January 26, 2022 - Snowshoe at Badger Pass

Title: January 26, 2022 - Snowshoe at Badger Pass
Hike Info : Description

Hike Info:

Type: Snowshoeing 

Trail head: Badger Pass Ski Parking Lot

Trail:  Glacier Point Road, Dewey Point Trail

Destination: As far as time allows

Actual Destination: End of Dewey Point Meadow

Distance:  3.62 miles

Start Time:  12:40

End Time:     3:46

Travel Time:  3:05 (1.17 mph)

Moving Time:  2:09  (1.68 mph)

Elevation Rise:  350'

Descent: 350‘

Maximum Elevation: 7,388'

GPS Tracks

Groomed Glacier Point Road

Description:

This will probably be our last snowshoe before going to Hawaii next week. I got up at 7:15 and then lollygagged around, even after Sherri got up. So our 9am start time is shot and we leave our home at 10:15 with Sherri driving. We are heading north to Yosemite. If we do not find anyplace decent, we will continue on to Badger Pass where we know there will be snow.

At Wawona the snow looks patchy and not very fun. Even around Yosemite West we see spots which are bare, so I guess we are going up to Badger Pass. But with a quick stop at the Chinquapin portables. By the time we get up to Badger Pass it is 12:15. We decided to have lunch before taking off. It is closer to 12:45 when our snowshoes hit the snow.

We do not have a set plan, but the first thing to do is walk down the

Sherri Navigating a downslope

Glacier Point Road. It is a groomed trail for cross-country skiers with side areas for walkers and snowshoers. It goes all the way to Glacier Point, about eleven miles away. There is no way we can make it that far. Another couple starts off a few minutes before us. We then observe them setting aside one of their pairs of snowshoes. Wondering why.

But that wondering is short lived, when we get to the top of the grade, there is a trail to Dewey Point rated as a black diamond ski trail. We are contemplating walking up that like we enjoyed last year.. About the time we decided that we were not that ambitious, the couple came back down. They explain that a strap broke. We got into a bit of a discussion about different places to hike and snowshoe. Enjoyable. They are from San Jose but are staying at the Redwoods in Wawona. After fifteen minutes, his wife is ready to go back to the car, so the discussion ends.

Path through Dewey Point Meadow

We decided not to go down this trail. Instead we go down to Summit Meadow. There is an outhouse there which we take advantage of. A short few steps we need to make a decision: to go on a loop over to the Old Glacier Point Road and back to the parking lot, continue to go down the road or to take the easier Dewey Point Trail. But before we do, we spot a snowmobile coming towards us. This is unusual since snowmobiles are not allowed in most cases. So I hypothesis that the lady on the back has had some sort of an incident making her return not feasible. We watch them go by.

Gary taking a breather

By this time a lone cross-country skier comes by. We discuss the snowmobile. Then just about things in general. He leaves and a woman comes on snowshoes from the direction of the Old Glacier Point Road. We talked a bit and discover she is from Santa Cruz and it was her first time snowshoeing. Kudos to her. We also talk about what each way holds in store for her. She decides to continue on down the Glacier Point Road.

 

Frozen area

 

 

 

We decided to head towards Dewey Point, even though we know we have no chance of making even the majority of the way there. It has been decades since we have been down this trail, so we just want to refresh our memories of it. Just a couple of minutes down the trail, a couple of cross-country skiers are coming back. They reported it was a beautiful trip-it is a beautiful day. We chat for a couple of minutes and they move on and so do we.

Sherri and Gary

 

The trail is hard packed, but not slippery. Also, the trail is a very gentle grade descending into a meadow I had not realized was there: Dewey Point Meadow. There are several paths through the meadow. When we reach the northern end of the meadow, it is a little after 2:30. This is my turn around time. We take a picture of an iced over creek and turn around.

