September 27, 2022 - Princess Campground and the North Boundary Loop

 

Title: September 27, 2022 - Princess Campground and the North Boundary Loop
Hike Info : Description :  Extra Photo's : Animals : Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking 

Trail head: Grant Grove Parking Lot

Trail: North Boundary Loop Trail

Destination: Loop ¹

 ¹I did not turn on my GPS. I discovered this a good way through our walk. Sometimes it is good to be free of that burden.

Description:

I woke up at daybreak this morning. Sherri is just returning from a trip to the little girl’s room. And I go off to make my own trip. Then I go and observe the meadow in the morning. Having seen yesterday’s meadow picture, you can understand how radiant it can be when the new sun shines through it.

Gary after retrieving backpack

Today is the last day of our trip. It is always a bitter-sweat time, no matter how long or short the trip is. There are regrets in leaving a place which I enjoy; doing stuff I like doing. But there is also the call of home, with its comforts and showers and routines well known which I find contentment in. In this case, it is the continued work of tearing out the front lawn and putting a front which is more water efficient.

As we get ready to leave, we have already talked about returning and other trips. But will we make that effort? I hope so. Our last breakfast is oatmeal. By 10:20, we have broken camp and are heading towards Grant Grove.

The General Grant Tree Parking Lot is a short distance away, so we have our boots on the ground by 10:50 and walk the North Boundary Trail Loop. About a hundred yards onto the trail I realized something-I forgot my pack. So I go back while Sherri continues up the trail. Later on I discovered I did not turn on the GPS either. I guess it will be one of those days.

Sherri among the Sequoia

We take the less traveled way to begin our trek. There is a small, unnamed creek which goes east from the parking lot. We follow that for a short way, then cut over to the General Grant Tree. Beyond the General Grant Tree is the Gamblin Cabin and there is the short connector trail to the North Boundary Loop.

We go counter-clockwise and meet the first obstacle: a fallen tree across our path. But it has a slight break which allows us through it. We see parts of the upper pieces of the Grant Tree. But what amazes us even more is about a 30’ section of trail just littered with Sequoia cones. We have seen many Sequoia cones, but never so many in one place and so green, like they just dropped.

Beginning of Autumn

The day is warming up and I can tell I am not moving very fast, but neither is Sherri. Guess that makes us a good pair for this hike. We get to the junction which goes to the horse corral and then head more northwest to the edge of the Park. This climbs a ridge which overlooks Abbott Creek. By this time, it is noon and I use the excuse of waiting for Sherri to stop and rest for about 20 minutes, looking up at the clouds passing overhead. Poor Sherri only gets 17 minutes.

 

 

 

 

Matchstick Tree

This ridge is the edge of where the Rough Fire back in 2015 burnt to. It is a good example of why prescribed burns are so effective. This section was burnt a couple of years before the Rough Fire. When that intense fire came, there was a lot less fuel to burn and it just stopped, unlike the western end of the grove where large trees were burnt to matchsticks. .

Then coming down the ridge, we descend into a sea of green brush-where the land is recovering from the fire. In the midst of green, there are a few flames of red showing that Fall is right around the corner.

There is one more ridge to climb. And when we reach the top of this ridge, we keep with tradition: we have our lunch break. From our vantage point, we can look down onto the paved trail which goes to the General Grant Tree. So we know our path is coming close to an end. We, or maybe it is I, who decide, let's not do the North Grove loop. We do complete the North Boundary Loop, going through the Grove, back to our car.

By this time, it is 2:30 when we get the car going. We reach our home in Fresno around 3:40 and unpack. I am tired, but good. A shower always feels good after a trip like this. When Steven gets off of work, we send him out to the Doghouse Grill for dinner.

Extra Photo's

Early Morning at Indian Basin

Unknown Sequoia

Gary chugging up the trail

Looking up at the young trees touching the clouds

Brush growing up after Rough Fire

Delilah Lookout

Animals

 
Flowers and Plants

September 26, 2022 - Princess Campground and Park Ridge

 Title: September 26, 2022 - Princess Campground and Park Ridge

   Hike Info : Description : Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail head: Panoramic Point Parking area

Trail: Park Ridge, Pak Ridge Service Road

Destination:  Park Ridge Lookout

Distance: 6.10 miles ¹

Start Time:  10:55

End Time:     4:12

Travel Time:  5:16   (1.16 mph)

Moving Time: 3:11   (1.92 mph)

Elevation Rise:  981'

Descent: 958‘

Maximum Elevation: 7,740'

GPS Tracks

 ¹In the past, this hike has been around 5.75 miles. Maybe that can explain how tired I felt at the end of it.

