Gary-Summer: October 15, 2020

Thursday, October 15, 2020

October 15, 2020 - Merced Grove

Title: October 15, 2020 - Merced Grove
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's

Trail head: Merced Grove Trailhead

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail: Merced Grove Trail
Destination: Merced Grove
Actual Destination: a little beyond>
Distance: 4.33 miles
Start Time: 12:49
End Time: 4:07
Travel Time: 3:18 (1.31 mph)
Moving Time: 2:40 (1.62 mph)
Elevation Rise: 642'
Descent: 457‘
Maximum Elevation: 5,903'

GPS Tracks

Description:

I got up a bit later than usual, about 7am. Sherri gets going after I do. But we are pretty pathetic in getting a good start-about 9:45. We had checked the webcams for Yosemite Valley and they were not encouraging. The air quality sensors were even less so. But we have a Yosemite Park pass for a week, so we should use it. This is day number two.

We knew there was smoke towards Yosemite. The Creek Fire has been puffing along for a month and a half now. Even once we got by the San Joaquin River, there was nothing but smokey skies. I start looking up alternatives to Wawona/Mariposa Grove as that way looks pretty bad-by the way, Sherri is driving. When we top the pass leading into Oakhurst, we see nothing but smoke. Going into Wawona, it is confirmed. We will try the Valley. But the incoming smoke yesterday does not sound too promising. At Chinquapin, we change drivers.

Yosemite Valley is pretty smokey, not as bad as Wawona. We do stop for pictures of the smoke. Sherri wants to see Sequoia trees, which are worth a trip anytime. She talks about Tuolumne Grove. But in my looking around while she is driving, I came across Merced Grove, a place she and I have not been too before. So we decide this is a good destination-Sequoias and a new destination.

Study in an Autumn light

Merced Grove is beyond the Crane Flat cut off, towards the Big Oak Flat cutoff. When we get to the parking lot, we stop and have lunch. Only a couple of cars are in the lot.

The write up both on Redwood Hikes and on the board at the start of the trail says that this is a small grove. Only about 20 trees or so. The sign talks a little bit about the background of the area.

The trail starts out on a dirt road. When I got home, I saw on Google Maps that this is the remnants of the Old Yosemite-Coulterville Road. We travel about half of a mile on the road. Looks like there has been a major fire on the west side of the road-very probably the Rim Fire. We get to a junction where we take the left road down-this is where we depart from the Old Yosemite-Coulterville Road.

Trail through the Sequoias

The trail down to the grove is on a less maintained road, which is gated at the top. Note the word down as parts of it goes down pretty steeply. But the fall colors are starting to pop-out on some of the broadleaf trees. A pleasant warm afternoon walk down.

There are five Sequoias which mark the entrance to the Grove. These are not the massive trees found in Mariposa Grove or at Giant Forest. But there is a certain majesty reflecting their Creator which strikes you. Also unlike other groves, we are seemingly alone here to enjoy, contemplate and reflect the glory of this world. We stop and rest for a few minutes before going further into the grove.

About a hundred feet further down, a Sequoia grows into the trail. Or should I say the trail has gotten too close to the tree. Either way, we are up close and personal with the tree. A little ways further is the old Yosemite Superintendent’s vacation cabin. This would make it worthwhile going through the heartache of being Superintendent. Now it is used as an educational place for when school children visit the grove.

Us waiting by the cabin

We meet up with the sole other human presence-a husband waiting for his wife, unmasked. We go and sit on the steps of the cabin and wait for them to do their thing. Their squabbling is a jarring contrast to the serenity otherwise experienced in this place of peace.

Standing in Awe

We continue on past the cabin and come to the grove. I have counted 23 Sequoias and wonder if there are others bashful and in hiding. We comment that this would be such a good place to spend overnight and wondering about backpacking in. Maybe during the Spring when the creeks have water in them.

The trail starts to slope down again, so we decide to turn back. We pass through the grove on our return, pausing a few times, not from exertion, but to take in the majestic standing organisms which bring awe to our eyes. If we are in awe of them, how will we be before that which created them?

After passing through the grove, we start on our upward climb, back to the top of the road. But now stopping due to exertion, rather than in awe, even though the arboreal overhang is worth stopping for anyplace else on earth, except in the sight of the Sequoias.

When we reach the trail junction, we wonder where the other road segment goes to. I think it might be some sort of facility, but I am wrong. It is pretty flat and after about a third of a mile, we hit a triangalish junction. We decide that is enough for today. But we do wonder what adventures those roads would lead us to? We find out later that the one on the right, west, would eventually take us down to Coulterville. I wonder, would the stagecoach riders have been in awe of what they were seeing? Or are they like us when we pass by in our cars?

Towering Trees

We head back the way we came. About a hundred yards from the cars, just a curve away from the parking lot, we meet three people walking. Two put on masks, one does not. They ask, how far is it to the grove? I do not know what is going through Sherri’s mind, but in my mind, this is a question which people ask which either have no idea of distances or are in danger of not making it. We answer about a mile and a quarter with a 500’ descent. They do not seem to be too interested in that much effort. They just want to see some Sequoias without the time and energy to appreciate them. We give them some other suggestions-Tuolumne Grove or up in Calaveras Big Trees. And then we speed off back to the car-sort of a funny term for me these days, “speeding of”.

To go back to Fresno, we head down Highway 120 towards Sonora. But instead of going to Sonora, we take a route through Groveland to Coulterville, a route we have not done in 40 years. Once in Coulterville, we go and enjoy the drive down 49 until we get to Mariposa. By now, we are hungry and grab dinner at Burger Kings. For some reason, it tastes pretty good-not gourmet, but it hits the spot. Then it is our normal drive down to Fresno. What a good day!