January 1, 2020 - Pa’San Trail, San Joaquin River Gorge

Title: January 1, 2020 - Pa’San Trail, San Joaquin River Gorge
Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons :  Extra Photo's : Animals

Trail head: Ya Gub Weh Tuh Trailhead

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail: Pa’San Trail

Destination: Loop

Distance:  7.55 miles

Start Time: 9:26

End Time:   3:02

Travel Time: 5:36  (1.35 mph)

Moving Time: 4:55  (1.54 mph)

Elevation Rise:  1,706'

Descent: 1,561‘

Maximum Elevation: 1,861'

GPS Tracks

Description:

Start of hike with Meetup group

Several firsts today. It is the first day of the new year, so today’s hike is the first hike of 2020. That is sort of obvious. But this is also the first hike we have done with the meetup group since August. I hope that today is just a start of consistent hiking with them rather than the sporadic times we have had the last several years. Also a bit apprehensive as this is a 1,500’ climb over 7-8 miles. It has been awhile since I have done this.

I got up at 6:30 and we made it to the gathering place a little before 8:00am. At 8:10 we take off with three passengers besides Sherri and myself: Mary, Todd and Adriane. Adriane we have hiked with before and are glad she is with us again. It is a short drive to Ya Gub Weh Tuh parking area, which is already crowded. By the way, the name is not something which Yogi Bear might say, but the name is a Native American word-sorry cannot find the meaning. We gather up here about 35 or so of us.

Hiker Bridge over the San Joaquin River

I start off towards the end. Cathey and I talk for a bit. The first section of this lollipop trail is downhill to the bridge. When we get close to the bridge over the San Joaquin River, I drop back, somewhat to take a picture of people on the bridge. This still does not make me last.

But when I leave the bridge, we start going up hill on the Pa’San Ridge Trail. So I drop back to huff and puff up the hill.Some others are back that far as well. But as someone has said, this is the first hike of the new year, so we are not under any pressure to act like we are completely in shape-I am not, just improving. This is low level elevation hike on a cool day. Still I am sweating going up it. Enough sweat that it is running into my eyes and I am constantly having to wipe them off. But the area is pleasant. All the grasses are green. Some trees have their leaves out for us to enjoy, others offer silhouettes, and then there are the trees with a touch of gold in them-not sure if those are still shutting down for the Winter or gearing up for the Spring. But overall it has a nice effect.

San Joaquin River-west from bridge

After an hour of going up the hill, the effect is starting to wear on the last of the pack group. There is the wondering of if we should turn back or not. I has been five years since I walked this trail, but I think we are getting to the top. But every time I think that, the trail goes away from where I think the midpoint is. So up we go some more. But when we top on ridge, we see the rest of the group at the top of a ridge a couple rises away. So there is hope. After 15 more minutes, we arrive and the back part of the group sits down to rest.

But those who have been waiting a while decide it is time to get up and leave. How discouraging! But we do rest up for about 15 minutes before continuing our trip down the hill. For some reason I feel more energized-not yet like my old self, but sufficiently that I feel like I could do the return trip pretty well. Still not a spring in my step though.

Gary on the Bridge

When we go past one ravine, Becky has found a skeleton about 20’ up the ravine. I go up it and get a picture. Looks like a horse, at least its hoof and skull. Then it is on down the trail. Places are steep, but not the worst I have ever seen. Still glad we went counter-clockwise on this loop. I did not do much picture taking on this part-maybe just concentrating on not stopping rather than enjoying what is there. My bad.

Area in red is where we hiked. Aerial view from Kay.

We now get down to the bridge. Here is the part I dread. Uphill at the last. I like hikes whose last part is either level or a little downhill. While not steep, it is up. Will my energy level last? Will I be able to make it up without pain and agony? Yes! Still not a lot of energy at the end. Still enough to be cheerful. Now to go out for pizza.