Description:

The bathroom is not as convenient when one is camping as at home. I woke up around 4am with my human needs. It was a bit difficult getting back to sleep, but I did. I got fully awake to the sky being lighten up by the sun, just starting to brighten the eastern sky, around 6:30.

I read for a little bit, then went for a short walk, less than a mile. The early morning light on the meadows was glorious. Then did the shorter loop around the interpretive trail. The rest of the morning until Sherri got up at 8, I spent in the hammock, reading and resting. Then there are left over pancakes. Not too bad, actually. There are clouds in the sky, which look like a possibili;ty of rain, so I throw the rain fly over the tent.

Hume Lake from Panoramic Point

By 10:15 we leave camp, heading to Panoramic Point. We get to the Point’s parking area and start out by 10:55. It is a short walk up to Panoramic Point, a bit of an uphill. But in recent years, they have made a lower viewing area and the incline has been made accessible to more people. It is a clear and beautiful day. So clear, we can see the ripples on Hume Lake from a slight breeze blowing across it.

We could stay here for a good long time, but admiring the sight and identifying places where we have been. But that would not get us on our hike. As we start walking the trail, I realize how out of shape I am. This trail used to be a “let’s go on a hike this afternoon. Where to? Someplace short, like the Park Ridge trail.” Today my legs are telling me I will be forcing them to complete the hike.

We know this trail pretty well and I am looking forward to the overlook so that we can stop and look around-and rest my legs. Sherri is wondering if that is smoke. I replay, naw, just clouds, as if she could not tell what a cloud looks like. And then I see what she is seeing. Smoke is drifting up from the direction of Hume Lake. But is was so clear a few minutes ago. How could this be. I try phoning Buck Rock, but the line was busy. Then I talked with Nancy at Park Ridge Lookout. She has not heard of anything going on down in the Hume direction. But there is the Caldwell Prescribed Burn to the south west of the lookout. It does not seem like this is the smoke we are seeing-wrong direction.

We start off again, with where is this smoke coming from and how is it affecting our camp? Of course, there are also the threatening clouds to wonder about. Who says hiking is care free?

Buck Rock Lookout from Park Ridge

But after taking a few steps, we found a hiker resting by the trail. He looks vaguely familiar. Have I met him before? And then he introduces himself to us. Wes hikes with the Central Valley HIking Group and we have walked with him a few times with John and Cathey. We talked for about ten minutes. He has been to the lookout and is now coming back. But right now, he is doing some bird-watching, something I have not been able to really do seriously. Actually, any nature thing I have a tendency to identify and forget and have to relearn.

And then it is onward to the lookout. By the time we reach the saddle where the trail briefly intersects the service road, I can feel my tiredness. We also smell and see more smoke. But now I can reach Buck Rock Lookout. She says the smoke comes from the Caldwell Prescribed Burn near Shadequarter Mountain. The smoke is going into the mountains to the south of her and wrapping around her ridge and then coming up out of Hume Lake. Wow! I did not think this was probable. But Buck Rock has an excellent view of this.

We decided to take the service road into Park Ridge Lookout. When we arrive, Sherri breaks out the food and I talk to Nancy in the lookout. She had heard a report from Hume Lake and Buck Rock responded. So she knows where the smoke I was talking about is coming from. I go down and join Sherri for our lunch.

Park Ridge Lookout

Apparently Sherri and I were the advanced wave of visitors to the lookout! After lunch, we go back up and talk with Nancy for a few minutes. We really do not know her, but she seems like someone whom it would be fun to know. One set of visitors came in, then another. I back away from one set, after all I am already pretty familiar with lookout life. But then I get involved with explaining to another group. From that point on, I ended up in “tour guide” mode.

After everybody has left, we say our goodbyes to Nancy,we start off down the road. We decided to take the service road all the way back. After about a mile, a couple of the visitors from Indiana catch up and passes us. This was not totally unexpected as they seemed to be moving pretty well coming in. The issue with taking the service road on a day like today, is that even though there are clouds, the road goes along the west side of Park Ridge, So the sun beats down on us in the afternoon. But we have a good view down into Wilsonia and Grant Grove. We get back to the car by 4:15

It is a half an hour drive back to camp and I am ready for some hammock time. I read and took a short nap. Then Sherri makes a tuna casserole for dinner. We talked for a while and read some more. The smoke we saw from Park Ridge never showed up at Princess. And those clouds dissipated and we are left with a clear night with no rainfall. I am asleep by 9:30.

