Gary-Summer: April 30, 2019

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

April 30, 2019 - Williams Peak

Title: April 30, 2019 - Williams Peak
Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons : Background : Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Trail head: Hunter Valley Access Road off of Bear Valley Road

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail: Williams Peak Road

Destination: Williams Peak

Distance: 2.65 miles

Start Time: 9:31

End Time: 12:22

Travel Time: 2:50 (0.94 mph)

Moving Time: 1:47 (1.49 mph)

Elevation Rise: 736'

Descent: 778‘

Maximum Elevation: 3,205'

GPS Tracks

Description:

Let me begin this blog entry with the question, “Why would we travel seven hours to Anza-Borrego for the wild flowers, when we have such a gorgeous display in our own backyard?” Now you get the tone of this blog entry.

Hidden View of Yosemite from car

A couple of weeks ago, Lee asked me if I knew anything about a place outside of Mariposa called Williams Peak? Not personally, but it has been on my list of places I would like to go to. I then gave her the writeups which I knew about and asked if Sherri and I could tag along. Last week, she said that she and another lady, Kathy, was going to go and there was room in her car if we were interested and available. Yep we are.

On the morning of the hike, the weather prediction is a light rain. Do we postpone? Lee is a bit apprehensive about her car on a muddy road, so we decide to take the RAV4 which is on loan back from Rachel. We meet outside of Starbucks which does not have parking available. So Lee and Kathy move their cars to another parking lot and we are off.

Kathy and Sherri at the gate

We go up 9, past Madera, then turn off. We eventually wander through LeGrand and hit highway 140. Then we continue on up until I see a sign waying Bagley, so we take that short cut. It turns out that this shortcut saves a bit of time and is pretty scenic. We come out on highway 49. Now to decide which way to turn. After due consideration, we still need to go a bit more north-about five miles. We get to Bear Valley and turn onto Bear Valley Road. About a mile later, a dirt road called Hunters Valley Access Road presents itself and we travel down that a couple of miles until we find the turn out for our walk.

Dandelion Field

It is a bit windy and colder than expected. Clouds hang over us and stretch off to the high country. As we get ready, I look eastward and am able to spot El Capitan, Clouds Rest and Half Dome. Peak Finder says there are many other of my old friends around as well. But we are now ready to take off.

Now this was a surprise. Flowers are everywhere. We see fields of dandelions, with individual indian paintbrush, sunflowers, and some unidentified purple flowers. Also redbuds and azealia grew along the side of the road. A feast of flowers for the eyes.

Gary, Lee, Sherri and Kathy

And it is a good thing that these flowers were there. While the road to the peak was only about 1.3 miles, we rise up over 600’ to get there. These days, anything more than 500’ rise per mile gives me pause to catch a breath. Or as I am more inclined to do, to take pictures. Hence the flowers come in handy. Fortunately we are on the lee side of the mountain, so we do not feel the wind until almost at the top.

Steps to missing lookout

Now that we are at the top, two disappointments await us, one unexpected. First, because of the clouds creating more cover, we lost sight of Yosemite. I guess that means we will need to go up another day when it is clear. With the forecast of rain, this was expected.

Secondly, where is the lookout? In 1935 a lookout was built on top of Williams Peak. We see the steps leading to the summit, but no building. In 2014 the building was there, but deteriorating. But no sign of any structure now. There is a cargo container, which upon further examination is from CalFire.

Even with the disappointments, we enjoy a meal on top and look around. We are up there for about 45 minutes, even with the cool temperatures and wind. The view is still that good, even with the clouds obscuring the distant views.

View to north with McClure Lake

View to the south

Coming down, the flowers still greet us. But there is not as much need to stop. Even though, we do. The flowers are that enjoyable.

Remains of the Detweillier Fire

We are back to the car before 12:30, traveling back to Bear Valley the same way as this morning. But instead of taking our short cut, we go through Mariposa, hoping to catch the Upstairs Gallery-but it is closed. We had back via 49 and 41, getting to Fresno around 2:15.

I must have been more tired than I thought. Laid down and took a long nap. A good day.

So was it worth the drive for such a short hike? Yes! The flowers are exceptional. But maybe we can dig up another hike in the area to make the two hour trip seem a bit more worthwhile. Maybe around Bagby.