Trail head: Finegold
Parking
Lot
Hike Info:
Type:
Hiking
Trail:
Pincushion Trail
Destination:
Pincushion Peak
Actual
Destination: Nearby Noll to Pincushion
Distance:
2.22
miles
Start
Time: 2:33
End
Time: 4:45
Travel
Time: 2:12 (1.01
mph)
Moving
Time: 1:47 (1.24
mph)
Elevation
Rise: 969 '
Descent: 875‘
Maximum
Elevation: 1,382'
Description:
I start out the day thinking
that I would be going snowshoeing with Sherri and Steven. The big
question is where? Maybe up at Grant
Grove or
Big
Meadow.
But will have to see where the snow is. But this day will not turn
out as we think it will be.
After Sherri gets up, I clean
up the kitchen. But Steven has not gotten up yet. So we take care of
some business at the bank. Still no Steven. A little bit later Steven
gets up and we find out that he had not said he would be going with
us today. Classic failure to communicate ala Paul Newman (actually
said by the prison warden). Oh well, now to rethink where to go. But
first lunch.
In the meantime, the high
overcast has dropped and while it does not seem like rain, the car
does have puddles on it and the windshield wipers are getting a
workout. We decide to go up towards Millerton,
maybe Pincushion.
This will give us the opportunity to pick up an old person’s State
Park Limited Use Pass.
A great buy for $20, getting us into most State parks for free during
the off-season.
 |
| Start of Trail |
When we pull in Millerton
State Park, we find one obstacle to getting our pass-we have nothing
to prove we are married, which we are. But they would like a piece of
paper saying so. So we can get a single person pass or wait. We
decided to wait. But we still want to go on a hike, so Pincushion it
is.
Pincushion is behind Table
Mountain Casino on Sky Harbor Road. The drive up Sky Harbor is
scenic, but slow drive. We decide with how wet it is to not go in at
the cow chute like we have with Shawn several years ago, but follow
the trail through the Finegold
area of
Millerton State Park. So we join the line of cars parked on the
outside and get ourselves together.
After a brief pit stop, we are
on the trail. That is the San Joaquin River Trail-not the beginning
nor the end, someplace in the middle. It is up with a moderate pitch.
But the green hillsides with the lake below us is nice to gaze at. I
have adopted a one step after another pace, definitely not fast, but
neither am I stopping. It is your typical foothill scenery. After
about ⅔ of a mile I am wondering to myself when the junction for
Pincushion will come up.
 |
| Looking down to Millerton Lake |
Shortly after those thoughts,
I get the be careful what you wish for granted. A wider place starts
to head off up the ridge. That is our trail. At first it is just an
“enhanced” version of the up slope we have been going on. And then
it starts climbing. From my GPS track, it looks like a consistent 30%
grade with some 40% thrown in for good measure. One segment says 60%,
but I think that is an anomaly-my body begs to differ with that
assessment.
 |
| Towards the top, but definitely not |
We pass a sign saying beware
of rattlesnakes. I wish them good-luck. With the overcast and higher
density moisture in the air-not rain or even mist, it is cool. When
we get back to the car, the gauge says upper 40’s. But that is just
as well as the brim of my hat is already filled with sweat.
We finally get to the top. Two
things attract our attention. The first, is there is a lone bovine
who is udderly oblivious to us. The second thing is that this is not
Pincushion. It seems like this is just a knoll on the ridge containing
Pincushion. You know that trail lesson learned so long ago-when
you think you are at the top, you’re not.
But this is enough for right now. I am beat. I sense that Sherri is
game to go on if I want to, but this is enough for me.
 |
| Looking east and south |
We gaze around and have an
energy bar. When I say gaze around, the overcast blocks most of the
view. Then we start heading down. Like I was huffing and puffing
coming up, Sherri is a bit more tentative going down. But we make it
back to the San Joaquin River Trail a lot faster than we did going
up. And now it is another 15-20 minutes back to the car.
 |
| Looking west and north |
After changing back to street
shoes, we headed back to Fresno. But not before a stop at Costco for
gas and supplies. By the time we eat, it's about 6:30 and I am
famished. Sherri is content to lay on the couch, while I move slowly
around my den, not really moving much. Still a good day to show how
much more I need to improve.
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