Miami Mountain Road: 4 Feb 2022
Location: Off Highway 41
Parking: Depending on how far you want to hike. You can either park at the entrance to Miami Mountain Road or drive further in.
Description: The dirt road turns into partially paved road
Distance: 4.78 Miles (you can go longer but we stopped due to sleek ice on the trail)
Difficulty: Easy at the starting point but turned to moderate on our return trip
History (taken from Sierra News): In the 1800's, old stage coaches used that trail as a short cut to Raymond. It was said that two men died and was buried on one plot across from each other. The two men - John Ruffin O'Neal and John Eldridge LaTouche were neighbours.
Ruff ONeal: O'Neal's leg was pinned underneath a tree - it was pinned in such a way that he could not free himself. He was buried him where he was found.
John LaTouche: LaTouche had a cabin near O'Neal. Loggers told him to leave his house where they were chopping down the trees. He owned the land and wouldn't leave. The loggers cut a huge tree which fell through the cabin and killed him. There was a large tree trunk that lay facing the gravesite - it may be possible that's the tree that struck LaTouche. We may never know.
We first hiked Miami Mountain Road a month ago - after a heavy snowfall. The scenery around us was magnificent - white powder all around us. This could be a great place to snowshoe.
Today, the place looked totally different from a month ago. The snow had melted - though splotches of snow can still be found. If you go around this time of the year, be aware of sleek ice. There are several trails - but we kept our hike to the left (6S14). About a mile from where we parked our car, to our right is the gravesite where the two men were buried.
We continued down the trail but noticed signs posted to deter visitors. Braving ourselves, we continued a little further where several houses were situated on either side of the trail. The surrounding areas looked like something out of a horror movie - trees with roots struggling to entrap and pull you in... Perhaps John Ruffin O'Neal and John Eldridge LaTouche are continually stacking their claim on this land. read more