I’ve hiked this short section of the Pioneer Express Trail many, many times; it takes me from the top of the bluff, historically known as the Orangevale Palisades, down into Negro Bar State Park and the northern shore of Lake Natoma. The Big Guy calls it the Apartment trail because there’s an apartment building not far away from where I shot this image. The trail surface changes constantly throughout the year — during the winter and spring it can be slippery and treacherous, marked with slippery rocks and mud puddles. In the summertime a thick dust covers the trail, kicked up by runners and mountain bikers.

Top of the trail, Summer 2014

Rock-eating tree beside the trail, 2004

Near the bottom of the trail, November 2004

Watch your step going down!