Return trip

The trail back is pretty much a reverse of the way we came. For some reason, even though we are ascending, we are going at a pretty good rate. When we get to Summit Meadow, we take advantage of the facilities. Then it is time to scoot on up over the hump before the long downhill to the car. To me, this always feels like it goes on forever. Still I would rather be going down than up. The last little big Sherri and I discuss why we cannot see this turn in the Summer? It is not for the lack of looking.

We got back to the car at 3:45. By the time we put away everything, it is after 4. Now for the two hour drive home. We have told Steven to surprise us with dinner. He got us pizza. Just what my body needed.

January 23, 2022 – Eureka: Going back to Fresno

 

Title: January 23, 2022 – Eureka: Going back to Fresno

Hike Info : Description 

Hike Info:

Type: Car
Trail head: Eureka
Destination: Fresno
Car Mileage:  456 Miles

Description:

I got up a bit after 7:30. A long time in bed for me. When I got up, Kevin and David were talking about our Hawaii trip in ten days. Alaska Airlines has changed our flight to be routed through Seattle and Anchorage rather than directly to Kona. So we spend the morning looking for alternatives. We settle on a non-stop from San Jose to Honolulu and a connecting flight to Kona. This takes up most of the morning.

Gary and his sandwich

By the time we finish up, Andrea and Lawrence arrive. We talk for about an hour. Then spend the next half of an hour saying goodbye. We are going back to Fresno. We left at 12:30. Sherri is driving and I spend the time typing up my notes on the trip. Andrea recommended a Planet Money segment on returning items, so we listen to it. This goes on until just short of Ukiah when we switch drivers in a parking lot.

The question comes up, should we have stayed longer? The consensus is if we are going to drive up here, we really should stay a bit longer. Of course that will depend on our hosts tolerance for us. There is the possibility of picking up a flight from Fresno to Eureka/Arcata. We will need to check that out.

We stop at the Ukiah Costco filling up with gas and emptying our bladder. Then on wards. But only for an hour or so. We stop in Healdsburg for dinner. We try a place called JourneyMan Meat Company, which is a meat shop. They have pizzas, burgers and sandwiches. We get the Special of the Day sandwich-a spicy sausage and egg combination. Very good place and friendly people.

On ward we go. An hour later we cross over the Richmond Bridge. We got slowed down in the maze of interchanges in Berkeley/Oakland. But after stop and go for 20 minutes, we pass through the maze and go onward on 580, passing over Altamont Pass, through Tracy and using 120 to get to 99. We get to the Turlock Costco to full up before continuing on to Fresno. We get in at 9:30, tired but glad to be home.

January 22, 2022 – Eureka: Headwaters

 

Title: January 22, 2022 – Eureka: Headwaters
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's : Animals : Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking
Trail: Headwaters/Elk RiverTrail
Trail head:Headwaters Parking Lot

 Destination: As far as we want to go.
Actual Destination:
Distance: 6.69  miles ' ¹
Start Time: 10:44
End Time:     3:26
Travel Time:  4:26 (1.51 mph)
Moving Time:  3:26 (1.95 mph)

Elevation Rise:  938'
Maximum Elevation: 924 

GPS Tracks
 ¹There probably is a third of a mile more. My GPS tracks did not start until at least the first time we went down to the Elk River. Also the readings on my GPS said in the upper 9 miles; other phones were saying about 10 miles traveled. These readings seem a bit out of range.

Description:

Ferns catching the morning light

I got up around 7:30 and read for a bit. My breakfast was granola. When Sherri got, she also ate granola. Andrea and Lawrence joined us around 9:30 and we left to go to a place called the Headwaters of the Elk River. David has found out about this trail on BLM land since he returned to Eureka. He took Andrea and Lawrence there last weekend and I think Andrea is excited to show us this trail today.

Before we leave, Kevin, David’s friend, joins us. The first part of the trail is paved. But we quickly turn off onto a side path. Salmon use the Elk River to spawn in and that is a major draw to this trail. On the first little overlook yields a live salmon facing upstream. There is also a distinct smell: a dead salmon also lays on the far bank. This shows us a bit about the life of salmon: spawn, give life to your spawn, go out to the sea, come back in a couple of years, spawn and die. You wonder, do they ever wonder is this all there is?

