Title: December 27, 2024 - Dorrington

 

Title: Title: December 27, 2024 - Dorrington, Calaveras Big Trees
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail: North Grove Campground Road, Old Moran Road, Big Trees Parkway

Trail head:Calaveras Big Trees main parking area

Destination:Loop

Distance:   3.78 miles

Start Time:1:08

End Time: 3:10

Travel Time:  2:02 (1.86 mph)

Moving Time:  1.43  (2.20 mph)

Elevation Rise:  454'

Descent:  369'

Maximum Elevation: 4,935'

GPS Tracks

Pond which Andrea went by on her morning run

Description:

I woke up about 7:15 after not falling back asleep for a while about 3:30. But I am feeling rested, well at least OK. Rachel is up with Friday-they both are reading outside, snuggled under a blanket. When David gets up, Rachel fixes us a breakfast of French toast and sausage. Then it is mostly chatting the rest of the morning.Except yesterday I had lost my car fob, so we did a search for it. Found it under the bed. Then Rachel needed to work this morning.

We read, play cards and talk while Rachel is working. We have lunch around noon. Rachel will then be joining us for an outing to Calaveras Big Trees State Park. That is the good thing about her job in that there are deadlines to be met, but how she meets them is up to her. While it is possible for six people and two dogs to fit into the Highlander, it would not be very comfortable. So David drives his car as well as us.

On our hike

We get into the Park at 12:30. But not with a little hassle. We have a Golden Senior Pass which we know the number, but could not find the actual pass. But the attendant let us in anyway. When we parked, Sherri found the pass. The first thing we did was go into the Visitor Center, of course. Andrea bought a bear hat for a friend’s child.

Next stop is the warming hut where they are serving free hot chocolate and cider. While all the rest went in, I stayed out with Friday. I fell in with Jill, a volunteer. We talked for a while about the awe which people feel when they see Sequoias for the first time. It is the same awe we see in Yosemite and SEKI. I never tire of showing the wonders of the Sierra to first timers.

Jill has told us that there is a loop on roads which are closed to traffic. We started along the road which is not closed which goes past the North Grove area. A few cars come by, but nothing which interrupts our walk.

Gary found his outhouse

We came to the gated road Jill told us about which is a fire road during the Summer and a ski trail in the winter. Of course, there is no snow, so no skiing, just walking. We rise up to a small saddle where there is a trail junction. We take a left which takes up 200’. Here we continued a conversation from Christmas eve: why am I reluctant to travel, particularly internationally. These discussions are helping me to refine my thinking. I will need to solidify my thoughts.

Andrea and the bear

When we reached the top of the hill, I spotted a garbage chute, a picnic bench, and to my surprise and amazement, there is an outhouse, Sherri does not believe me. But the others see what I see. Later we find out that this is an environmental camp. The outhouse is tried out for functionality and passes.

 

Gary in his aw shuck pose

Shortly afterwards, we came back to a paved road. Here we take a right and go up to a scenic overlook. Unlike yesterday, the clouds accented the view as they seemed to rise from the forest away. With the rain this morning, the air is clear and there are still raindrops on the manzanita leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

Rachel and Friday

Fire Road

We backtrack to a road, which I see later is the Walter W Smith Memorial Parkway. Steven, David, Andrea, Rachel and the dogs are ahead of us. Neither Sherri and I have a map with us which leaves us wondering where in the world are we going? There is another fire road which branches off of the Parkway. We noted that this too has a couple environment camps off of it.

 

 

 

But we continue on our way on the Parkway. It winds around Big Tree Creek before heading back to the parking lot. Our total trip is about four miles. We did see some residual Sequoias, but nothing like we were wandering around them. That just leaves us a reason to come back here, maybe to camp in one of the environmental camps.

Walking the parkway

Pool Wizards

We leave the parking lot and return to the cabin. Rachel goes back to work and the rest of us relax. After work,Rachel, Steve, David and I go down and play a couple rounds of pool. I have never been good at this, but today, I manage to be almost passable. All in all we enjoy ourselves.

For dinner, it is nachos and soup. We all enjoyed the dinner and the company. Would we want to do something like this again-rent out a cabin for Christmas? Yes and maybe at other times of the year.

Extra Photo's

Andrea on her run

Clouds from the scenic overlook

Gary, Sherri, Steven, Korra, Rachel, Friday, David and Andrea

Clouds from the scenic overlook

Walking the parkway

Sign at the visitor center

Father and his Children

The Outhouse

Korra

Rachel and Friday

Trident Tree

Parkway

Can Gary really make this shot?

