Quiet Sierra Lakes, Easily Accessible

My favorite mountain getaway for camping and easy backpacking is off of Bowman Lake Road where there's a beautiful landscape of lakes, creeks, meadows and granite mountaintops in a little-known spot called Grouse Ridge Recreation Area.
Tom Stienstra of the San Francisco Chronicle has written about the area over the years (most recently on Sunday, Aug. 2 in his Sunday Drive column) but, despite the publicity, you don't find many people here. To escape the summer fog in the city I went up a couple of weeks ago with a friend. Unfortunately, the gray weather followed us and we found ourselves in a Sierra storm, with dark skies that turned to rain and even some hail. But it was worth it (in the photos, as you can see, it was still very pretty).
One reason that I love this area is that it so accessible. You take Interstate 80 east 40 miles past Auburn to Highway 20. Drive four miles on Highway 20 to the Bowman Lake Road and turn right. (Or, if you're coming from Nevada City, it's about 22 miles on Highway 20 to Bowman Lake Road). If you're not much of a camper or backpacker, you could spend the night in Auburn or Nevada City and drive over for some spectacular day hikes.
The trails I love to hike start at Carr and Feeley lakes. To get to the trailhead, drive about eight miles on Bowman Lake Road and then take the turn for Carr and Feeley and drive a couple of miles on a bumpy and rocky dirt road. High-clearance vehicles are recommended on the road but cars seem to do okay. There are a few primitive campsites at Carr Lake but my favorite thing to do is to pack a backpack and walk in a couple of miles to gorgeous granite-studded Island Lake and find a spot along the shores.
It's a flat, easy trail to Island Lake past lush ponds covered with lily pads (see left) and, because it's so close to the trailhead, it's almost more like camping than backpacking. When I go with friends, we sometimes even bring a small cooler and beach chairs. Check at the trailhead, but campfires in designated spots are usually permitted. Dogs are permitted, too.
There are dozens of lovely lakes to explore, many from the trails that radiate from Island lake (the USGS Emigrant Gap topo map covers the area), including little picture-perfect Round Lake, Milk Lake and Penner Lake. You're close to civilization (at night if you listen closely you can hear the rumble of vehicles on Interstate 80 or more distant trains) but a world away in a beautiful Sierra landscape.

Nevada City bon temps

Saturday mornings in Nevada City these days center around the new weekly farmers' market on Union Street from 8 a.m. to noon (until the end of October), which brings in scores of locals for a block-long happening that has a festival atmosphere. There's usually a folk, bluegrass or jazz band playing, drawn from this area's large community of musicians. (When you're in the vicinity tune your radio to KVMR, 89.5 FM, the local community radio station with its fun, quirky programming, including the Tibetan Radio Hour, the Patchouli Haze and lots of world music).

Last Saturday, over the long Fourth of July weekend when hazy, smoke-filled skies from wildfires cast a bit of a pall over festivities, local produce vendors displayed a bounty of fruit and vegetables. Flour Garden, a local bakery, sold some delicious organic breads. After wandering and sampling a bit, I headed to my favorite breakfast spot in town, Ike's Quarter Cafe, up the hill a couple of blocks on Commercial Street. The shady patio, enclosed by a white picket fence, was full on this warm summer morning but a table soon freed up. Ike and Adrienne, the owners, are not from Louisiana but they were inspired by New Orleans to create a restaurant with creole and cajun influences while using naturally raised meats, organic eggs, grains, flour and vegetables. All breads are made in house and, whenever possible, the produce is local. The menu is almost overwhelming, with a large selection of frittatas, egg scrambles, potato boats, flapjacks and biscuits and gravy. There's also something called "gasserhousers" that were new to me: pieces of toast with eggs that are nestled inside two holes and topped with peppers, onions, sausages or a variety of other options. I settled on the roasted corn flaps, flapjacks with roasted corn inside with a side of bacon and got two nicely done pancakes oozing with corn. My traveling companion ordered cornmeal crusted oysters topped with a delicious mild green salsa sauce. The spirit of the place is friendly and fun. As it says on the menu "Laissez le bon temps rouler."
There seems to be no shortage of that attitude in Nevada City, which has a calendar full of events (Wednesday evening Summer Nights Festival of music is one) this summer and beyond.