Gary-Summer: Bear Hill

Showing posts with label Bear Hill. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

March 17, 2021 - Giant Forest Snowshoe

Title: March 17, 2021 - Giant Forest Snowshoe
Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons : Extra Photo's

Trail head: Giant Forest Parking Lot

Hike Info:

Trail: Crescent Meadow Road, Soldier’s Trail, Cross Country, Bear Hill Trail
Destination: Loop
Distance: 4.56 miles
Start Time: 10:33
End Time:    3:04
Travel Time:  4:30 (1.01 mph)
Moving Time: 3:41   (1.24 mph)

Elevation Rise: 761'
Descent: 664‘
Maximum Elevation: 6,655'

GPS Tracks

Description:

Today’s adventure was fun, with a side of beauty and a touch of where am I? Not that we were ever in any danger of being lost, just did not have a correct idea of my location.

Sherri and Betty at start

Sherri and I leave our house a little after 8am. We met up with Betty in Farmersville at 9. And then we were off. After going through Three Rivers, the road gets pretty curver and so it takes a while to climb up to Giant Forest. The road up this, in case you have never been up it, is just one switchback after another as it climbs up almost 4000’. A road to take, nice and slow, both going up and down.

Crescent Meadow Road

We get out of the car before 10:30. After seeking relief we started walking up the Crescent Meadow Road. Once we come to the closed gate, on goes the snowshoes. We do not really need it because the snow has been so packed.There is only a couple of inches of snow, or where people have walked, I think ice. So the grips on the bottom of our snowshoes come in real handy. Several people pass us in both directions. Of course, when we stop and look, it is easy to be passed.

The Red Kaweah, I think

We get up to the junction between Moro Rock and Crescent Meadow. Most people are going to Moro Rock. But we are not like most people. We head towards the Tunnel Log and Crescent Meadows. As we pass the Buttress Tree, we gawk at the massive root system and go on. But it is lunch time and Betty wonders if we can get a good view. We can try, so we get to the top of a small rise and head south, to the top of a hill. The view is almost good. We see the Red Kaweah through the trees as well as Castle Rocks. But the emphasis is through the trees. Still a pleasant place for a lunch stop.

The next part of the trip gives rise to an epigraphical type of statement: Is this being lazy or stupid? This is in regards to going across an area without tracks so that we do not have to climb up. As it turns out, this does not need to be an either/or situation as it can be both. I will leave that discussion for further on.

Sherri and Betty on Soldier Trail

We go on down about 30-40’ and meet up with the Soldier Trail, right before the Tunnel Log. It turns out someone else has been trudging through this before us. They went with just boots, not snowshoes. The path they are taking follows in the general direction of the trail, so I am content. We did this trail last November and the Fall colors are spectacular. The Winter season has its own beauty. With the snow piled against the redness of the Sequoia’s it causes us to pause often.

Spear or Frog

See the Frog?

And we had a lot of reason to pause-more than my usual huff and puff. We only had two people pass us-they were not stopping to gawk. Something about being in the snow, away from everybody, without distractions makes the beauty of the area stand out even more. When Isaiah talked about a crown of beauty and oaks of righteousness being planted by God, I wonder how his poetry would have soared to see scene after scene like we have seen on this adventure. But then again, Jesus pointed out that those who have seen great things do not change and have a measure of disbelief. The prayer of the day would be open not only my eyes but my heart to your things, O Lord!

How misplaced was Gary?

In the snow, I like to wander. Also when you get away from other tracks, tromping through an area on fresh snow is fun and enjoyable to me. Having been on this trail, I know that once we go over the ridge which Bear Hill is on, it drops steeply into the Deer Creek drainage, only to climb back up to Bear Hill. So why not just follow that ride over to Bear Hill? The topo map shows a nice downhill.

Gary wandering; Betty following

So why not indeed! You know that thought of lazy vs stupid? The intersection of both is heading on a fast train towards me. The ladies are willing to follow me and I am willing to take off on this adventure. Of course, it would have really helped if I had realized my exact location, like consulted the GPS I carried. Or at least have studied the map closer before leaving. But no, that would require a bit of thinking and dependence on something else than my instincts :-).

