Gary-Summer: Silliman

Showing posts with label Silliman. Show all posts

Friday, January 9, 2026

January 9, 2026 - Big Meadows Snowshoeing

Title: January 9, 2026 - Big Meadows Snowshoeing
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's

Hike Info:

Type: Snowshowing

Trail head: Big Meadows Snow Parking Lot

Trail: Big Meadow Road-14S11

Destination: Big Meadow

Actual Destination: Overlook area

Distance: 2.41 miles

Start Time: 1:09

End Time: 3:20

Travel Time: 2:11 (1.10 mph)

Moving Time: 1.34 (1.54 mph)

Elevation Rise: 321'

Descent: 300‘

Maximum Elevation: 7,808'

Minimum Elevation: 7,628’

GPS Tracks

Description:

Snowshoe repair

Clint Eastman said it best, “We have a failure to communicate.” Sherri and I have invited both Steven and Rachel to go up to the snow. In our discussion, it was decided to leave someplace between 9:30 and 10. Rachel texted Sherri and I about 8:40 and said that she was not going to be able to go up. It was a little after 10 when I noticed Rachel’s text. About 20 minutes later I find Sherri and ask her if she is ready. She thinks we are leaving between 10:30 and 11. Steven has not seen the text. So the bottom line is that it is 11 before we leave Fresno.

Trees and snow

We had an uneventful ride up to Big Meadows, maybe except for a discussion on communicating better. We arrived at 12:40. Upon arrival, we had lunch, then took off about 1:00. There were a couple snowmobilers just starting out. Steven takes off on his skis with Korra tagging along with him. Sherri has some issues with her snowshoes and spends a few minutes initiating repairs. Just as we are about to start moving, a couple who originated from Germany comes up with their dog. They were walking and admired that we had the foresight to be on snowshoes. They also did not like sharing the road with snowmobilers. I for the most part have made my peace that as long as they leave us alone, do not chop up our path, then they can have their fun. I still try to go to places they are not at.

We start up the road. Not much to comment on as this is just one of many times we have been up this road. But I do spot one nice view looking towards Redwood Mountain. I am stopping often to regain oxygen into the system; Sherri zooms on ahead. When we get to the junction with the Rabbit Meadow loop, we discuss if Steven has taken the loop or gone on to Big Meadow. To me the ski tracks look old. We will go on towards Big Meadow.

Icicles

Sherri and I have a continued discussion about the conversation on the way up. We get things a bit more straightened out. And then it is onward up the road.

I have set a 2:30 turn around time. We get to an overlook where we can look south about 2:15. The view is awesome. With Shell Mountain to the east, Mt Silliman behind it and then some of the snow covered mountains way to the south. I stay out at the point for a while, soaking it all in.

Sherri on the road

Now it is time to go back to the car. The return trip is much faster than us going out. We kept looking back to see when Korra and Steven would be passing us. Instead we talked to one skier who was going in to get his evening exercise. We warned him that there were a couple snowmobilers coming. Sure enough, a couple minutes later, they came roaring by.

By 3:30, we were at the car. Steven and Korra were waiting there patiently. How did they get ahead of us? You remember those tracks leading around Rabbit Meadow? They were Steven’s. I guess I need to do better in my track reading.

By 3:45, we were ready to leave. Steven and Sherri had already decided on going to Bear Mountain Pizza for dinner. We ordered pizza when we got to Big Stump. It was ready for us when we arrived at 4:25. Then we head down the hill, stopping at the Clovis Costco for gas. Sherri and Steven went in to pick up some stuff for a potluck Monday night. Then we are home at 6:30, in time to watch Jeopardy.

Extra Photo's

Snow doughnut

Looking toward Big Baldy

Sherri on the road again

Sunday, May 9, 2021

May 9, 2021 - Starlight Trail

Title: May 9, 2021 - Starlight Trail
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Trail head: Big Meadows Winter Trailhead

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking
Trail: Starlight Trail, Road 14S14, and Big Meadows Road
Destination: Wander
Distance: 3.66 miles
Start Time: 1:35
End Time: 5:10
Travel Time: 3:35 (1.02 mph)

Moving Time: 2:10 (1.69 mph)
Elevation Rise: 428'
Descent: 428‘
Maximum Elevation: 7,799'

GPS Tracks

Description:

It is Mother’s Day. Rachel has joined us this week. Most mothers when asked, “what would you like to do on Mothers Day?”, they might say have a nice dinner out, spend time with their kids, maybe take in a show or a movie. When Steven and Rachel asked what Sherri wanted to do, she said she wants to go hiking. That is my woman!

