Gary-Summer: May 2018

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

May 30, 2018 - SEKI Hikes

Title: May 30, 2018 - SEKI Hikes
Hospital Rock: Hike Info : Description
Moro Rock: Hike Info : Description
Eagle View:Hike Info : Description
Tokopah Falls: Hike Info : Description
Big Stump: Hike Info : Description
Trail Lessons : Background : Flowers and Plants

This was a series of five events-some are too short to really be called a hike-organized by John and Cathey of the meetup group, Central Valley Hiking Group. The idea was to give a sampler along the General’s Highway corridor in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.We started down by Ash Mountain in the southern part of Sequoia, near Three Rivers and ended up at Bear Mountain Pizza in Squaw Valley for dinner. A very full day.

Grinding Holes

Trail head: Hospital Rock Parking Lot

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail: Walked

Destination: Petroglyphs

Distance: 50 yards-No GPS

Description:

Pictrographs

We got out of the car at the Hospital Rock parking lot and went across the highway. There are a couple of grinding holes close by. Then the pictographs are behind some boulders. My thinking is there must have been some tall Native Americans back in those days. The pictographs are a smeared, but you can make out some of them. The yucca plants and buckeye are in bloom. We followed a social trail up a little ways where we came out onto the highway again with a view of Moro Rock. Back to the cars and off we go.

View of Moro Rock from Hospital Rock

Unknown to us, there were more pictographs than what we saw.

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Looking east to the Kern-Kaweah Divide

Trail head: Moro Rock parking area

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail: Moro Rock

Destination: Moro Rock

Actual Destination:

Distance: 0.6 miles No GPS

Sherri climbing up Moro Rock

Description:

The walk itself is not for those who are concerned with heights. The trail immediately rises up the side of Moro Rock, ascending through a series of pathways, stairs, and cracks in the rock as you interweave between the east and west sides of the rock. I take plenty of breaks to gather in the sights, as well a bit of oxygen. On this trail, it is worth doing that since you rise up about a hundred feet per tenth of a mile to a total of 300’. Please admiring the different views of both the Kern-Kaweah Divide and the Central Valley are some of the enjoyable parts of doing this walk.

More of the Kern-Kaweah Divide

From the top, the view is incredible!. It is a mostly clear day-at least the haze has not set in with full force. There are clouds over the Kern-Kaweah, but they just add to the beauty. This is a 360 degree view, from Little Baldy and Mt Sillman in the north to Sawtooth and Castle Rocks in the south; from Alta Peak and the whole slew of Kaweah peaks in the east to Lake Kaweah in the west. Just a good view. Not as crowded as it could be. But it is time to get off the Rock and on to the next hike.

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Trail head: Crescent Meadows

Hike Info:

Type: HikingTrail:

Destination: Eagle’s View

Actual Destination: Eagle’s View and Tharp’s Log

Distance: 2.64 miles ¹

Elevation Rise: 660'

Descent: 660‘

Maximum Elevation: 6,913'

GPS Tracks-From Google Earth rather than GPS

Group at Eagle's View

¹From Google Earth-did not turn on GPS.

Description:

I should have thought and turned on my GPS, knowing this would be a two mile round trip. Since I have taken people here before, John has asked me to lead the way. Not a problem. We circle around the south end of Crescent Meadow after admiring the High Sierra Trail sign and wondering how far should we hike today? 60 miles gets us to Mt Whitney and another 11 miles gets us down to Whitney Portal. Nobody, particularly me, are up to it. So off we go to Eagle View.

Returning from eagle's View

Eagle View is an easy walk along the High Sierra Trail, about half an hour. We climb a ridge. But before we get all the way up, we come across a family whose child has skinned a knee. Being the good former Boy Scout, I offer a band-aid. I dig to get to me First-Aid kit and find that unlike a good Boy Scout, I do not have any band-aids. But Sherri discovers a butterfly band-aid and that satisfies the wounded boy. And off we go.

We go up to the top of the ridge where John asks about where the other trails go to-Trail of the Sequoia’s and Tharp’s Log. And then we are off to Eagle’s View. This view gives an expanded view of the Kern-Kaweah Divide without the crowds Moro Rock provides. Our group enjoys it enough to have another group picture. Then John says lets go over to Tharp’s Log instead of returning back how we came.

Tharp's Log

Log Meadow

So off we go again, back to the junction and we head towards Log Meadow, only a tenth or two of a mile away. Then around the meadow we go. I should say here, as I have often said, we become inured to the beauty around us by the familiarity of seeing something so often. So it can be a real joy to having a person along who is experiencing a mountain trail, a Sequoia Gigantea, a mountain meadow, and a granite dome for the first time. So wonderful to have Patty’s fresh eyes on scenes which I have become accustomed to!

