All-temperature workouts in Auburn State Recreation Area

Probably there are several "fly by the seat of my pants" people reading this who, like me, for one reason or another don't get out early enough on these hot summer days to walk, run or bicycle before the heat gets intense. For you, I have good news: You don't have to give up on that daily exercise routine that is so famous for keeping you alive and functioning well for a longer and more enjoyable life. That's because, in the Auburn State Recreation Area, we have on the Foresthill Divide a few miles east of the Confluence and the bridges over the rivers an all-temperature recreation opportunity. For instance, on Monday, Aug. 18, it was about 100F. I wanted to do about 5 miles, didn't get started until about 2, and wanted an easy, low-stress run, even planning to walk the uphills. So I jumped on the Connecter Trail right where the Clementine Dam Road goes off of the Foresthill Road and jogged up to the Foresthill Divide Loop Trail. (You'll know you're there when you come to one of those triangular yellow signs that shows the horse>pedestrian>bicycle right-of way priorities.) And then I returned to the Foresthill-Lower Clementine intersection, where I had my car parked under a roadside tree. The only part that wasn't shaded was a one-eighth mile uphill, which got a little warm but was soon over. Then on Saturday, Aug. 23, it was again about 100F, but I was a bit more ambitious, probably because of the 6 ounces or so of flavored caffeinated coffee I had with about 24 ounces of de-caff while chatting with friends at Depot Bay. So I was well hydrated and mildly turbocharged, jogged all the hills, again was comfortable in the shade, and when I got to the triangular sign, I decided to go for the intense infrared sauna on the south side of the divide, and really sweat out the poisons. So I hooked a right on the Foresthill Divide Loop Trail (FDLT), ran the mile or so to the FDLT Trailhead Trail to the parking area, and where the trail to the parking area starts descending off the right side of the ridge, I bore left, went around a gate and dropped into the inferno of the southside Squaw Flat Trail. (That name will be changed any day now.) That whole south slope was burned off a few years back and there's almost no shade anywhere. There's nothing quite like the Squaw Flat Trail on a cool winter day when you're longing to feel the warmth of the sun. And there's nothing like that trail on a hot summer day when you want to proof test your body's cooling system and have an out-of-body experience. It also has some short but tough hills. I felt like I had become a white-hot ceramic furnace by the time I got to where the Squaw Flat Trail goes up to Foresthill Road. I waited for traffic and then jogged diagonally down to an informal pathway through the weeds to rejoin the Connecter Trail. Ahh! Back in the shade! So if you've dilly-dallied around in the early morning like I did, don't think you have to give up your exercise desires for the day just because it got hot. Just go out Foresthill Road to the Lower Clementine Road, go over the hill and park by the big boulders on the left, walk back up the pavement a bit, and you'll see the Connecter Trail going off into the Canyonside. It's 7 miles round trip to the yellow triangle sign at the intersection with the FDLT, or 15 miles R-T on the Connecter Trail and the north-slope portion of FDLT to the picnic table, outhouse and upper FDLT roadside parking. However, if you want to just go a short, easy, shaded 5 miles, drop onto the Connecter Trail at the Foresthill-Lower Clementine intersection. Start out going east toward Foresthill. That way, if you run out of zip, it's overall downhill on the way back to the car.