Start of our wander

But that does not mean that Sherri has changed into the crack of dawn person. We do not get off until a bit before Noon. The drive up is uneventful, as it should be. The Big Stump parking lot does not have many people in it. That is a sign that not many people made the trek up here for Mother’s Day. We continue on to where we park at Big Meadows to go snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. The actual road to Big Meadows is open.

Why park here? There is a Winter Trail which I had suggested we try to walk when it is dry. We are able to follow the blue diamonds of the Starlight Trail. We did a little of this last January. As we follow the diamonds, there is not much of a Summer Trail. But when you are on a wander, even if we lose the diamonds, which we do, that is not much of an issue.

Sherri crossing Woodward Creek

Rachel and Sherri approaching hill 7704

We did find evidence of an old dispersed campsite, followed by a dirt road on top of a ridge. When we get home, I will try to figure out what road this is (looks like Road 14S30). It looks pretty easy to drive on the part we can see.

And then we continue on, picking up the blue diamonds for a ways. We get to a creek, which I guess is Woodward Creek-the same one which another Winter Trailhead is named after. After that it gets a bit more interesting. We come across a bog turning into a meadow. We get out of that quickly, our steps can be pretty disruptive on a surface like that. (Looking at a map, the Starlight Trail is a bit to the West of our track and further down the creek.)

We had spotted a clear rock not quite a dome which we have been gradually heading for. After the meadow, we gain the harder surface of the ridge. It is a quick trip to the top.. Turns out this is marked as 7704 on my topo map. A very good view from here.

Buck Rock Lookout

Steven gets out his hammock, stringing it between a couple of trees. The rest of us look around. Montecito-Sequoia Lodge is visible, along with the General’s Highway. Behind that is the ridge which Big Baldy rests on. Looking a bit east of north, I spotted Buck Rock. Then to the south and east of us is Shell Mountain, along with Mt Silliman. Much of the Alta Peak area is visible as well. A really good place to stop.

Evidently none of us felt like traveling further as we either wander around the area, sit down or lie down just to enjoy being here.

Steven and Korra

About 4pm, we decided we had better head back. But rather than going through the bog, we go a bit higher up. Here we hit another dispersed campsite and then a road. We learn this is road 14S14 which is part of the Starlight Trail route. We head northerly, back towards the Big Meadow Road. Along the way, we see evidence of burnt slash piles. Looks like the Forest has been hard at work this Spring.

We hit the Big Meadows Road and start our mile and a half walk down it. Several vehicles pass us by. We see a Forest patrol truck coming up and we recognize it as our friend, Patrol 33. She stops and talks with us for a while. Good to see her. She offers us a ride back to the car-but we do so no. It is not that far, maybe half of a mile from where she stopped. Evidently they just opened up the road today.

Monticeto-Sequoia Lodge

We get back to the car a bit after 5pm. A nice short walk, perfect for a Mother’s Day outing. We get back to Fresno at 6:40. We have been on the phone for our Sunday Zoom call. So we transfer over to video once home. From my perspective, it was an enjoyable Mother’s Day, but then again, I am not a mother.

Extra Photo's

Gary and Rachel

Duck on top of 7704

Big Baldy Ridge

Hammock

On Top of 7704

Cloud-Cumulus Humilis

Mt Silliman

Mt SIlliman

Well Shaped Tree

Family: Gary, Sherri, Kora, Steven and Rachel

Strocumulous over Shell Mountain

Flowers and Plants

Possibly an emerging Corn Lily

Phlox

Saturday, August 17, 2019

August 17, 2019 - Buena Vista Peak

Title: August 17, 2019 - Buena Vista Peak
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's : Animals : Flowers and Plants

Trail head: Buena Vista Peak Trailhead

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail: Buena Vista Peak

Destination: Buena Vista Peak

Distance: 2.34 miles

Start Time: 5:18pm

End Time: 7:04pm

Travel Time: 1:46 (1.32 mph)

Moving Time: 1:12 (1.94 mph)

Elevation Rise: 577' ¹

Descent: 610‘

Maximum Elevation: 7,589'

GPS Tracks

¹The elevation on the GPS did not record correctly. The elevations here is from Google Earth.

