Title: March 24, 2016 - Briceburg and the Merced River Gorge
Trail head: Briceburg Visitor Center
Hike Info:
Type: Hiking
Trail: Merced River Gorge - East
Destination:Edge of the BLM and Sierra National Forest
Actual Destination: Close to the destination
Distance: 7.94 miles
Start Time: 9:16
End Time: 1:54
Travel Time: 4:38 (1.71 mph)
Moving Time: 3:42 (2.15 mph)
Elevation Rise: 361'
Maximum Elevation: 1,365'
The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come
Song of Songs 2:11-12
Description:
This is the first meetup hike which I have organized since late October or early November. While not nervous, I am aware that I am a bit rusty. We meet at Kohls at 7am. Including myself, there are 9 of us, two people who have not hiked with me before-that would be Jen and Brandon. We stop in Mariposa at Burger King for coffee and facility usage. Then off to
Briceburg.
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| Old Railroad Stanchion |
We arrive around 9am and are on the trail at 9:15. The morning is cool, but the group starts off well. The good thing about this trail is that because it is a former railway bed from the
Yosemite Valley Railroad, the trail is almost flat. So we scoot off, enjoying the sunlight. But we make frequent stops. That is the hazard with this trail, even though it is just across from highway 140, you don't get the feeling of traffic. Maybe it is the
Merced River dividing us from there, maybe it is that the traffic has not started yet going to Yosemite. Whatever, we hardly notice it is there, except when the large construction trucks go by.
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| Sierra Salamander |
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| Redbud and River |
But why do we stop so often? Well there is so much eye candy that the photographers in the group stop every 3 minutes to admire the flowers, the trees, the river, or whatever strikes their fancy. And there is a lot to strike ones fancy. For instance, with our Winter rains, there are flowers blooming everywhere (see the pictures below). So our eyes are filled with color: yellows, oranges, white, blues, violets, and purples. They range from small, delicate white flowers which Alpine Companions to the redbud tree. There is something for all of us. Then on top of that, Sierra Salamanders were crawling through the wet morning grass. Some of us scoot them off the trail, others cannot resist holding them. Like I said, there is something for everybody.
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| Power Line Workers |
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| Power Line Workers |
But wait there is more reason to stop and gawk. We kept hearing and seeing a helicopter moving around. But for 15 minutes we could not figure out why. It had a 50' line hanging down which what looked like a hook or latch of some type. Then we noticed that the helicopter had picked up two men in orange jump suits and was placing them on power towers. This fascinated us and we watched them for ever so long. The men would work, then signal the helicopter to pick them up and they would be flown to the next available tower-there was two teams of men working them, probably checking the insulation and making sure all was right. This kept us occupied for awhile. Of course the photographers of the group cannot resist a time of good photos.
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| Fascinated with the Helicopter |
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| Jody |
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| Jerry and Jen |
We continue on with the "ordinary" hiking things, such as unbelievable beauty. Enjoyable time talking with Bill, Rose, Jen, Lora, and Jerry. This passing the time and before we know it, I am thinking, I better catch up with the front of the pack because we are about to enter into the land of poison oak. This seemed like a good place for lunch and we stopped, sat on some rocks and enjoyed the shade and the warmth of the air.
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| Gary |
Sherri and I had Nutella and pretzels which Sherri's cousin got me for Christmas. While the rest did not seem long enough, being the true taskmaster I am, after 15 minutes I tell everybody it is time to head out. The return trip is just over the same path we came up. Somebody makes a comment that they much rather do a loop, but this is pretty good too. We see the lower V which the river has cut through the foothills. Also now that that sun is out, the flowers have opened up. The hills instead of having splotches of orange, now have a golden glint to them. So it is like seeing the trail new.
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| Merced River |
I will confess that when we made the last turn to go down the Merced River, my legs were whimpering, saying it is time for all this goodness to end. The bridge over the Merced while there, seems small and not growing larger faster. But we do get back to the cars before 2pm. But the excitement does not end. Someone shouts out, that raven has a snake in his mouth. A couple of thoughts goes through my mind: 1) Hey cool, I do not think I have seen a bird flying with a snake before, 2) I hope he does not drop it; and 3) is that a rattler? The raven did not drop it and looked like he ate it in a tree. Also looking at the pictures close up, it does not look like a rattler.
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| Raven and Snake |
But that was an exciting way to end the hike. And now to get filled up in Mariposa at
Happy Burger before heading home to Fresno.
Trail Lesson: With your eyes wide open, hiking a trail going in is not the same as it is going out.
