Gary-Summer: March 9, 2019 - Briceburg to the East

Saturday, March 9, 2019

March 9, 2019 - Briceburg to the East

Title: March 9, 2019 - Briceburg to the East
Hike Info : Description Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Trail head: Briceburg

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail: Merced River Gorge

Destination: BLM/Forest Service Boundary

Actual Destination: Very close to our destination

Distance: 8.96 miles ¹

Start Time: 9:24

End Time: 2:00

Travel Time: 4:46

Moving Time: 3:21 (2.4 mph)

Elevation Rise: 360'

Maximum Elevation: 1,265'

¹ GPS went wonkish on this hike-it may be the settings I had on it. I only got a partial track with no elevation. The mileage is double what an edited track shows-from our end point back to the cars. Start, end and travel times are guesses. While the moving time and moving speed is the overall time shown on my GPS. Elevation rise is from a different hike while the maximum elevation is from Google Earth. So the hike info is not a good representation of the actual trip, but more of an accumulation of this trip and other trip’s information.

Description:

Railroad Bed

Sherri and I have done this hike many times. Last year the roads were frozen when we wanted to do it, so we are eager to come back and hike the Merced River Gorge, or as we say, Briceburg, this year. I know, anybody from a place where it gets really cold will already have the words “WIMP” on their lips. The wildflowers we are hoping are out in full array, but it has been cold.

There are twelve of us signed up for this hike-it is a Central Valley Hiking Group hike. But one does not show up. We leave Fresno at 7:00am and get to Burger King in Mariposa around 8:30. There, we pick up a couple more people, making our full allotment of eleven and head off to Briceburg.

Merced River looking East

We get there a little after 9:00am and get ourselves ready. I give the last minute instructions, take our picture and then we are off a few minutes before 9:30. It is a pretty clear day with only a few clouds in the sky. A bit cool on the shadow side of the Merced River. But once we cross the suspension bridge and get into the sunlight, we are warmed up some.

Old Railroad support

On this side of the river the sun is shining and the grasses are green. But there are places which we need to slog through runoff where those nice looking grasses turn marshish. But being an old railroad bed, it is pretty level. That is except for a few places where we dip down to a creek bed. We see signs of the old railroad when we do this, mostly in the form of the stanchions which supported the trellises where the rails passed over our little streamlets.

Seasonal Creek-easy crossing type

One of the draws of walking this trail is the fields of wildflowers. But because of the colder winter, they only appear as individuals, nt the usual fields. But the ones we see do delight the eye.

Gary leading the pack

But today there are a few more hazards which makes the hike of interest. First, with the recent rains, we have more runoff. Which the little streamlets we usually step over become more of a logistics challenge. A few get their feet wet. Then there are a few slides, most old, which we pick our way over. And then there are the downed trees. One of them covered the whole ledge we were walking on. Vic tackled it and was able to clear enough away that we could find a way around it by going down the ledge. But what is life, if not finding our ways through adventures. And then we come to another creek and that is enough for some of the people. They hold back while some of us go about a half of a mile further.

A rock above our trail

The rest of us go on for another half to three-quarters of a mile. While not as far as I had planned, it looks like we are close to the boundary of the BLM land and the Forest Service. That is good enough. Besides, it has taken a little longer than I thought it would take and the sky is starting to look more like the predicted rain. So we have a quick stop for lunch and turn back.

We cross the seasonal creeks to find that those who were left at the creek had started back-I had given instructions for them to do so. Now it is Vic, Sharon, and sometimes Becky and I at the back. Vic is curious about everything-a good quality to have. He looks at rocks, flowers, bushes and trees to figure out what they are. I am a bit more concerned with how long I will keep going. Not that I think I will fail, just might drag a bit more.

Around 2:00pm, we get back to the cars. Most of the rest have left. But Sherri, Eileen, Vic and Sharon are here. We decide we will meet at Happy Burger-Yosemite Bug has closed by this time. Vic and Sharon go on to find a few geocache places while Sherri and I go on to eat. Eileen joins us in a few minutes. While we are eating Vic and Sharon come in. After our meal, Sherri and I stop at Faith Rumm’s studio, the Upstairs Gallery. She is having a showing of Yosemite paintings. We are attracted by one, but undecided if it will fit into our house. We get home around 5:00pm, content with our hike.