Description:

Sherri and I were to be out camping by now. But having an extra day at Delilah put a crimp in that. Then I got a call and said there was a problem in the sale of my parent's house. So I am having to do some research. Do we still want to? Can we actually go up and at least do a hike? Yes, lets get some dirt on our feet-it turns out getting dirty is easier said than done. But the things with my parent’s estate had me looking all morning for some documents.

We left Fresno at1:45. First, we needed gas. So off to the new Costco we go. Then we head to Grant Grove, still not sure what trail to go on. But we will stop at the Visitor Center to check on what is open. There, we ask about the Boole Tree-closed. Then, what about Little Boulder Creek-it is most likely open. So off we go down Burton Road. It is a pleasant drive. But today, there is much more traffic than our usual-which is nobody else taking my road. But they do look like they are trying to find a place to 4-wheel drive.

We travel down Burton Road, aaaah and ooohing about the scenery, but wanting to get on the trail. Sherri and I have been on this one with Rose a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. But the area has been closed now for the past couple of years. We round a big curve and what do we see? A gate, blocking our progress to the trailhead. There is a sign which says we would need to walk about 2½ miles to even get on the trail, let alone walk it. Since it is about 4, this will not work out. So much for Little Boulder Creek being open. We back track, stopping along the way to view the Kings River and beyond.

But the star attraction today will be Buck Rock. When we turn our gaze from the Kings, the lookout stands stately, high above us, like a queen ruling the sky. It turns out that today, she will be our companion in our travels. No matter where we turn, there she is.

When we get back to Quail Flat, we make a decision: we would still like to hike and Buena Vista Peak is just down the road. So this will be our hike for today-pretty short, still a hike. As we get ready at the trailhead, I spot a Sequoia Forest truck go by us-it is Patrol 33 who we know.

Mt Sillman

Our hike starts a little after 5pm. Steven charges ahead; Sherri and I lag behind. Maybe it is the length of the day so far or just not having walked in awhile, but this hike is pushing me- I would classify this as an easy hike or slightly above, suitable for most people. I am breathing a bit more than I should. I am just glad that Sherri is also stopping as well. Still it is wonderful being out. Buck Rock comes into view-I told you it was her day. We are escorted on the way up with some late blooming flowers-no pictures, sorry. As we close in on the top, a hiker comes down. We chat for awhile-he is planning on doing Whitney in a week or so and has been training. We talk about different places. He asks about a peak to the southeast-it looks like Mt Sillman to me-not Whitney. He is carrying bear-spray. I do comment that he may want to find out how legal it is to carry the spray in the park-later I look and it is not. He is concerned about cougars/mountain lions.

View from the top

Then we are off and reach the top in short order. Here we just enjoy the view. It is very hazy as we look West towards the Valley, but pretty nice the rest of our viewing direction. One of the good things about this peak is you have a 360 view. If you know where to look you can see Park Ridge, but not Delilah. After awhile, it is time to move on.

The trip down is a lot faster and easier. My stride returns to more of a normal length and cadence. A few places it is easy to mistake a place where others have gone for the trail-this is what happens with Sherri. But we all make it down OK.

Now where do we eat? We decide on DNC in Grant Grove. It has been enjoyable for the last couple of years, but just a bit slow. When we get there, the wait staff looks frazzled. A couple large groups are in. But we get a table fairly quickly. The food is adequate, but the waitress is very scattered-Steven never gets his water after asking twice and a refill of ice tea for me only gets done when she gives us the bill.

We make it down the hill to Fresno. Sherri and I are having a debate about where certain lights we are seeing from Delilah are. One set of lights we find are from a warehouse just north of the airport. The other set, we are not sure about. But Steven shows us where the water tower is at Fresno State. We get home about 9:50. I take a shower and climb into bed.