Hike Info:
Type:
Hiking
Trail:
Kreyenhagen Peak Trail
Destination:
Kreyenhagen Peak
Distance:
4.78
miles
Start
Time: 9:36
End
Time: 2:14
Travel
Time: 4:38 (1.03
mph)
Moving
Time: 3:30
(1.37
mph)
Elevation
Rise: 1,702'
Descent: 1,403‘
Maximum
Elevation: 3,552'
Description:
I am a bit anxious about this
hike. I know how much up there is and am concerned about losing any
strength as we climb. I have not done anything this hard in about
nine months. But there is only one way to find out.
 |
| Yucca plant, looking west |
The Meetup group starts from
Fresno at 7:00am. Our friends, John and Cathey are the organizers who
put this hike together. We leave the parking lot. I am driving by
myself because I will continue on afterwards to Mountain View. After
leaving Fresno, the fog closes in on the road so it was easy to lose
track of the car in front of me, except for the red taillights. But
we get to Coalinga safely where its is bright, sunny and cold.
Starbucks
is waiting for those inclined, then onward to the Coalinga-Mineral
Springs,
about half an hour away.
The trailhead is in a county
park, but the peak and most of the trail is on BLM land. So there is
less trail restrictions than on National Forest or Nation Park land.
Which is a good thing today. There are about 36 people who are on
this hike.
 |
| Kreyenhagen Peak |
Around 9:30, John herds us
into a group for a picture and last minute instructions. And then we
are off. I am towards the back of the pack. Dan and I talk for a
little ways. Then I talk with Sam, Dan’s daughter. This helps out
with the first third of a mile. But I can feel this will be a trail I
will be stopping a lot on.
Evidently I am not alone. The
trail has a good amount of uphill, but what makes it a bit tricky is
that will the trail does goes up, it keeps the contour of the
hillside-rather than being cut into the hill. So your foot is always
at two angles-the upward way you are going and the downward slope of
the trail at a right angle to the trail. Evidently this was too much
for several people who decided that the trail and the accompanying
vertigo was a bit too much for them. Also the stress caused by this
conflicting angles caused another couple to develop enough aches
where they felt it was enough for a day.
 |
| Looking into the Coalinga-Mineral Springs County Park |
All of this gave me
opportunity to rest some and keep going. But having about a mile more
to go up, it is just John and I bringing up the rear. Somehow my
boots feel like they have weights in them-maybe because I have had
these on once in the last seven months? Just guessing. But we make it
up step by step. As we approach the final ridgeline,, we pick up Lee
as well. Now the rest of the people have started down and we get all
the usually cries of “Just a little further” and “You are
almost there” and “The rest is easy”. I know that to some
people, “Just a little farther” is true, but at the state I was
in, Kreyenhagen
Peak,
looked like it was still a hundred or more feet of climbing.
Sometimes it is good to be on receiving end of these remarks. Maybe I
can come up with something which is a bit more comforting to a tired
person.
 |
| Kreyenhagen Peak |
But the top is not really that
far, so we do not give up. We make it to the top, to find Umberto and
Cathey still up there. Umberto leaves after about five minutes. John
and I rest for a little while, with Cathey waits for us.
While today was mostly a clear
day, to the east was the fog and cloud layer which obstructed a good
view of the Sierra’s. We are almost straight east of Three Rivers
and we should be able to see some of them. To the west is a good
view, but I am not familiar with their names. Glad I was able to make
it up there.
But it past noon and we need
to start making it down the peak. It is easier going down, but much
more tricky. There is a fall or two on the way down-not by me and
nothing very serious. Just more as a warning to be careful. While it
is easier walking down, we are taking almost as long going down. Each
time I glance to where the truck is, it seems a long ways off. But
down we go some more.
By the time we reach the
parking area, it is a little past 2:00pm and there are only two
vehicles left. I say my goodbyes and start my three hour trip to
Mountain View. The drive along highway 198 is pleasant, but
definitely not made for speed. After reaching highway 101 and
traveling a little ways north, I stop at a Carl’s Jr for a
lunch/dinner. I had not eaten on top of Kreyenhagen Peak for lunch.
So it was good that I stopped here. By the time I reach my parent’s
house, it was about 6:30pm. I was tired and ready to shower-that felt
good. A good thing about having a brother, is that we can talk. And
that is what we did until almost 10:00pm. I could not keep my end of
the conversation going. It was a good day and glad to see that I
could hike, even if it was a bit slow.
 |
| West Looking |
 |
| East Looking, including the Sierra's |
Flowers and Plants
Type:
Hiking
We have a minor debate about
the closed gate, but decide there is no sign so we climb over the
gate and are on our way. Our route is a road which is used by various
ranches to access their land. We are about seven miles away from the
Dowdy
Ranch Visitor Center-no
way are we making it that far. The first eighth of a mile has a
slight slope. Picturesque trees line the road and we do pretty good.