We were not as far along the trail as I thought we were, so the hump we followed was not the ridge to Bear Hill, but a spur off of that ridge. So we went and enjoyed a pleasant, gentle time without a trail or track, looping around until I spotted an indention in the snow similar to a trail. I/we followed that. As it started wandering in a direction I did not want it to go, I realized that we were not where I thought we were. The question ended up in my mind, where are we? Ten minutes later, that question is answered as well. I see a sign in the distance and realized our location: back at the road with the junction at Moro Rock and Crescent Meadow

Maybe a Perfect Sequoia

When we got just above the junction, we saw a group of young men wondering which way to go to Moro Rock. Like a voice from on high, we point the way. Then we descend onto the road back to the car. A couple of noticeable things. First, the snow is melting fast. This is evident in one particular spot where we walked across snow coming in and now there is a wide and long spot of asphalt. The second is that there are many more people coming up the road, and going back, than there was this morning. We scoot over to the side of the road, creating a wide space between us and them. A few we talked with when they returned our greeting.

And now, a little after 3:00pm, we make it back to the car. We chatted for a while with Betty before taking off. You would think that after four and a half hours we would have chatted enough. But that is how it is with good friends, you do not want the time to end.

Gary, Sherri and Betty

We go back down the same curvy road. As we approach Visalia, we lose Betty as our tail. By now, we get hungry. Sherri spots an In-N-Out on Yelp and directs me to it. But the line is long and confusing, so we go off in search of other food. Foster Freeze is always good. We get in line, but this line is slow. And once we get our food, the burger is pretty crunchy, not juicy. I think we have spent about 40 minutes trying to get “fast” food. We make it home right at 6:30 and get on our family Zoom call shortly afterwards. It is a long day. But not as exhausting as last Saturday. Both days I would repeat.

Trail Lesson:

Evaluate if your plan is just lazy or is also stupid. Or worse yet, both.

Use the tools you have, that is why you have them.

Extra Photo's

What I Have called the Ives Tree, you know, Burl Ives!

Going up the Crescent Meadow Road

Auto Log's root system

Crescent Meadows Road

Snow Covered Log

Betty and Sherri coming down the hill from lunch

Another Snow Covered Log

Gary leading the way on the Soldier's Trail

Burnt our Tree, still living

Same Burnt Out Tree

An amazing sight in person

Snow Field

Snowshoers and a Sequoia

Another snow covered log

Is this a perfect Sequoia?

Sequoias

Pavement instead of snow

Thursday, November 5, 2020

November 5, 2020 - Giant Forest

Title: November 5, 2020 - Giant Forest
Hike Info : Description : Background : Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Trail head: Giant F o rest Museum Parking Lo t

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking
Trail: Rimrock (Moro Rock), Soldier’s, Bear Hill Trails

Destination: Loop
Distance: 3.81 miles ¹Start Time: 9:51
End Time:   2:09
Travel Time:  4:18 (0.89 mph)
Moving Time:  3:18 (1.15 mph)
Elevation Rise: 1,024'
Descent: 571‘
Maximum Elevation: 6,807'

GPS Tracks
¹For about .2 of a mile, the GPS was not syncing with satellites, I plotted it out on Google Earth for the distance.

Description:

Start of Rimrock/Moro Rock Trail

We gather at our house, a little after 7am. The “we” are Rose, John, Cathey, Sherri and myself. It is the first time hiking with John and Cathey in over 8 months. With the pandemic, Sherri and I are particular about who we walk with. Each of these people are people whom we think will take the appropriate precautions against the COVID virus.

We go up Highway 180 and have no issues entering the park. Along the General’s Highway, we know there is construction. Surprisingly, we hit the various spots so we have a minimal amount of wait. At one of them, we come to a stop, the flagger asks where we are going. I say Giant Forest and the next two cars are going there as well. He ponders for a few seconds, calls up the flagger at the other end. He says to me, “You are the lead car, be safe. There are people walking the road.” I guess I must have that look about me.

Autumn Color

We get to Giant Forest after 9am. Getting unloaded and booted up, we take off for that place which all hikers know to start with: the restrooms. So the trail gets hit a bit after 9:30.

The trail starts just to the south of the road going into Crescent Meadows. Even though a large sign says Moro Rock Trail, I know it as the Rimrock Trail. Why? It goes along the south side, heading towards Moro Rock, sometimes you even get to see a view or two of the Kaweah River Canyon.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, there is what looks like a full out display of fall colors. But this is just a prelude of what we are to see coming up the trail. There is no point of trying to put the scenes to words, especially my pitiful ways of expressing the glory of Creation. Maybe if I was a musician, I would be writing a symphony, an ode to beauty. All which you will have to be content with, dear reader, is pictures.

