July 14, 2015 - Delilah

Title: July 14, 2015 - Delilah

Trail head: Forest Service Gate on

Hike Info:

Type:  Hiking

Trail: Forest Service Road

Destination: Delilah

Distance: 5.92 miles

Start Time:  8:25

End Time:   11:47

Travel Time: 3:21 (1.77 mph)

Moving Time: 2:09 (2.75 mph)

Elevation Rise: 1,139'

Maximum Elevation: 5,290'

Description:
We meet at 6:30 in the Kohl's parking lot. I am somewhat concerned because the area we are hiking in is a bit low and can be hot. So I have an earlier start time. After picking up Mike in Squaw Valley, we have seven people in our group, three whom I have not hiked with before. One of the interesting things of meetup is getting to know new people.

The drive up is our usual to Delilah, a seemingly short time to the McKenzie turnoff of highway 180. Then an equal time traveling a curvy narrow road. Instead of going all the way to Delilah, we stop at the Forest Service boundary and park our cars-we could have driven in, but this is a hiking group after all. On the way in, we saw a gathering of law enforcement from several branches of government at the heliport. Looks like a pot bust was going to go down. Will need to be alert.

I do not know of any trails in the area and I have been warned that there are entities in the area which are highly protective of the ground under their control, such as pot farmers. So we stick to the dirt road. Since it is almost deserted. this is not too bad. The road is not traveled enough that the dust is at a minimum. I take the lead-not that we are going to get lost on this road-and Sherri the sweep.

Adrienne and John starting our travel

I enjoy talking about food with John and Lesley, or more accurately, listening to them. Also the front gets joined by Adrienne who is a friend of John's. A little ways into the hike, we see a lone car coming out. It is the lookout who was at Delilah yesterday. We talk with him for a while. No smokes being seen up there. He says that Tom is already up in the tower.

The morning is perfect hiking weather, so apparently I choose the time well.  The grasses along the road are dry and the flowers which was there a month a go have almost all disappeared, except for numerous dandelions. But we keep up a good pace as the road rolls over the hills. We stop about each mile and look around.

Tom explaining how a lookout works

By 9:40 we have made it to the lookout, the star of our hike. Tom is staffing the lookout and invites us up. All go to the top and enjoy the view. But even better, Tom talks about the various workings of the lookout, the radio and the Osborne Fire Finder. Lesley enjoys that a bird feeder draws hummingbirds this far up. Adrienne and I look at the various points of interest. Rob, John and Mike all spend time poking around. Rob particularly gains an appreciation of the task which lookouts have. He went to last week's Park Ridge Lookout hike, so he sees that there is a lot to staffing one of these.

Resting on log under Delilah's watch

One of the things Sherri and I appreciate about Delilah is how far off the ground you are. It can be scarey until you get used to it. Does the lookout sway? Yes. Looking down at people who are eating on a log below us highlights the height of this place.

On the way back

Dead and Dying Trees

The hike back is much the same as the hike in. With the exception is that most of the way back I walk with Rob, and then with Sherri. It is getting a bit warmer, but the winds start to kick up, so we do ok hiking. Everyone was smiles back at the car, so this must have been a good hike. Even though I think it probably is not one which should be repeated too often.

We stop at Bear Mountain Pizza on the way down where we say farewell to Mike, Adrienne and John, leaving Rob and Lesley to be stuck with me. At the pizza place, the pot busters are also eating. Some of those folks are pretty big. Even the lone female looks tough. We get back to Fresno around 2:30. Pretty nice day.




I cannot end without saying something about all the dead trees. One thing which gets pretty noticeable from any of the lookouts are the large swaths of dead trees. They come in streaks up the mountain. The drought is killing these trees, not so much by thirst, but by allowing conditions where the bark beetles can damage the trees. This area was noted in the Fresno Bee a couple of weeks ago as having the worst fire conditions in the State.  An SF Gate article details how the bark beetles work, well worth reading.