May 15, 2010

Mount Madonna Hike

We did about a 2.5 mile hike while in Mt. Madonna. We drove towards the ranger station and parked in the lot at the Lower Miller Trailhead. We headed out on Lower Miller Trail until we got to the beginning of Mount Madonna's Miller Estate and Nature Walk. We took this nature walk trail and followed sites number one through eight. This allowed us to see what is left of Henry Miller's Summer Home which was occupied by his descendants until 1922. Henry Miller was originally a butcher from Germany. Once in California he became one of the largest landholders in the US by owning ranches throughout California, Oregon and Nevada. Most of the land was used for cattle, sheep and pigs. After spending time exploring the remnants of the estate, we continued on Lower Miller Trail. We then took Loop Trail to Iron Springs Trail. We could hear just a faint sound of water running through the springs but never actually saw the water. We then took Blue Springs Trail which had us walking through part of the Archery Trail. We didn't see any archers but were still cautious enough not venture off the designated trails. We took Upper Miller Trail back towards the parking lot. Up until this point most of the hike was shaded and cool. Once on Upper Miller trail though, the trail was more exposed and we were glad it wasn't a hot day. We saw a few banana slugs on our way back. Before arriving at the car we took a short detour by the Ranger Station to see the White Fallow Deer. The hike took us about an hour and a half. We plan on going back and maybe hiking by the Sprig Recreation Area.











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