Rose being swallowed by a tree

We go along this first trail, content with enjoying the colors. Rose and I play a game of naming the burnt stumps by how they appear to us. While the Sequoias have been around us from the beginning, they are more prevalent as we make our way to the Moro Rock area. While we are close to the road into Crescent Meadow, the traffic is light enough and the road is at such an angle, we are not bothered by it.

We reach the end of the trail, at least as far as we are going to do. The trail goes on to Moro Rock, but we have other places we want to go. We walk the road for a ways. There is a fallen tree with a gigantic-aren’t all Sequoia’s gigantic? And then there is the Parker Group. We hang around there for a few minutes. Rose pushes apart a couple trees. And then we meet the Ives tree, at least that is what I call it. The Ives tree has a huge burl-think about it. And then it is on to the tunnel tree. But we do not go quite that far. For we meet up with the Soldier Trail.

"Ives" Tree with the Burl

To me, this is the heart of the heart. The colors are more varied and intense. The surrounding Sequoias reddish hues blend nicely with the Autumn coloring of the seasonal trees and bushes. And then there are the shapes which offset the roundness of the bushes and the low trees. Upended tree roots with a spray of color at the end; a wall of chromatic plants surround columns of red bark; open glades are surrounded by dirt and spots of purple, reds, and yellows.

There is a gentle rise to start the trail. But then we climb a ridge which will eventually lead us into the Little Deer Creek drainage. We lose much of the brush and foliage and enter into an area where fire has burnt through-I think this was a prescribed burn from a couple of years ago. We pass by a burnt tree which is called the Burnt Arrow. When we reach the top, it is time to break out lunch. Very considerate of the Park to have a couple of logs cut there-the stumps make for a nice place to sit.

Roots and Color

And now it is about 80% downhill for the rest of the trip. I am not sure if it is because of the rest or being downhill, I am feeling a lot better, The first part is rather steep. The Sequoias still accompany us. All is quiet, we still have not met anybody on our trek, except when we walked the road. That seems so appropriate as a Sequoia forest should be experienced in peace, letting the stately old ones fill your heart.

As we go down, we return to more of the shrubs and leafed trees, and back to the colors again. There is a section where the trail looks like it disappears into this cataclysm of color-it only does a switchback, still an exciting visual. As we progress down, we see another trail. That is the one we will take to Bear Hill.

Burnt Tree

From this junction, it is an uphill climb, of over a hundred feet. While it does not sound bad, and really is not bad, it takes a bit out of me. Still, I feel so much better than I have on past hikes. Still, the beauty of the Fall is refreshing. At the top of the hill, another trail junction greets us. But I tell the group that I am going about 50 yards further. That is to Bear Hill. All which really remains of the old Bear Hill is a wide space on the trail and a weather station. We inspect the station and wonder about a wire mesh laying on the ground. Unknown what this is about.

And now for the final stretch, which I am sure you readers will appreciate. We descend a long stretch towards the General’s Highway. Evening shadows have long overtaken us, even though it is still mid afternoon. This also darkens the Fall colors, even a different hue to the vision of the area. As we approach a fallen tree which has a tunnel carved out for hikers, we come across the first hikers of the day. While we are a ways off, they slip on their masks and we have a conversation about what is up the trail for them.

Cathey, Sherri, Rose and John

A couple hundred more yards and we hit a paved path which parallels the highway. We head left and in five minutes time we are back at the museum. All of make a pit stop before heading up to the cars.

We talk about what to do next. There is the Beetle Rock area, but everybody are done with hiking today. SO off we go. But we do stop to pick up pizza at Bear Mountain Pizza in Squaw Valley. It has been a year since we ate there. We have our meal on a grassy area with picnic tables. Good conversation before we all head home.

Background

Soldier’s Trail. The trail was created by the men under Colonel Charles Young command. They had built the road from Crystal Cave up to Giant Forest. The trail was named after these Buffalo Soldiers both because they built the trail and the road, but also because they secured the area, keeping in mind the dual mission of preserving the area and making it accessible for recreation.

Extra Photo's