 
Flowers and Plants

Places: CA-Calaveras

Calaveras Big Trees State Park (Dorrington) (long, lat)

Calaveras Dome-4,354 (Calaveras Dome) (38.4876901, -120.2271379)

North Fork Calaveras River-696' (San Andreas) (38.1971409, -120.7199333)

sec. 13, T 4 N, R 11 E

South Fork Calaveras River-951' (San Andreas)(38.1943632, -120.7199333)

sec. 13, T 4 N, R 11 E

From Up and Down California by William Brewer

ENTERING THE CALVERAS GROVE OF BIG TREES
From a lithograph reproduction of a drawing by Edward Vischer published in 1862

 

Description:

Calaveras Big Trees:There is a fine stage road over the hills, abounding in rather picturesque views. The way is mostly through an open forest and there is nothing to indicate the near presence of any such vegetable wonders—one is even inclined to doubt the truth of the guideboard which proclaims “1/4 mile to the Big Trees.” One sees nothing to indicate any such thing, until crossing a little hill, one enters the valley and the grove. The first two trees, “The Sentinels,” stand one on each side of the road, like two faithful sentinels, truly, and huge ones they are. There are about ninety trees of this species in this grove, which is in a valley, sheltered from the winds. The prevailing trees are sugar pine, pitch pine, false cedar (called here arbor vitae,1 Douglas spruce, and silver fir—all of which grow to a large size, often over two hundred feet high and ten feet in diameter, so the “big trees” always disappoint the visitor. They do not seem as large as they really are, but on acquaintance they grow on the mind, so that in a day or two they can be appreciated in all of their gigantic proportions. I measured over a dozen and found that the measurements popularly given are about correct. I will give the circumferences at three feet  from the ground of some that I measured: Pride of the Forest, 60 feet: another, 65; Pioneer’s Cabin, 74; General Scott, 51; Mother and Son, 82; Old Bachelor, 62; Empire State, 67; and so on. Many of them are over three hundred feet high. The largest trees have fallen. The “Father of the Forest” is prostrate—it is said to be 116 feet around it—it was probably 400 feet high, although it is generally estimated that it was 450 feet high. It is burned in two, affording a fine opportunity to measure it in places. At 195 feet from the base the wood is 9 feet 9 inches in diameter inside of the bark! These measurements I made myself. One gets the best idea from a prostrate tree. It lies like a wall fifteen to twenty feet high—a carriage might be driven on the trunk. One prostrate tree was hollow; it had burned out and the cavity was large enough for a man to ride through eighty feet of the trunk on horseback! This was called “The Horseback Ride.” Only three days before I arrived it split in pieces and caved in. No one will ride through it again. A man rode through three days before and his horse tracks were fresh on the inside when I arrived. A tree was felled a few years ago. It took four men twenty-seven days to get it down. It was cut off by boring into it with long augurs. This tree lies there still. The stump is six feet high and about twenty-four feet in diameter inside of the bark. A house is built over the stump to protect it. Stairs of twenty-seven steps carry one up on the prostrate trunk. At thirty feet from the base the diameter is considerably less, or only some thirteen and a half feet. The wood is perfectly sound to the very center. Professor Whitney carefully counted the annual rings four times over at this place (thirty feet from the base) and found the tree there 1,255 years old. It is remarkable that the wood should be sound that was already over eight hundred years old when Columbus set out on his voyage of discovery. The wood is much like red cedar in color and texture, only coarser, and is very brittle. There is a fine hotel there, well-kept, and it is a most charming place to visit.2 I stayed two days, with barometer, and found the height to be 4,800 feet above the sea. The bark of some of the larger trees is two feet thick, it has been measured over two feet. There has been much error written about these trees—that there were no young trees, etc. There are trees of all ages and sizes. Six or seven groves are now known, all large, all in valleys at altitudes of 4,500 to 6,000 feet. Large quantities of seeds have been sent to Europe, and one nursery in England has over 200,000 young trees. Probably more groves will be found in this state  Up and Down California: The Journal of William H. Brewer, 1860-1864, Book 4, Chp 3

From GNIS;

• North Fork of the Calaveras River, also known as Calaveras River
• SouthFork of the Calaveras River-Heads at the junction of San Domingo Creek and Cherokee Creek, flows northwest to join the North Fork Calaveras River to form Calaveras River.

Trips:

• December 27, 2025 - Hiked a bit of the area around the Park entrance. Andrea, Steven, Korra, Rachel, Friday, David, Sherri, Gary
  

References:

•  Calaveras Big Trees State Park
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Pictures:

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