But when we gather our car together, we only find two of them. Where is our third passenger? In another car a person is missing as well. Have they taken another car back-they were faster than us. Cathey and John go ahead to the pizza place in Prather to see if they are there. We wait in case they are in the area. I figure we will wait another 15 minutes-after all, we were the last ones in and it had been at least 15 minutes since we arrived. This situation is one of the worst things that can happen to a hike organizer. There is a fear that they are still out on the trail, but with the suspicion they may already be back in Fresno. Also there is no phone service here.

John and Gary

While we waited in the parking lot, there was speculation about where the pair might be. We saw a couple groups come up the trail, but not ours. The trees against the clouds did provide some calming influence. Then a couple of females came up the trail-there is our missing hikers! They had missed the turn for the bridge. So they did a bit of over-achieving. Great joy and relief. We get going to Prather for pizza, texting that they were safe. 

 

Looking down on the San Joaquin River

Relief is shown when we get to the Prather Pizza Factory. Everybody is hungry. But then when we try to order a pizza, it is a 45 minute wait. We decide that we can be back in Fresno in 30-45 and ordering our own food, so we take off. While the ending of the day was less than satisfying, as a whole, it was a good day. All hikers came back safe and we all made the loop in pretty good condition. Glad we went.

Trail Lesson:

Not a traditional trail lesson, but just some thoughts about what to do when we have a misplaced hiker. First, the hikers, in this case, just missed the turnoff to return over the bridge. But they did the right thing by traveling in a pair and not splitting up. Once they figured out they had gone too far, they returned. So maybe a bit more understanding to pass on to hikers about where to turn, if they are going to go ahead. Or have people wait at trail junctions.

Now the question, what should the organizers do in a situation like this. But even before that, I am thinking that what is good practice is that the driver should have some contact person for each person in the car. Also to give instructions to the passengers that if they go with someone else, leave a note on the car saying that they are leaving with someone else.

The Mountaineer’s group has a potential leader’s course. They say to do the following if there is a lost hiker situation:

• Keep group in view and count noses regularly to prevent lost hikers!! But if you lose someone:
• Determine when and where hiker was last seen.
• Plan a search – review where searchers will go on the map (everyone must have a map!)
• Don’t send anybody out alone; nobody should be waiting alone while group searches. People should bring their pack and gear.
• Designate a time and place to reassemble all search groups
• If hiker is not found, contact local search and rescue via 911.

From Backpacker magazine: The key is to be systematic in your efforts:

1. Gather information and make a plan.
   1. Identify when the person went missing and his last known location.
   2. Discuss his or her personality traits. Is the person likely to panic and move, or stay put? Is he or she reliable?
   3. Brainstorm what survival gear the missing person may be carrying.
2. Organize search teams.
   1. Make sure no one is looking alone.
   2. Each team should have marked maps and a clear sense of their location and the area they should explore.
   3. Set return times.
3. Do an initial “hasty” search.
   1. Send searchers to obvious places: water, trails, and so forth.
   2. Lost people tend to follow linear features like streams and trails, so focus initial searches accordingly.
   3. Leave notes in obvious places instructing the lost person to sit tight. Recheck these spots regularly.
4. Do a fine search.
   1. If it becomes clear that you’re not going to find the missing person easily, shift efforts into a detailed “fine” search. At this point, you’ll probably need to bring in outside help, as fine searches require lots of people power. Call 911 or send runners to the trailhead to seek assistance. While you wait, you can continue searching:
   2. Organize your group into parties of three or more with a designated leader. Give each team a specific area to examine, and designate a length of time to search. The timeframe will be determined by terrain, number of searchers, resources, and distances, so it may vary anywhere from two hours to six or eight.
   3. Each search team should spread out in a line, close enough so they can see and hear each other. Call the missing person’s name, and listen for responses. Mark the edges of searched places. Flag clues you find, but leave them in place. Repeat this until you can clear the search area (meaning no sign of the person has been detected).
   4. Keep one incident commander in camp to track teams, determine search areas, and make sure everyone’s rested.

Extra Photo's

San Joaquin River looking west

San Joaquin River Looking east

Hikers and Tree

Animals

Bovine Trail Guardians