The fall seems to be the best time for foothill trails in the area; the weather was perfect.
I cached a electrolyte/red bull mixture in the woods near the trail at the White Cloud campground. Otherwise I carried everything else with me.
The idea of this trail is great, and there are sections that are a delight to run on, but definitely take a device to follow the gpx track. The signage on the trail was sparse at best, and there are tons of unmarked trails and junctions along the way. This was my first time running it, and the upper section was a bit of a nightmare. Unmaintained sections that connected to old roads until it finally became a trail about 5 miles in. I was running with a water bottle in one hand and my phone in the other, and constantly rechecking my position! I highly recommend the Gaia GPS app. I was finally able to put the phone away at mile 20.
Also in following the highway, you get road noise for most of the run...
It was a good day out, but if you are in the area, I wouldn't recommend it as a destination trail; the South Yuba trail is a jewel of the foothill trails; very remote and beautiful.
Having said that, thanks to Ben Mitchell for putting this up; it was a fun run/navigation challenge!