Amador County - The latest addition to the Mokelumne Coast to Crest Trail was opened to the public earlier this month, making another 28.1 miles of hiking and horseback-riding trail available to outdoor enthusiasts from Amador County and beyond. Conceived by trail enthusiasts from Amador and Calaveras counties in the 1980s and overseen by East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), the trail, once completed, will stretch 300 miles in length from the Bay Area to the Pacific Crest Trail in the Sierras near Ebbetts Pass. “It’s conceivable that when the trail is done, someone in the bay area can get on the trail, hike across the state, then get on the Pacific Crest Trail and either go North to Canada or South to Mexico,” said EBMUD Ranger and Naturalist Steve Diers in an interview with TSPN. The newest segment of trail is accessible from the Middle Bar Take Out parking lot and the Rich Gulch Trail Access Point and stretches between James Bar and Middle Bar Bridge. The trail follows the geography of the Mokelumne River and stretched 150 feet in elevation. Diers said in a release that the trail is a “less rigorous trek than some of the sections farther to the west.” He said “equestrians will still need to access this section from the Campo Seco Staging Area, as trailer parking is prohibited at the Middle Bar Take Out parking lot and the Rich Gulch Trail Access Point due to the limited parking and inadequate access roads.” This newest stretch features a number of historical and natural points of interest. Patti’s Point, roughly 1 mile west of James Bar, offers “dazzling” views of the Mokelumne River. The Gwin Mine gold mine site, highly productive in the 1800’s is a reminder of the Gold Rush. The Middle Bar Bridge is a classified historical site and an example of early 1900s architecture. Diers said a half dozen entities are involved in the entire trail project, now almost 50 percent completed. He said these representatives come in and give reports on the progress of trail development in their area during regular meetings. “It’s important to get this trail in because...it provides recreation through all the communities…ties those communities in, and would bring in money, as far as recreation,” said Diers. He said recreation areas in turn require people to purchase fuel, lodging, sporting goods and food. “We also need to be thinking about the future when perhaps it’s not possible to put in a trail because the proposed route has been developed,” he said. Trail access must be gained through one of the staging areas and requires a valid EBMUD Trail Use Permit. For permits and more information, visit EBMUD online at: http://www.ebmud.com/services/recreation/sierra/trails. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.