August 8, 2024 - Starlight Trail

 

Title: August 8, 2024 - Starlight Trail
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's :  Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail head: Big Meadows Snow Trailhead

Trail:  Roughly the Starlight Trail (SNO-29E14), 14S11G, 14S14

Destination:  7704

Distance:  3.24 miles

Start Time: 9:54

End Time:  1:32

Travel Time: 3:38  (0.89 mph)

Moving Time:  2:38  (1.23 mph)

Elevation Rise: 687'

Descent: 648‘

Maximum Elevation: 7,832'

GPS Tracks

Description:

Start of Starlight Trail

It is a normal morning for me. By about 7:00 I am ready for a 7:30 start. But we do not leave until 8:15. I drove straight through to the Big Meadow Snow Trailhead, arriving about 9:40. It does not take us long to get ready and by 10:00, when our boots go for a walk.

Even though the Starlight Trail is mostly a snow trail, we have gone over it about evenly between snow travel and a walking trail. In previous years, there has been a track to follow, this year there it is more overgrown with lupine which is past the bloom stage. But we know to look for the blue diamonds which mark the Winter trail. The one problem is that the diamonds are old, some are faded, some are no longer on the tree and some trees are no longer standing.

Sherri crossing Woodward

Still, we know that trip goes up the ridge and we pick our way up it. It is refreshing to be out again. It has been two weeks since we went backpacking and I feel the need to get out. When we get to the top of the ridge, we come to road 14S11G along with the dispersed camping sites. These are large sites with large campfire pits.

This is where we typically lose the Starlight Trail and today is no different. We follow the ridge away from the road, sort of paralleling the Big Meadows Road. When we cross Woodward Creek, we start heading more southward. All of this I would consider more light cross-country work. Not much navigation as I know where the roads are, but not following a trail. I am picking my way up and along ridges and down ravines. I think I am doing it pretty well-I do not hear complaints. Maybe I am going deaf?

We pop up on the road 14S14. The last time we were on this road, we were bounding over snow drifts and snow puddles. Today, it is dry, slightly dusty. As it is after 11, I am aiming for an area where we have eaten before, a nice area to eat. When we got there, an RV was parked at my eating spot. Sigh, why are my good places always infringed upon?

We dip down a little ways and find a place under a tree which looks comfortable. Too comfortable as we spend about half an hour there just enjoying life. Breaks are one of the pleasures of a hiker.

Two FunGuy, a FunGirl and a fungi

About 11:50 we pick up and leave for our return trip. Rather than following the road back, we decided to pick our way back. I really had been aiming for a spot we had taken Rachel too a couple of years ago. But the last couple of times, I could not find it.

But when I look to find a route back, there it is!. So we climbed up the granite slabs which lead to the top of 7704. Here we enjoy another break, but a lot shorter than our 11ish break. Up here we have a pretty nice view to the west. I see Chimney Rock and the antenna on top of Big Baldy. Buck Rock peeks out from just above the ridge in front of it.

We now head down the ridge and re-cross Woodward Creek. Here we pick up the blue diamonds from the Starlight Trail. They follows the ridge up. Except for it being uphill, the walking is pretty easy. There is a series of small knolls which we climb. Eventually this gets us back to the campsites along 14S11G.

Hill 7704

Andrea, Steven and Korra

I lose the Starlight Trail again, but find what I think is an old fire road. But it is an extension of 14S11S. When I realized where the road is going to, we veered off to the left and more towards the trailhead than the Big Meadows Road. As we approach the parking area, we wade through the lupine-with its dried flower pods. The result was the pods clinged to our socks and clothes.

Our return time to get back to the car was 1:30. We got back at 1:40-not bad. After getting the pods off our clothes, we get into the car with Andrea driving. We got back around 3:30. Showers were in order and then time for a good dinner at DiCicco’s. I am content. Then to end the day, we went to my book group where we talked about The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek.

