Gary-Summer: November 29, 2023

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

November 29, 2023 - Azalea Trail

Title: November 29, 2023 - Azalea Trail

Hike Info : Description : Background : Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail head: Highway 180

Trail: Azalea Trail, Park Ridge Trail

Destination: Park Ridge Lookout

Distance: 5.32 miles

Start Time: 10:20

End Time: 3:04

Travel Time: 4:44 (1.12 mph)

Moving Time: 3:34 (1.49 mph)

Elevation Rise: 1,396'

Descent: 1,428‘

Maximum Elevation: 7,559'

GPS Tracks

Description:

All the leaves are brown, And the sky is grey

I've been for a walk, On a winter's day

I'd be safe and warm, If I was in L.A.

California dreamin', On such a winter's day^*

Gary at the start

On our hike, the sky was grey and the leaves were brown. But we hiked the Azalea Trail here in California in the Fall and I definitely was not thinking of being in LA. But the song seemed to fit the environment of our walk. It was a cold and somewhat windy day.

We were to get an early start, but I did not get up until after 7 and Sherri sometime after me. We still left Fresno around 8:40. We did stop at Clingnan’s Junction for coffee for Sherri along with a chocolate chip scone-which I had a few bits of. This is a good place to get coffee, evidently. We made it into the park, stopping at Big Stump before parking at the South Boundary Trail trailhead-not that we are doing this trail. The Azalea Trail starts right across Highway 180 from it.

I was up the Azalea Trail

Sherri crossing Sequoia Creek

last July when all was green and starting to be fragrant from the Azalea flowers. Today life along the trail is preparing for Winter and going dormant. The ferns and Azaleas have either gone brown or lost their leaves. The air is crisp with not much opportunity for going in a T-Shift.

But the climb up the side of Park Ridge provides enough warmth to keep up comfortable, at least warmth-wise. Leg and lung-wise, not so much. This is a pretty good uphill, about 800’ to the top of the ridge. About half way up, Sherri is ready for lunch, but when informed it is not even 11, she settles for a fig newton. Still, we make it up to the Park Ridge Trail a little after noon. There we have our lunch, resting a bit.

Buck Rock

When asked if she wanted to continue on the Park Ridge Lookout, the answer was “You Bet!” or something which means that. So on we go. We take the trail up and over a couple of knolls. From there we spot both Buck Rock Lookout and Delilah Lookout. What is a hike in this area without looking for these two friends?

As we got closer to the Park Ridge Lookout, I saw smoke coming up towards the west of us. When I pointed it out to Sherri, she exclaimed, Needle Dump! Yep, that explains why the gate is open where we parked.

Delilah in the center

Needle Dump Smoke

A few minutes later, we got to our lookout. Pictures and rest are warranted. Sherri sings O Tannenbaum to the Park Ridge Lookout Christmas Tree. We did not bring ornaments this year-I must be aging. Maybe next year. I text Wendy, my lookout lead at Park Ridge. Not sure how impressed she was, but she noted about the Needle Dump smoke, once a lookout, always a lookout.

After getting rested up, we head back via the service road to the saddle. The road is not the most adventuresome or picturesque, but there is a certain quietness I feel walking this way. The trail on top of the ridge has a sense of lightness with minimal tree covering. Just a couple hundred feet below it, there is a good forest covering. This heaviness may also be due to it being noticeably cooler now than an hour ago, not to mention the cloud cover is darkening.

Gary approaching the lookout

We made it to the saddle without any drops falling on us. As we descend the Azalea Trail, our legs lighten up and so does the cloud cover. We made good time without too many issues. This gets us down to the car by 3:00pm. The gate is still open-I wonder if they are still burning.

Sherri an d the Christmas Tree

We decided to visit the Visitor Center at Grant Grove. I talk with the rangers there while Sherri wanders through the gift shop. They seem bored, like I may have been the only visitor to talk with them in the last hour. So I ask some questions about accessibility of various spots. They indicate the accessibility of both Cedar Grove and Redwood Canyon may or may not be open next season.

Clouds Rolling in at the Lookout

We head on back to Fresno, stopping at Bear Mountain Pizza for, what else, pizza! Tasted good. Not sure if it was hunger or edibility, but I will take either. We get back home around 5:45.