August 20, 2013 - Lower Lewis Creek Trail

Title: August 20, 2013 - Lower Lewis Creek Trail

Trail head: Cedar Valley Road

Hike Info:

Trail: Lower Lewis Creek Trail

Destination: Meandering

Distance:  4.12 miles

Travel Time: 2:43 (1.52 mph)

Moving Time: 2:08 (1.93 mph)

Elevation Rise:  967'

Maximum Elevation: 4,102'

Description:
We needed to get out of the house today. That is needed like in imperative. The house had been fogged for bugs and we needed to get out. So what better excuse do we have for going on a hike? So after running a few errands, we headed up to Oakhurst and the Lewis Creek.

Sherri walking in the woods

This is an hour's drive away from Fresno, so we do this trail often, but usually not in the middle of Summer. When we reach the trail head on Cedar Valley Road, it is about 90--and will climb higher as we walk. As we go along today, we take a some side trips rather than the usual from Cedar Valley up to Red Rock Falls and Sugar Pine. So this turns out to be the same, but different type of trip we usually do on Lewis Creek. Same trail for some of the way; different in that we spent at least half the time exploring different places.

When we reach Corlieu Falls, it is just a trickle of the usual flow. But even in its trickle, there is beauty. We see different patterns in its falling than what we usually see.  The falls do not mask the little rivulets which are flowing into the creek. One of which turns out to be from a spring.

Warm Springs

On the last meetup hike, Jerry and John had talked about a warm spring off of the Lewis Creek trail. Steven, our son, said he had been up to it. So when we reached the top of Corlieu Falls, Steven takes us over the creek-which is a trickle right now. There is the springs (N37 25.012 W119 37.462), just about 50' on the other side. It definitely is not a hot springs. Today, it feels like air temperature. But on a winter's day, it would feel good. Sulfur in the air as well.

Corlieu Falls in Aug 2013

Corlieu Falls-March 2013

Steven and I see some pipe leading out of the spring and a path. There are some cables, so we start following all three. This path is not for the faint of heart, and as far as we followed it, it did not lead to anything really great. But we enjoyed the journey. From the YosemiteArea.com web site, Falconer said: My wife and I have a cabin not to far from the hot springs. I found out that it used to be lumber land. So the cables you see up on the cliff you'll notice have grow into the trees. At one point there used to be a cable with a basket so the lumber jacks could get across the falls. I have bee told that the whole area was clear cut at one time. The forest thats there now is only about 70 years old. I hope that helps.

We move on and continue on up Lewis Creek, crossing it again, on a bridge. Right now, it is a minor rock hop across it. A little ways later, Sherri sees this huge bird taking off from the creek. From a talk in the marsh lands in Mountain View, it looks like a gray heron to me. But looking at iBirds, it looks like a Little Blue Heron. Amazing. It is the last we see of the bird.

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A little ways further, we find a little ways further, we come across a little creek draining into Lewis Creek. There is a side path, so we decide to follow that up a ways. Glad we did. this creek is really pretty dainty, but there is an elegance with it. The little flow down the rocks leaves us wondering why we have not come up here before. Of course, in a few places it is a bit of scramble.

Gary Walking

When we get back to the main trial, we ask, which way. The vote is back to the car. The heat is taking its toll on us. So a quick trip back we make. A quick trip is right. There was a couple who were around Corlieu Falls, going up. When we get to the car, about a mile away, they just were pulling in. We did see where the temperature was in the upper 90's. Glad we turned back. besides, we were getting hungry and Todd's was beckoning us.