I’ve hiked the Gerle Loop Trail off Highway 49 a few times this year, including this visit two weeks ago. It feels so close to home, even though it takes me about an hour to get there, winding along Salmon Falls Road up to Pilot Hill. I like that it seems just a little way upstream from my house — never mind all the changes the American River undergoes (including Folsom Dam) between this peaceful spot in the foothills and my suburban river access.

A rocky creek inlet