Over 150 years before international techies invaded California in search of Silicon gold, rough and ready
49ers
came to the
Gold Country
of the Sierra Nevada, 150 miles east of San Francisco, to look for the real thing. The area ranges from the foothills near Yosemite to the deep gorge of the Yuba River two hundred miles north, with
Sacramento
as its largest city. Many of the mining camps that sprung up around the Gold Country vanished as quickly as they appeared, but about half still survive. Some are bustling resorts, standing on the banks of whitewater rivers in the midst of thick pine forests; others are just eerie ghost towns, all but abandoned on the grassy rolling hills. Most of the mountainous forests along the Sierra crest are preserved as near pristine wilderness, with excellent hiking, camping and backpacking. There's great skiing in winter, around the mountainous rim of
Lake Tahoe
on the border between California and Nevada, aglow under the bright lights of the nightclubs and casinos that line its southeastern shore.
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