I’m going to blame our recent series of storms for the fact I haven’t been venturing out for my usual morning hikes lately.  So I haven’t yet had a first-hand view of the big rock and mud slide that closed the bike trail near Negro Bar four days ago.  (Yesterday the Big Guy reported the trail was still completely blocked.)

It wasn’t a great surprise to hear about the slide, since the bluffs opposite Folsom have always been notoriously unstable.  I had already seen a few small slides along that same stretch two weeks ago, when the Big Guy and I took advantage of a break in the storms and walked that way.

Lake Natoma reverts to a high, fast-flowing river with the releases from Folsom Lake upstream

Snags and eddies in the powerful current

Regretfully, I didn’t get pictures of the ducks and geese “going with the flow” out in the middle of the river.  I’ve never seen anything like it — they were moving past us at upwards of 25  miles/hour (40 km/hour) and seemed to be relaxing and enjoying the ride!

First sign of damage control

Trees growing at a crazy angle

Ride fast, and keep checking over your shoulder!

These large concrete blocks have been in place for a few years now to stabilize the base of the cliff.  They do seem to help, but a lot of rain and strong winds still have their effects.