock formation is called Devil's Nose. It forms part of the wall
of the canyon along the Mokelumne River leading up to Salt Springs
Reservoir. The formation below doesn't have a name that I know of.
This
is another formation that I'm not sure of.
Below is Calaveras Dome. Click on this one, it is well worth seeing the larger image.
Once you reach the end of the canyon you are treated to a spectacular view in both directions. To the west is Calaveras Dome (above) and to the east is Salt Springs Reservoir. There is a 8-mile round trip hiking trail that runs along the north side of the lake. That will be part of the plan on my next trip.
