Day 3: Westwood to Quincy

May 18, 2024

The morning was very chilly, so I wasn't eager to get an early start. On the road at 9:35.

My original plan was to ride back roads south from Westwood. But just out of town I found that the back road is not paved and not open to the public. So I turned around and pedaled through Westwood again, going west. The detour route is more scenic because it takes me to Lake Almanor. The aborted route added 4 easy miles to today's ride.

I planned to pedal this back road south of Westwood, but found that it's a private road.

I didn't take many pictures of Westwood because it's not particularly interesting. All the houses look alike. All the commercial buildings look alike. Definitely built as a company town.

Typical houses in Westwood, all built by Sierra Pacific Industries.

Today's route is mostly downhill and the first 20 miles are in unburned forest. About 10 miles west of Westwood I started to follow the Hamilton Branch of the North Fork Feather river. It has a good flow. All the rivers have good flow because snow is still melting upstream.

Hamilton Branch of North Fork Feather river.

Descending along the Hamilton Branch to Lake Almanor.

I enjoyed riding along the east shore of Lake Almanor. There are highways all around the lake, but the east shore road is closer to the water and has the best views of Mt. Lassen to the north.

I was pleased to have spectacularly clear skies to see Mt. Lassen well. There was no guarantee that it would be this clear.

10x telephoto view of Mt. Lassen across Lake Almanor.

I suddenly pedaled into the Dixie fire at the southwest corner of Lake Almanor, near the dam. I didn't know the Dixie fire burned all the way to Lake Almanor.

Back into Dixie fire burns on the west side of Lake Almanor.

The route along Lake Almanor is a low traffic state highway with mostly local traffic. After Lake Almanor I have to go south on CA 89 which has more truck traffic. But I would call it moderate traffic, not heavy traffic. It was tolerable despite having no shoulder. It helped to be going steady downhill along Indian Creek.

The burned trees are quite stark, but there is also significant new green understory growth.

Indian Creek is more visible after the fire.

I turned off CA 89 to follow a back road the final 3 miles to Greenville. It went through badly burned areas and unburned areas. It's all in a flat valley, so it's hard to understand why some areas burned and other areas didn't burn.

I stopped for a few minutes in Greenville to look at the ruins of the historic downtown. There is so little left now that it took me a long time to figure out where I took my 2009 photo. Only about half of the town burned, but all of the historic Gold Rush era downtown buildings burned to the ground. It was a small loss compared the scale of the Paradise fire, but it devastated a small town that was already struggling for decades.

Greenville 4 years after the Dixie Fire.

BEFORE: Greenville 12 years before the Dixie Fire, during my 2009 California J bike tour.

I was told that Greenville's downtown reconstruction is hampered by historic preservation agency efforts to somehow incorporate the ruins into the replacement buildings. In the mean time, the city built an unattractive "pop-up business district" for businesses in trailers and trucks. Better than nothing, of course. Unfortunately, no food trucks were open when I passed by.

From Greenville I pedaled east on a county road that meanders around the east side of remote Indian Valley. I have pedaled CA 89 on the west side of the valley twice before, but had never seen the east side. It's a low traffic country road with excellent views.

CA 89 doesn't have many views of snowy mountains because trees obstruct the view. Plumas County road S22 offers many excellent Sierra Nevada views looking across the wide valley. Most of the big valley didn't burn.

Looking across Indian Valley towards the Sierra Nevada.

Plumas county road S22 in Indian Valley.

I stopped for a few minutes to look around Taylorsville. It's a quaint historic village founded in 1852 during the gold rush. Only about 2 blocks long, though. Not much to see.

After Taylorsville I continued the last 5 miles on the awesome county road.

Indian Creek in the middle of Indian Valley.

Then I continued south on CA 89 descending in a canyon along Indian creek. I promptly re-entered Dixie fire burns as CA 89 exits the wide valley and enters a canyon.

I stopped and walked the short nature trail to Indian Falls. I was the only person there. The flow now, in May, is much bigger than the flow when I saw it in August 2009. Still much snow melt going on now.

Indian Falls is sacred to the Maidu people.

BEFORE: Less flow, no burned trees in August 2009.

The descent along Indian creek was impressively burned, but with a green new understory and some flowers.

I got to the first road construction zone at the junction of CA 89 and CA 70. This is the lowest point of today's route. Now I begin a steep climb to Quincy along Spanish creek. The first 4 miles had the steepest grades and had 1 way traffic led by a pilot car. But the flagger told me to keep pedaling and stay away from the convoys. I like that because it gives me a private road most of the time. The flaggers surely know that a cyclist can't keep up with the pilot car when going up a 6% grade.

Climbing above Spanish Creek along CA 70/89.

During the climb I saw big trestles of the Western Pacific Railroad. This railroad was completed in 1909 with the goal of breaking Southern Pacific Railroad's monopoly on rail service to northern California. 41 steel bridges and 44 tunnels made the railroad extremely expensive to build. Western Pacific railroad struggled through multiple bankruptcies and reorganizations, and was bought by Union Pacific railroad in 1980. It still operates, but has only a few trains per day.

The Dixie fire is fading away as I pedal south. The area around the trestles is only partially burned.

BEFORE: Same view in 2009 during my California J bike tour.

I saw more trestles and tunnels, but with a bad sun angle. I will see them again later with a better sun angle.

The last couple miles to Quincy are gradual downhill and not burned. I was plenty tired when I got to my lodging at 6:10 PM. No worries, because tomorrow is a rest day.

Footbridge across Spanish creek in Quincy.

Dinner was pasta carbonara at Wildflower Cafe. Home for the next two nights is Quincy Featherbed Inn which is in a historic house in the middle of downtown.

Today is the last day of the heat wave. High of about 80F. Quincy is 3432 feet elevation. Much lower than Westwood but still deep in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Today was a long day with many interesting sights. Good bicycle touring, trending downhill for the remainder of the tour.

Distance: 61.9 miles
Average Speed: 10.1 mph
Ascent/Descent: +1619/-3175 feet

Today's ride: 62 miles (100 km)
Total: 114 miles (183 km)

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marilyn swettI'm enjoying your journal, Wayne. It's so sobering to see how the fire affected the forests, but at least there is green undergrowth. The before and after pictures of Greenville were interesting. That there is little sign of rebuilding is so sad.
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6 months ago

George (Buddy) HallYou've obviously done a lot of research about this route. Enjoying the journal, best of luck with the remainder of the tour.
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6 months ago