Extra Photo's

Hill 7704

Coming down Hill 7704

Buck Rock Lookout

Photographers setting up

Fungi

Interesting: A tree pulled up a wall of rock

Clouds to the south

Gary and Sherri

 
Flowers and Plants

Red Elderberry?

Red Elderberry?

Red Elderberry?

Alpine Aster

July 19, 2021 - Park Ridge Lookout

 

Title: July 19, 2021 - Park Ridge Lookout
Hike Info : Description : Background :: Extra Photo's 

Hike Info:

Type: Lookout

 

Sun and Cloud patterns on the ground

Description:

Woke up at 0540. Turns out that today will be like the Chicago song, Thunder and Lightning. Did the lightning report. Much easier with a good WiFi connection, unlike last week at a hotel. LAL=3, which means there will be significant lightning happening. I also had a text conversation with Kathy about clouds forming and the possibility of lightning.

I was able to go for a twenty minute walk just up the road and around. By the time I get back, it is 0750. At 0800, we go into service with Porterville-the Hume Lake Ranger District is on extended hours-seems like we are getting a lot of that this Summer. Both Delilah and Buck Rock

Water Dog

go in-service shortly after we do. Oatmeal is breakfast this morning-I think I made too much.

At 0814, I get the first lightning text alert from the vendor which I do my lightning report from-this is for Buck Rock. Ten minutes later, there is some lighting around Stoney Creek. So Park Ridge Lookout gets an alert as well. Buck Rock kicks in with a weather report of some precip and sounds of thunder from the Shell Mountain area. Shortly afterwards, we started seeing flashes around Shell Mountain. Then beyond Big Baldy we see some flashes-looking at a lightning map, they show up right in a line from Yucca Pt (which I really think is Yucca Mountain as Yucca Pt is off of the Kings rather than the Kaweah) to Chimney Rock and then just the other side of Big Baldy. There are still clouds threatening to throw bolts from the sky. Sure enough, now a strike is directly west of us. A few minutes later, one happens to the northwest of us. That second one looked a bit stronger and on McKinzie Ridge. Far enough away to not feel threatened, but close enough that it is exciting. We do radio in the strikes we see, probably a bit more accurately with the lightning map aiding us.

 

 

Smoke or What?

To the east, I see a cloud of white through the haze. We gaze at it for a few minutes and it is still there. But we are unsure. So we ask Buck Rock if they have eyes on the area. She does not see anything. We make a note to continue to monitor that area. And then there is something which looks like a low cloud among the few trees on top of Poop-Out Pass. It does not rise up, so we also put that down as something to check back on. In the meantime, water dogs start to rise up all over the place. Several against Big Baldy down by Redwood Canyon, several in the Eshom area, and some in the Grant Grove area. We check back on the”smoke” we see to the east. The haze has cleared a bit-it is only sun glistening off of wet granite.

 

 

Which is a real smoke? Answer in Background

The “cloud” near Poop-Out Pass is still hanging in there, but getting smaller. What is this? A real smoke or a water dog? Then our attention gets drawn to a dirty cloud just beyond Grant Grove, some place going down into Mill Flat. Is this another water dog or a real smoke? It is in the direction of the strike to the northwest of us. Then back to Poop-Out. The cloud is gone. Guess it must have been a water dog. After that, would a real smoke disappear? Speaking of disappearing, so does the cloud over the ridge behind the Grant Grove area. Throughout the day we would look over at these spots a bit apprehensively.

Around 1045 we hear a radio call to Ash Mountain Fire from maintenance. He had seen smoke in the Redwood Canyon area. He was having a bit of a difficult time describing where they were and what kinds of clouds we were seeing. Later we radio Ash Mountain Fire saying we have seen water dogs in that area as well.