After we reach the end of Log Meadow, we come to Tharp’s Log. Pretty much like we have seen it before. We all are getting a bit hungry, so we do not stop very long here. From this point back to the parking lot, the path is paved. When we get back to the cars, we take off to Lodgepole for a bite to eat.

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Trail head: Lodgepole Campground

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail: Tokopah Falls Trail

Destination: Tokopah Falls

Distance: 4.27 miles

Start Time: 2:43

End Time: 5:12

Travel Time: 2:29 (1.72 mph)

Moving Time: 2:04 (2.07 mph)

Elevation Rise: 726'

Descent: 562‘

Maximum Elevation: 7,319'

GPS Tracks

Description:

After eating at Lodgepole, we pack into the cars for a short drive into the campground. This getting in and out of the cars has been a bit wearing. Sherri and Lee decide to stay with the vehicles and take a nap for this hike.The rest of us take off for the 2+ miles to Tokopah Falls.

Tokopah Falls

The trail starts inside of the Lodgepole Campground, just across the bridge over the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River. It is flowing pretty good. The trail goes up the north side of the River and climbs pretty steadily. It is a busy trail, but not as busy as it will be later on in the summer. We go through a lodgepole pine forest where a combination of grasses, berries and trees grow among the granite. I am towards the last. Not really tired-the legs, not the lungs for a change, are the most affected. Still I am hiking well. Patty and Catherine are before me. We catch glimpses of John, Cathey and Oz in front of us.

Tokopah Falls

At one point I stop and talk with a couple which I found out are naturalists for the Sequoia Conservancy. They are on their day off exploring. We trade information for about five minutes and then are off. By now the rest of the group is waiting for me.

Tokopah Falls

So off we go again and in about ¾ of a mile we get to Tokopah Falls. I think it is running fuller than I have seen it before. This can be a really beautiful set of falls going from the top to the bottom. All of us want our pictures taken here.

Time to go back and I draw the rear guard station-or more diplomatically called the Sweep. Coming in last means that I get to take lots of pictures of what every comes into my eyesight. Which very often I do not do justice to them.

I catch up to John eventually and we talk on the way down. John is thinking we need to hurry before it gets dark. But I say that we still have a couple of hours until it gets dark. So we continue to wander down the path in an unhurried fashion.

Marble Fork of the Kaweah River

When we get back to the cars, John announces we will stop for our final stop at the Big Stump Parking Lot. Ahhh, do we haft to? We are tired! Whine, whine, whine.

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Trail head: Big Stump Parking Lot

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail: Big Stump Meadow

Destination: Mark Twain Stump

Distance: 1.23 miles

Start Time: 6:02

End Time: 6:48

Travel Time: 0:45 (164 mph)

Moving Time: 0:39 (1.89 mph)

Elevation Rise: 326'

Descent: 290‘

Maximum Elevation: 6,436'

GPS Tracks

Description:

Big Stump Meadow

It is around 6pm, a bit late for a hike, but it is short and John is truly excited to show us the Mark Twain Stump. But we are told it is only a short ways. So all of us take off down the trail. The operative word is done. Not a lot, but this is the end of the day and we have been in and out of cars a lot. So we get down to the Meadow, we cross the Fallen Giant. log-a huge log which splintered upon impact. Then it rounds around several stumps. As we walk this area, I think of snowshoeing this a year and a half ago with Betty and Rose. What a difference a layer of snow makes in appearance.

I call this a castle stump

Then we get to the Mark Twain Stump. It is a huge stump and we all climb up the stairs and get on top of the stump with ample room to spare. You can tell from the excitement on John’s face that he really wanted to share the history of this stump, so I am glad we did it. It is a day of sharing wonders and excitement from those younger than I to those older. What at great world we live in where there is so much to share and enjoy.

After the mandatory photo-op, we have our return trip back to the cars. Nothing fancy, just a short mile and a quarter walk. On the way back to Fresno, we order pizza’s from Bear Mountain Pizza. Then back home by 8:30pm.

Trail Lesson:

Just because I am tired does not mean that we should not walk a trail to share someone else’s excitement.

Background

Pictographs vs petroglyphs: pictographs are painted on the rock, whereas petroglyphs are carved into the rock. From the Last Adventurer blog

Hospital Rock. Evidently there is many more pictographs in the area than what we saw. Michael Fuller has a web page which shows these pictographs in more detail.

Mark Twain Stump. This was a 1,350 year old tree which was felled in 1891. It took two mean thirteen days to fall the tree. The purpose? To display its slabs from its 16’ diameter trunk at New York and London museum. From the PBS site on National Parks

Flowers and Plants

Buckeye

Yucca Plant

Sequoia Gigantea

Snow Plant

Dogwood

Monday, May 28, 2018

May 28, 2018 - Delilah Lookout

Title: May 28, 2018 - Delilah Lookout
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's : Animals : Flowers and Plants

Patterson Bluffs and Rogers Ridge

Hike Info:

Type: Lookout

Description:

Our first day of the season in the lookout! Really looking forward to it. The sun, the air, the breeze, the view. Of course, we may actually peak around a bit to see if there is a smoke about.