Finding a spot to view salmon

We continue on. Both David and Kevin are eagle eye looking for salmon-dead or alive, with Lawrence being the junior member. I just tag along, looking at what they observe, trying in vain to find a salmon they have not spotted already. Andrea and Sherri also converse and look.

Even if this trail did not have the presence of salmon, it would be a great walk. Unlike our forests in the Sierra, this is much more vibrancy. It is much more than trees, bush and a few small plants. There is moss hanging everywhere, berry vines fight for every conceivable spot where sunlight hits, and water drops from overhead throughout the day.

Dead salmon

As we walk along the paved portion of the trail, we see a sign saying this used to be the town of Falk. An old picture shows the town right where we are standing. Not a building is visible. (It is said that a ghost inhabits the area.) But in the picture the whole area had been denuded of plant life and only buildings, saws and dirt are visible. I wonder about a lot of things as we walk along. How permanent are we? If we can no longer see any vestige of human activity here after 120 years, will the earth remember us a hundred thousand years from now, just a fraction of a percentage in the time this planet has been around? O Lord, you have created us and this planet. Help me not to think bigger of myself than what I am in your eyes.

Kevin admiring the forest

I am also amazed at the recovery of the area. To my untrained eyes, the growth is fully grown back. Has the forest repaired itself back to how it was 120 years ago? Or are we missing other life? Or did it allow other growth in, eliminating old life, no longer a balance? And maybe the $24 question, how much can you devastate an area and have it recover? Things to ponder with the old growth questions and controversy.

Kevin turns back at Falk. After Falk, the paved trail ends and the trail turns more single track. A marker says we went a mile, but all of our electronic devices have in the upper 2 or lower 3 mile readings. I do not think we wandered that much. What strange vortex caused this to happen?

Sometimes we are able to walk side by side, or times single file. I continually have my head on a swivel, looking first at the river for salmon, then up in the trees at the moss or peering into the brush for things of interest. This part of the trail is a bit more exposed to the sun. Feels really good being in the sun without losing the vibrancy.

After the two mile bridge, we begin to look for a place in the sun to eat lunch. About a quarter mile further, we find a wide spot in the sun and we plop down, eat and rest. The question is: do we continue on or return? We feel good so we go on. David and I talk as we walk. We both feel fortunate on how our life has worked out. It is good to converse.

Sherri, David. Andrea, and Lawrence

When we come to the three mile bridge, we decide this is a good place to turn back. There is something about moving water which causes us to linger, converse in low tones and enjoy each other and the surroundings. On the return trip, Andrea and I fall in and talk about a variety of things: her progress in finding a livable location and the relationship between workers, management and a company. Just a good walk and talk time.

We make it back to the car around 3:30 and I drive the 20 minutes back to David’s house. Lawrence, and Andrea, go back to there place to make schchi soup-a Russian concoction. David prepares pork chops for tonight dinner. And I? Well I lay down and read for awhile. Before dinner, David shows some of his videos from snorkeling in Hawaii last December. On this TV, everything seems like you are there, up close to the life on the ocean floor.

Andrea and Lawrence come back a little after 7 and we settle down to eat and then talk for an extended length of time. By about 10pm, I am ready for bed.

Extra Photo's

Moss and light

David catching a water bottle

Lawrence, Andrea, and Gary

Animals

Spider Web

 
Flowers and Plants

January 21, 2022 – Eureka: Big Lagoon and Sequoia Park

 

 Title: January 21, 2022 – Eureka: Big Lagoon and Sequoia Park

 Description :  Background : Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Description:

I slept long-finally got up a little before 8am. David and I went for a walk around his neighborhood. While my two mile walk in Fresno has only a slight rise, his dips down into a ravine, then climbs up the other side. This old man was huffing and puffing by the time we reached the top. It was another ¾ of a mile walk back to his house. By this time, Sherri was up. David fixed us French toast in-I consumed a hearty amount.