Red-Fire, Blue=Lightning strikes; light Blue-Water Dogs

Then at 1133, a Park crew reports seeing smoke from the Big Baldy area. We say we do not see anything on our side of Big Baldy. Then they narrow it down to the Chimney Rock area. Turns out it is on the Forest side of Chimney Rock. But each agency helps the other. After all, a fire can affect everyone. This will be called the Rock Fire. It will be worked on the rest of the day Monday and all day Tuesday. Wednesday they will pull hoses and put it into patrol status. The fire is less than an acre. But I think they are very concerned about how fast this fire could spread. It is reported that the fire was started by a lightning strike-maybe one of those which we saw.

Then at 1452 we heard that there was a smoke in the Millwood area. Do we see it? No. But remember that smoke we saw this morning? It is in the same general direction. This fire will be called the Drainage Fire. Patrols were converging from several areas-some coming in from the road into Delilah, another from the Abbott Creek area. Buck Rock can see it (we still cannot be) and describes it as drifting, dirty and puffy. But so far it is very localized. Turns out two trees are burning with a burn area smoldering of 30’x10’. This has been confirmed to be caused by a lightning strike.

At 1800 we went out of service with Ash Mountain Fire. But we will stay on until 2000 with Porterville.

Buck Rock sighting from Park Ridge

You know that other “interesting” cloud we saw earlier? The one on top of Poop-Out Pass? It was reported at 1822 there was a smoke reported up there. We saw this smoke and then it disappeared. It is too late to bring someone in today. But early tomorrow a team will be hiking to Poop-Out Pass.

During all of this, the Hume Lake Ranger District went into what is called lightning plan. I had heard the term before, but it had been awhile back and my confession is that it was a bit abstract for me. This at first can be a bit confusing, but the idea is to simplify command and make it local. The idea is that once there are multiple fires in an area, the command should be consolidated. Fire communications would go through the duty officer.

At 2000, we went out of service with Porterville. We have had a long day, a very long day. But it had been a good one. There is only about 40 minutes before it gets dark. So we get the cab cleaned up and everything put away. Then go on out and enjoy the sunset and the stars before going to bed.

 

 

Background

Water Dogs: The basic technique we use is to observe their behavior. If they form into a column-smoke, If they seem more light and ethereal, water dog. That one to the northwest of us a bit troublesome. At first it looks dirty, in the direction of our strike to the northwest. It just seemed to set there and eventually it disappeared. Turns out we should have called it in. But this is not fool proof as you can read above.

As far as the quiz is concerned, the definite answers are that A) is the results of a logging operations. D) is the lightning strike which resulted in the Drainage Fire. B), C) and E) are all probably water dogs, but there is some dispute from experienced fire lookouts on what we are seeing.

LAL (Lightning Activity Level):

 

 

Lightning Plan: This gets activated when there are multiple lightning caused fires in a District, such as the Hume Lake Ranger District. The idea is to treat all of these fires a single fire with a single Lightning Coordinator/Incident Commander-there may be ones who will manage the individual fires. The lookouts and those involved with the fire will report to the Lightning Coordinator. This way we will have a heads up on what is happening with the fires and not involve the rest of the forest with our radio calls.

 

 Extra Photo's

Helicopter flying in front of Park Ridge Lookout

Looking East at rain clouds

Smoke for what would become the Drainage Fire

Looking south-rain falling beyond Big Baldy

January 1, 2021 - Woodward Winter Trail

 

Title: January 1, 2021 - Woodward Winter Trail
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's : Animals 

Trail head: Woodward Winter Trailhead

Hike Info:

Type: Snowshoeing
Trail: Woodward Winter Trail-Road 14S28?
Destination: None
Actual Destination:  Going up road 14S18B
Distance:  2.90 miles
Start Time: 12:17
End Time:     3:45

Travel Time:  3:27 (0.84 mph)
Moving Time: 2:31  (1.15 mph)
Elevation Rise:  417'
Descent: 263‘
Maximum Elevation: 7,294'
GPS Tracks

Description:

It is the first day of a new year. I will not make any predictions about it being a better year, or even a worse year. Just one which I will do my best to live in. But having said that, it is time for us to go up to the snow and play.