Flowers and Plants

September 25, 2022 - Princess Campground and Big Stump

 

Title: September 25, 2022 - Princess Campground and Big Stump
Hike Info : Description :  Extra Photo's

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking 

Trail head: Princess Campground

Trail: Indian Basin Interpretive Trail

Destination: Loop

Distance:  1.0 miles ¹

Type: Hiking 

Trail head: Big Stump Parking Area

Trail: Big Stump

Destination:  Loop

Distance: 1.52 miles ²

Start Time:  2:10

End Time:    3:19

Travel Time:  1:08 (1.34 mph)

Moving Time:  0:56  (1.63 mph)

Elevation Rise:  503'

Descent: 203‘

Maximum Elevation: 6,381'

GPS Tracks

 ¹No GPS track. Just an estimate 

 ²The GPS got turned on about an eighth of a mile along the trail after descending a ways. So the proper distance is about 1.67 miles

Description:

Gary getting ready for breakfast

It is our 46th anniversary! What better way to spend it but by doing something which both Sherri and love-camping! Well maybe backpacking might top it.

Last night was cold. Sherri was up a lot last night-I only got up once to relieve myself. But my mattress had deflated. I got up at 7:30 while Sherri got up at 8:15. I read and had my quiet time. It is pancakes for breakfast. We discovered that the eggs were left behind. That may put a damper on french toast tomorrow. But the mix can be used without eggs, just a bit more satisfying. I mixed up the batter and discovered I had put too much, way too much, mixture in. We will be substituting pancakes for bread at lunch and probably have enough for breakfast tomorrow. It could be worse.

 

 

Clouds rising above a ridge

In August we took John and Cathey on the Indian Basin Interpretive Trail by the campground-we have also snowshoed this a couple of times as well. We did this walk just to get our legs stretched out and to enjoy the morning without much of a strain on us. We heard a couple of gunshots to the northeast of us-we are on Forest Service land and deer hunting season started this weekend. While we feel pretty safe here, the pop’s can be a bit disconcerting.

As mentioned, Sherri was up last night, so our mile walk was enough for her. When we got back to camp, she was OK sitting in a camp chair, then taking a short nap in the tent. I had some hammock time. I do not have it set up right. I am missing a carabiner, so I have improvised. My butt is rubbing against the ground. We had our pancake, peanut butter and Nutella lunch. Now to decide what to do.

Gary crossing a downed Sequoia

I am not terribly energetic and Sherri is even less so. We will save doing the North Boundary trail up to Panoramic Point for another day. The Big Stump loop sounds like a good walk and just about what we need to do. We go back to the Big Stump Parking area where the Dark Sky viewing was held last night.. We grumble about a van with high school students who decide to park in a red zone next to the bathroom-you would think they would have more ability to walk a few steps than a couple who are a year from seventy.

Enough grumbling. It is a good day and we start down the trail. We notice that a new trail is being put in. Maybe next year it will be usable. We quickly get to the reason for the name of this area. We wander around, coming to Big Stump Meadow. Even get to walk across a fallen Sequoia. We come to the far end of the area and see the Mark Twain Stump. This stump is huge. I wonder what it looked like before the loggers got to it (just saw from the link, it was not the logger, but the US Army which wanted to prove how big these trees were.).

Sequoia

 

 

We cross the highway to continue on with the loop. This takes us above the area, where we can catch glimpses of the grove. Once the trail does its short rise, we more or less follow the mountain contour. It is a bit more sunny and a bit more warmer, but pleasant. We stop and sit on a pine stump to enjoy and relax a bit. A short way further, we descend to go under the highway, through a tunnel. This leads us back to the parking area.

 

 

 

 

Mark Twain Stump

Instead of just going back, we took a drive down Burton Road. I was hoping to make Little Boulder Creek and see if the trailhead is now open-it is not and will be closed at least until August 2023. But it is a long drive and when I see a sign saying 5 miles further, we decide to turn around. I had forgotten how long of a drive it was. Still this is a very pretty drive with to die for views of Kings Canyon and beyond. When we got back to Quail Flat, we returned via 10 Mile Road. This will be closed until next year starting tomorrow. We descended and drove by Hume Lake. Then onto Princess Campground.