David "Harvesting"^*.MONSTER agates

After getting cleaned up, we set out for a bit of beach walking. David has a county park he likes to go to called Big Lagoon. It has a $3 entrance fee for seniors-at times, it is good to be old. We park and then walk north on the beach for a ways. Seems like it is more of a stroll, but a bit more challenging. The sand is pretty loose. It seems like it is a real effort to walk on the sand and gravel. David occupied himself with looking for agates. He found several; I only found what he called sugar stones-non-clear clear pepples. We stopped at a log between the ocean and Big Lagoon and had lunch. I sat and did a cat nap after lunch. There are ducks and a couple kayaks on the lagoon. The beach is pleasant enough, but the ocean looked like if it caught a person, it would chew them up and probably not spit them out. It was both very silty as well as rough.

We walked back to the car. Then David drove to Costco to pick up some supplies. I go in with him. When we get back to his house, I take an hour nap before being woken up to go for another walk at Sequoia Park.

Andrea got out of her substitute teacher job about 3:15. Her school is close to Sequoia Park. We drove there-she was waiting for us. Andrea

led us along several trails. Lawrence met up with us about ten minutes into our walk. We walked down to the duck pond. Then Andrea led us further to the west and around that end of the park, back up the street and then back down to the duck pond. We figured out that the signage was due to a Frisbee golf tournament on Saturday. Then we came back next to the zoo, before heading to the parking lot.

 

 

David left to get dinner ready and Andrea left to pick up her car. This left Lawrence to chauffeur Sherri and I. He took us to their AirBnB where we talked for a time, until dinner was ready at David’s. David made us a BBQ teriyaki chicken. Good stuff. We talked for awhile until Andrea and Lawrence left. We then went to bed.

Background

Agates. common semiprecious silica mineral, a variety of chalcedony that occurs in bands of varying colour and transparency. Agate is essentially quartz, and its physical properties are in general those of that mineral. From the Britannica web site

^*David prefered the term "Harvesting" of the agates rather than the original term of beachcombing.


Extra Photo's

 
Flowers and Plants

January 20, 2022 – Fresno to Eureka

 Title: January 20, 2022 – Fresno to Eureka

 Hike Info : Description 

Trail head: Fresno

Hike Info:

Type: Car

Car Mileage: 462 Miles

Description:

After yesterday’s snow shoe trip, we knew we would not get an early start. So our 11:40am start was predictable. I packed with the mindset of it being somewhat of a rehearsal for our Hawaii trip in a couple of weeks. The benefit was that we did not have to pack a lot into the car. I took only a backpack of clothing and toiletries, a day pack for our hikes, and a copy of the gospel of John.

We left Fresno with me driving. Traffic was only moderate. We stopped for a bathroom break at a rest stop in Turlock. Then filled up with gas. We continued on up Highway 99 until Manteca. Sherri has a book she wants us to listen to: The Language of God by Francis Collins. Then cut over on Highway 120 to Tracy. Then took 580 over Altamont Pass into Pleasanton. From there we headed north on Highway 680. I got a bit concerned as I was a bit confused about which bridge to head to get to 101. Sherri guided me onto Highway 24 into Oakland, then up 80 over the Richmond Bridge. I expect we will have a $7 toll charge someplace. We hit 101 and then continued on north until Ukiah.

In Ukiah, we topped off our gas tank at Costco. Sherri had phone ahead to a pizza place called Isi’s for a meat lover type pizza. We ate in the parking lot. It was pretty good. By this time it was 5pm and time to head on up to Eureka. We just followed 101 up. Being dark by now, not too scenic. For our listening pleasure, we have switched over to music.

We arrive in Eureka at David’s place at 8pm. We quickly unpack. Then talk with David for an hour or so. David is ready to crash and so are we.