Start of trail 14S18

I get up around 7am. But we do not get ready to leave Fresno until at least 10:30. It is Steven, Sherri, Korra and myself who are going. Weather is clear and good. Not necessarily warm. We stop a couple of times to let Korra out for a walk-preventive measure for car sickness. When we got to the Big Stump entrance, there was a long line to enter the park. Being old, with a pass, is an advantage as they wave us through. Several places we pass by have large numbers of vehicles in their parking places: Big Stump and Quail Flat. Big Meadows has a “normal” amount of cars.

Steven and Korra

 

Korra, the Snow Dog

Fortunately we are going on to a trailhead called Woodward Winter Trailhead. It is only a mile or so further on the General’s Highway, past Montecito Lodge. Only one other vehicle is parked there. Two more pull up as we get ready to hit the snow.

 

Lunch Time Rest

 Looks like about a foot to foot and half of snow covering the road. This is road 14S18 on forest service identification. At the start, the snow is a bit choppy-but that is to be expected. After about 150’ there is only one real set of tracks. We meet a family from Bakersfield and talk with them for a few minutes. They will be the last people we see until we return.

After about 10 minutes, we come to a fork in the road. Either way is good. But we stick with the main road, with unbroken snow. This way is a snowmobile route, so I suspect if we see tracks or a trailer in the parking lot, it is not the way to go. The snow is not deep. Steven is on skis while Sherri and I are on snowshoes. Korra, well, Korra is on her feet, frolicing like a snow dog she is.

Sun, Sky, and Trees

We go along, just enjoying the day. This is a “journey” trip. It is made to enjoy doing what you are doing not in achieving some goal. Well, maybe the goal is just being there to enjoy the snow. The road goes down about 250’, not steeply, but enough that we know we will be going back up it.

At a bend in the road, there is a patch we can see across Woodward Creek and on to the Alta Peak area. Also there is a nice log without snow on it in the sun. Looking towards the southwest we can see Chimney Rock, I think. Lunch Time! We just enjoy the sun and the view. Korra does what Korra does, frolick!

We have gone about .8 of a mile. I think we can go about that far before turning around, probably to a junction on the map. When we return to the road, there is a junction within about 100’ of our spot? Is this it? The road is labeled 14S18B. That seems awfully close. But we take it-it goes uphill. So at least coming back we will be coming down.

So up we go-still no tracks, but isn’t that what we expected and wanted? We lose our vista but there is the enjoyment of travel on something untouched. We even get to see what looks like Christmas trees.

Korra  still being frisky after completing the walk

About ten minutes before we were going to turn around, Korra finds an interesting scent and runs off to track it down. I wonder if it is a rabbit track I have come across? She does not respond to any of us calling her back, so Sherri goes off to try to find her. When Korra was good and ready, she came back.

By this time, it is time to turn back. We retrace our steps. I cannot say there was much excitement. Just the usual awe of being out and enjoying the time. I will say that on that ¾ of a mile walk back up the hill to get to the car, I was happy to round a corner and see the forest service gate ahead. It has been awhile since I have been on snowshoes. Last year we did not get a chance to go up-between the lack of snow and COVID restrictions. So even though I lacked the umph, I enjoyed being out.

We got off around 4pm. There is another trailhead I wanted to check out another mile down. It is where some of the summer camps are. Looks like a possibility of when other places are not available or are crowded. Gotta keep finding these places. By the time we get back to Fresno, it is about 5:30. We have some of Sherri’s white chicken enchilada and then watched Jeopardy. By the time 10pm came along, I was closing my eyes. A good day.

Extra Photo's

Sherri at the start

Gary and Steven going up the road

Korra in the trees

Korra and Steven

Gary

 

Buck Brush in Winter

Christmas Like

 

Dead Bent Tree

Chimney Rock

 Animals