 

Night sky-with false coloring, from Indian Basin

We got back to our site just before 5. I start off by blowing up my air mattress. After 45 minutes, it still is not firm. Sherri makes us dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and soup. Hits the spot. We wait until it gets almost dark and then take Celeste down to the Meadow. She is decent at seeing things a bit closer. While last night, we were spotting far away clusters and galaxies, tonight we are into planets and stars in general. Saturn is already up. Then Jupiter rises above a ridge in the east. We enjoy the night sky for 45 minutes before we head back to our little cloth abode.

 

 

 

 

Our 5 star room

We manage to climb into bed by 9. My mattress is already deflated. I read until 9:30 and then close my eyes for the night.

Extra Photo's

Night Sky

Did Jupiter really move that much in 20 seconds?

Gary on the Big Stump Loop

Big Stump Meadow

More of Gary walking the Big Stump Loop

September 24, 2022 - Princess Campground

 

Title: September 24, 2022 - Princess Campground
Hike Info : Description :  Background 

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking : Camping

Trail head: Big Stump Parking Lot

Trail:  Hitchcock Meadow Trail

Destination: Hitchcock Meadow 

Distance:  1.1 miles 1

Elevation Rise: 270 '

Descent: 270‘

Maximum Elevation: 6,322'

 ¹No GPS tracks. created route on Google Earth

Description:

Today, after Sherri gets done with a fitting for a pair of pants for Andrea, we will leave. I spend the morning taking care of things, making sure we have everything I need to pack, packed. When Sherri gets back, we order lunch from the Train Depot. I have a pastrami sandwich while Sherri has a chicken melt. I think Steven has a pork something. With the car packed, I take a quick shower and we are ready to leave by 2:15.

Today is a free day at the National Parks, as much as it means to us with our old people’s pass-we get in free anyway. Still it is good that people are able to come and enjoy our Nation’s parks. We have an uneventful drive, arriving at Princess Campground at 3:30. We have site 004, which looks as good as the photo on Recreation.gov showed it.

Sherri blowing up a mattress

We set up camp, which is pretty much old hat for us. It should be after 46 years camping together-correction, 45 years, 364 days. But one thing that is not old hat are the mattresses. While our MondoKing ThermaRest mattresses are very comfortable when fully blown up, they take forever to inflate. Sherri’s eventually becomes acceptable, but mine is something I will need to make due. My mattress is something which I will be ragging on more in the coming days.

We had dinner for lunch, so I have a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich while Sherri has the remains of her Train Depot chicken melt.We prepare to go to a Dark Sky event at Big Stump-should start at 9pm, but I think if this is at all an attraction, the parking lot will fill up. So we leave at 6.

 

 

 

This gets us to Big Stump by 6:30. It still is light, but will darken soon. So we went for a short hike down to Hitchcock Meadows. I did this trail for the first time last year. Not spectacular, but it is pleasant. The trail descends out of the Big Stump parking area. There are many Sequoia’s along the way which refresh us. Also in the twilight, everything looks a bit different-not ominous like a horror film, but there is a difference than during the daytime. We make it to the Meadow at 7, look it over and turn around and go back.

We get back to the parking lot about 7:40-it takes us a bit longer to come back up than go down. We get the opportunity to sit on the curb for a few minutes. Apparently there is much more of a crowd than they were expecting and the parking lot is full. The sky has turned dark by 8, so they open up the viewing.

Night Sky from Indian Basin

And the viewing is phenomenal! I have a Celestron telescope, pretty basic. But these bring far away objects right there into view with a great deal of clarity. The very first one we see is a cluster of stars called M13. Once I figure out what I am looking at, it takes my breath away. Then onward to other telescopes pointed at various objects. But maybe the highlight, no pun intended was when we looked at something a lot closer: Jupiter. Not only was Jupiter right there, but so were the four moons which Galileo saw. I think even though we are removed by 400 years, I had a similar reaction as he did when he first saw them: I have seen the most wonderful things!*

As the parking lot is crowded, we are being asked if we have looked through several telescopes, if we could leave and let others into the parking lot. So we leave and get back to camp after 8:30. After that inspiration, Sherri is all geared up for another night sky experience tomorrow night. We walk over to the Indian Basin Meadow by Princess Campground. It looks like it will fit the bill for viewing tomorrow night. By 10pm, we are snug in our new his and hers Nemo Forte sleeping bags-Sherri keeps on trying to improve our camping experience. But the one downer is that my mattress seems a bit mushy. I will deal with that in the morning.

Background

*I got this quote from Larry Parmeter. He just published a book called Andromeda’s Children. Looking forward to reading it. It is available on Larry’s web site for a free download.