Title: January 19, 2022 - Snowshoeing Princess Campground, Indian Basin Grove Trail
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's

Hike Info:

Type: Snowshoeing

Trail head: Princess Campground

Trail: Indian Basin Grove Trail

Destination: Loop

Distance:  2.23 miles

Start Time: 11:12

End Time:    2:48

Travel Time:  3:35 (0.62 mph)

Moving Time:  2:09  (1.04 mph)

Elevation Rise:  351'

Descent: 324‘

Maximum Elevation: 5,959'

GPS Tracks

Description:

Today we will be going snowshoeing with Betty, Rose, and Carol. It has been a long time since we have been outdoors with them. Carol is a new addition to our group. I think that there will be a lot of good compatibility. The plan is to go up to Indian Basin again. Both Rose and Betty will be driving. So at 9:00am, actually a little later, we leave to pick up Carol on the way out. We meet Betty and Carol at Bear Mountain Pizza’s parking area. It is a good reunion and introduction.

One of many stumps

Then we continue on into Grant Gove, stopping at Big Stump for its amenities. I get asked about going down into Big Stump. It is his first time in the area and he wants to see Giant Sequoias.I describe what I think he will find down in the Meadow, including snow and it's condition. I recommend them coming back to Big Stump in the Spring or Summer. Also that the General Grant Tree is very accessible right now and they will be able to get close to it.

We continue down the road about twenty minutes or so to the entrance to Princess Campground where there is a wide turnout. Here we unload and buckle on our snowshoes. Betty is ready to go and helps Carol-her first time on snowshoes. When I get ready, the three of us start walking, with me playing the “know-it-all” guide, explaining to Carol the walking on snow with snowshoe technique-not that there is much. Sherri and Rose come along a little bit later.

Sherri, Betty, Carol

The snow is pretty crusty and packed. There is a path well walked on until we head off from the road to Princess Campground. We take the fork to the Indian Basin Grove Trailhead. It is a couple hundred yards to the trailhead, and an open outhouse, which we take advantage of.

From there, we start going clockwise around the Indian Basin Trail. The route is much the same as when Sherri, Steven and I did it in December. Instead of Steven breaking snow, I am. But it is not very tough. The snow is older and I am not sinking very far down. Also while there is not the drop-dead gorgeous type of views of many other trails, there is enough beauty around that we can stop frequently and gaze. Also our stops include reading interpretive signs. There is admiration of how the Meadow stretches from the road all the way around us and far up towards Park Ridge.

 

 

A part which we did not do in December goes further south around a rock outcropping. There is a bit of ying and yang here. We get to admire the Meadow even more. But we come up against a place where it would not be very fun to continue on, so we retreat around the rocky area. Here we stop on some bare rock and have a snack break. When we look at one of the rocks, there are some grinding holes

 

After our break, we go about 150 yards and find a snow sculpture. We take various guesses about what they were trying to make and eventually decide it was a moose. Looks pretty good once we identify what it is. Another reason to stand around and gaze, much to my pleasure.

Moose Ice Sculpture

The afternoon is still early and I ask if they are up to continuing on to parts unknown? Being more intrepid than I am, they all say yes. Last time, we found a gate. This time, I thought we could go up the road a ways. But the bottom of the gate is frozen in place, so this plan did not get implemented. So we went back up like we did last month and found the trail again.

There were not any sightings of any animals. But there were many tracks. Some rabbits, some deer and maybe a cat. Rose and Carol bonded over discussing what was what and what the animal may have been doing. That is why I thought there would be compatibility.

And now we come back around to the trailhead. We take lunch break before taking the last third of a mile back to the cars. It still is early enough that none of us make plans to eat together, but late enough that we do not want to linger. So after saying our goodbyes, we head out. My car makes a brief stop at the Visitor Center. I ask about how far down the General’s Highway is it open to-Quail Flat and the Kings Canyon Overlook. Sounds promising for a future expedition. We get home, at dropping off Carol, in time to have dinner with Steven.

Extra Photo's

Carol on snowshoes

Betty, Rose, Sherri, Carol, Gary

Upper end of Indian Basin Meadow

Lunch Spot-Rose, Carol, Betty, and Gary

Moose Sculpture-Sherri, Rose, Carol, Betty

Broken Trees