Spanish Mountain

0600: Got up-reverting back to military time
0725: Left Fresno-a bit later than we would like.
0905: Got to Delilah and retrieved the keys and started the long climb up to the top of the lookout. Still wonderful to be here.
0918: Fence Meadow, the lookout across the Kings River from us goes into service with Sierra NF.
0927: We take the weather. Around 60 degrees with 75% humidity. Feels good. Plus a faint breeze. We can see at least 20 miles to the north and almost as far to the south. This is better than we had all of last year.
Towards the North-Patterson Bluffs, Rodger's Ridge, ...

0929: We go into service with both Sequoia and Sierra NF. We actually remembered how to us the radio!
1000: Sequoia gives us the weather and staffing. I love that I figured out where to get this information online. Easier and more accurate. Today’s dispatcher read the reports pretty well, at a speed we could follow.

Towards the East-Park Ridge and McKenzie Ridge

Kathy calls us up to make sure we are doing well. We are. She goes over the battery situation as well as a few incidentals. Since neither Park Ridge or Buck Rock have gone into service, I wonder about them? Will they be going in service? Yes. Park Ridge was delayed because the window coverings were still on. This was Mich’s first day at Buck Rock, so there was some set up she needed to do. Sure enough, later on that morning, they both go inservice. Wendy even spotted a smoke at Lake Sequoia-turns out it is a legal burn pile.

Also, we keep a bit busy logging the calls the various patrols in our area are making. Being Memorial Day, many people are leaving their campsites without putting out their campfires. It seems like hardly 20 minutes goes by without us hearing one of the patrols calling in for an incident number to cite a campsite. This goes on all day. So glad I am not one of those people today. By the way, I have a great deal of respect for these folks. They are in shape enough to climb steep hills with full firefighting gear and still be able to deal with the public.

We keep ourselves occupied looking smoke and re-familiarizing ourselves. Delilah, as well as Park Ridge, has a evaluation sheet. Most of the time, a trainer would be going through this with us. But today, we are doing a self evaluation. We do pretty good. But there are a few Needs Improvement items, such as remembering certain key points from memory or differentiating between Miramonte and Pinehurst. But most things I do pretty good at. I just need to get my speed back up.

In the afternoon, we hear of a smoke being reported. But when we understand where the fire is, it is pretty far south of our area-on BLM land

Around 1350 I realize we have not done our afternoon weather. Need to get on the stick for it. The temps have warmed up a bit, but not a lot. Feels nice. But that may change tomorrow, then it will get cold a day or two later.

I should also say that the hummingbirds are out in force. Not just one or two, but I saw at least six around the feeder. Not only that, by standing by the feed, some would stand on the rail, not more than a foot away.

Davis Fire area

Last week, we got to hike up Davis Road to the Davis fire area. It is a restricted area right now, but we got permission to do so. Interesting contrasting it from the lookout with what we saw on the ground. The area which the Davis fire was in last September, I could not tell that it had burnt from up here.

Davis Road from Delilah

Finger Rock

1600: Sierra NF does their afternoon check-in. The battery is still working! Last year, the batteries would constantly go out on the hand-held. Maybe a better year! Also Sequoia gives the afternoon fire weather.
1700: The patrols are returning back to their quarters. All in all sounded like they kept things well in-hand.
1800: We go out of service with both Sierra and Sequoia. Sort of a quiet first day-always a good thing.

Clouds up the Kings

Delilah at Sunset

Sherri and I are staying up at Delilah overnight, even though we will not be on duty tomorrow. Dinner was served and we got our own private meal with a view to die for. Kathy asked if I could take some pictures of Delilah for a newsletter, so I go off and get some sunset on Delilah shots. Interesting, but a bit dark.

Sunset over Pine Flat

Sherri and I enjoy the setting of the sun, just a bit north of Pine Flat Reservoir. Lovely view of the reds with Pine Flat shimmering. Then to top it off, the full moon comes out. The best way to end the day. Off we go to bed about 2130.

Sunrise

Tuesday morning, I woke up just before sunrise. Not one of the better ones I have seen. Still a good one with the light streaming through the mountains on the upper Kings River. Funny how with the light, I can see less towards the east, but more towards the west.

Breakfast is the normal oatmeal and stuff. We get our stuff packed to go. A little bit before 0900, I start the first scan. Jim has arrived, so we prepare to leave. After doing a handoff with Jim, we exit the tower after an enjoyable 24 hours. On the way home, we decide to go back via Elwood Road-an area we can see from Delilah. We get back home a little before noon.