Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo'
Hike Info:
Type: Hiking
Trail head: Italian Bar Road
Trail: Million Dollar Mile Road
Destination: Stevenson Falls
Distance: 6.93 miles
Start Time: 11:03
End Time: 2:53
Travel Time: 3:50 (1.81 mph)
Moving Time: 2:55 (2.38 mph)
Elevation Rise: 849'
Descent: 868‘
Maximum Elevation: 2,341'
Today we are going on the first hike of 2025. I get up about 6:30 and get my stuff together. It has been two months since we have gone on a hike. My day pack is in disarray, but I was able to get it together in relatively short order. We are scheduled to leave at 9. Leaving about 9:20 is not too bad. It will be just Sherri and I on this trip.
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| Jose Creek |
We get our boots on-which is probably overkill since it is paved all the way. After all, this is the Million Dollar Mile Road. By 11:00, our boots hit the pavement-after rounding the gate. The gate is there because this is a private road used by Southern California Edison to go between its Big Creek facilities.
Gary on the Jose Creek Bridge
The road starts out descending
to a bridge crossing Jose Creek. There are a couple of falls high up
which we have not noticed before. Then we climb up above the
powerplant which is powered by falling water through pinstocks.
The weather right now is pretty nice. A bit overcast or at times some high clouds. The temperature is in the high 50’s, perfect for hiking. We walk at a pretty good pace. During the past couple of years going uphill has pretty much winded me. Today, I will not say I am charging up the slopes, but I am able to walk up them, stopping to take a picture and then catching up with Sherri.
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| San Joaquin River |
We see a bicyclist coming up the road, not struggling. Then a couple of hikers who try to encourage us that it is not that far. Do we look so bad that we need encouragement? But since we have done this walk several times before, we know what is next.
The only question in our minds is how much water is coming down Stevenson Falls? Looking down into the San Joaquin, there does not seem to be much water flowing down there. When we round the final bend, the falls are pretty nice. We have seen it fuller, but these are falls which look good just by being there.
We cross the bridge in front of the falls and find a place to sit and admire them while we have lunch. Peanut butter and Nutella, if you must know. While we are eating, another couple comes along, admiring the falls. Right before we are to leave three women and a guy crosses the bridge as well.
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| Sherri and the adit by the power plant |
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| First view of Stevenson |
The first couple takes off before us-we have joked that they would be passing us by. After a few more minutes of resting and picture taking, we are off. Since we are leaving a few minutes after 1, I figure it will be about 3 before we get back to the car. We actually return at a pretty good pace. That couple which started out before us? We passed them while they took a break. I told them that they just made our day.
Except for a few jelly belly’s, we do not take any breaks on the way back. That is until we meet a couple who had just crossed Jose Creek. I saw that he had a Forest Service hat, so I engaged in a conversation with them. In season, they are part of a trail crew. He is the lead on a crew and she is a packer for them, bringing in supplies. We talked for a bit. They had not been down this road before and we gave them an idea about how long and showed them a picture of the falls. Then we went our separate ways.
It is a short distance to the car now and we cover it in about ten minutes, getting to the car before my 3pm estimate. While we change out of our boots, the slower couple come by and we exchange greetings. Then the group of four wander by. Then to our surprise, the Forest Service couple came up. They had already climbed up to the falls above Jose Creek and had decided they had enough for the day. But we talked for about a good 20 minutes, exchanging names of those who we had communicated with in common.
When Sherri and I left, there were a few drops on the windshield. By the time we get to Prather, it is raining pretty good. We get home after 4:30. I take a shower. Eventually we went out to Hammy’s Smash Burger for dinner with Steven. A good day.
Extra Photo's
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| Redinger Lake |
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| Sherri crossing Jose Creek |
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| Falls on Jose Creek |
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| Stevenson Falls |
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| Stevenson Falls |
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| Adit by Stevenson Falls |
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| Looking out from the Adit by powerplant |
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| Adit by powerplant |
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| Adit by powerplant |
