Independence Trail....Or Not

For Labour Day my dad and I decided to take the puppies for an outing to a hiking trail we found in 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Sacramento. It is called the Independence Trail and is located along the Yuba River a few minutes north of Nevada City. It is actually an altered maintenance path that was once used to transport water up the steep canyon via a flume by the Excelsior Mining and Canal Co. in 1854. It is now a wheelchair accessible path to a nice picnic and fishing area, hence we decided on this trail to start our hiking adventures (we are trying to gear up for the Grand Canyon. Pray for us.). We thought it would be a nice walk in the park.

Too bad we took the wrong trail. What was supposed to be a nice 2.8 mile meander turned into a 0.4 mile marathon to the same picnic area. I almost died...on Labour Day. And to add to my embarrassment, kids were doing the hike in flip flops! Ok, so I exaggerate for dramatic effect, minus the part about flip flops, but it was hard!! Thank God the hard part was the second half to return to our cars, otherwise I never would have done it! Turns out, I can and did. The best part? The views were worth every heart pounding second.