Title: January 6, 2016 - Million Dollar Mile Road
Trail head: Italian Bar Road
Hike Info:
Type: Hiking
Trail: Million Dollar Mile Road
Destination: Stevenson Falls
1I did not have my GPS device on me for this hike. So the distance is a minimum from other hikes on the road. Also there is no elevation rise, max, ...
Description:
I approached today with some apprehension. It has been two months that I have been on a real hike. Sure, before Christmas Sherri, Steven and I went to
Wawona and played around in the snow for a couple of hours, but that was relatively light weight excursion. Also since that time I have been sick. Sick enough that even a short walk around the neighborhood leaves me tired. Will walking in the rain cause me to relapse? Will I even have the stamina to do this walk? But we will see how I do.
We met over at Eddie's Bakery around 7am, that was 7am in the rain. Am I really going to go out in the rain? For a hike which started out with 40 people, we are down to 14. Our first stop is the Center of California. The
exact geographic Center of California is at 37°09′58″N 119°26′58″W. John and Cathey know how to celebrate this occasion with some non-alcoholic bubbly. Even in the rain, we feel pretty good about being here.
But now it is time to go on the the other side of the
San Joaquin, to the
Italian Bar Road and the start of the
Million Dollar Mile Road, which is really an access road for Southern California Edison and the Big Creek Power Project. When all the cars got to the trail-head (road-head?), there was a discussion. Do we hike in the rain? Several cars turned around and went on to Prather and eats. I was a bit indecisive. I actually like hiking in the rain-you get to see so much of the terrain in a different light. But then again, I have had this nagging sickness which wisdom would say do not do this.
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| Ducks in the Rain |
Rose and Kim said they were going to walk a mile in and turn around. That sounded like a good compromise. So we started off in the rain, we all having an a-sundry of rain protection. I have borrowed Sherri's rain jacket as I forgot mine in Mountain View. Out of the 14 of us, six decided to walk today-Rose, Kim, Sherri, David, Delia, and I.
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| Jose Creek |
The first thing we encounter is an SCE worker in a truck. There is a saying
that good things happens to those who wait, and wait Sherri did. She did not have to go around the gate, but waited until SCE opened the gate. After a five minute walk, we come to
Jose Creek. Whenever we have seen this creek before, it has been a slow moving flow of water. But today, with the rain, the water is brown with scoured dirt and tannin from leaves. This is a good sight. We all stand around and see this sight of all of this rushing water in such a small creek.
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| Mist over the River |
As we walk the road, we notice the various atmospheric conditions. David is the most observant as he notices the cold spot in front of us where there is a gathering of mist. But we also get to see the sun spotting through the clouds. Wait! There is sun? No wet stuff coming down? This may turn into a hike yet. It is a good sight with sunshine glistening off of the newly wetted road.
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| Redinger lake |
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| Pavement Glistening |
So since we all were feeling fresh and able to continue on, we decided to do so. And I think we were all glad we did. First, hiking with someone else makes for pleasant walking. You can talk and have a good conversation which taking those steps. Also time passes a lot more quickly enjoying the view together. And that is the second thing, the rain caused the whole area to be alive with color. Even
Redinger Lake looked inviting. Of course, what topped off the trip in was a rainbow over the San Joaquin River.
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| Rainbow over the San Joaquin |
But now it is only a short ways until
Stevenson Falls pops into view, and it has been worth the walk. The falls are flowing nicely-even though most of the water comes from Shaver Lake, it still is pleasing to see the falls flowing so full. We walk across the bridge and admire the water flow up close. The we go into the adit, a cavern dug to create a release and access to the main bores going from Shaver to the Big Creek Powerhouse we passed earlier. All are impressed with the size of this cavern. I should say they also wanted to get out of the rain. We have a little snack and turn around. But the rain does not go on for long and we are walking again under cloudy skies. Before long, we cross Jose Creek. There I ask the question: If there was no bridge, how do we get across? We ponder that question for awhile. In a half of year, when some of us are backpacking, this may be a real question. But until then we can enjoy the pondering and the water in the creeks. It will be a wet winter, one we can all use. Just when we get back to the cars, more rain. Just so good!. We stop in Prather at
Velasco to have lunch. An enjoyable cap to the day.
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| Stevenson Falls |
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| Stevenson Falls |
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| Water Drops |
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