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

March 29, 2017 - Wolverton

Title: March 29, 2017 - Wolverton
Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons : Background : Extra Photo's : Animals 

Trail head: Wolverton Parking Lot

Hike Info:

Type:  Snowshoeing

Trail: Wandering / Lakes Trail

Destination:Wandering

Distance:  2.82 miles

Start Time:10:28

End Time:  2:16

Travel Time:  3:48 (0.74 mph)

Moving Time: 2:10  (1.30 mph)

Elevation Rise:  589'

Maximum Elevation: 7,721'

GPS Tracks

Description:

This was to be a trip with two of our friends: Betty and Rose. But Rose did not feel well enough to go so it was Betty only. We picked up Betty in Famersville and proceed on to Giant Forest. We thought that it would be a good idea to snowshoe into Crescent Meadow along its road. But there is a requirement for snowshoeing: snow. The road had been plowed. So we travel on to Wolverton, which is 600' higher. Snow.

Start of Trek

By the time we get unloaded, prepared and made our trips to the bathroom, it is 10:30. There are a couple of meadows in Wolverton which I had thought of walking around, enjoying the relatively flat trek, with an occasional foray into the slopes above.

Small Creek, Sizable Walls

But that was not to be. With the snow melt, Long Meadow was a swamp of snow and water-definitely not going to be enjoyable. So we followed up the other side of the meadow which parallels the parking lot. There two a little creek with five foot snow sides cut off our path to go over to the slopes. So I am content to follow up the creek and see how far we go. One thing which hampered us, particularly me, is that one of my baskets broke off of the pole. It was more of annoyance because occasionally the pole would sink way down into the snow.

That is one of the nice things about snowshoeing. For those who are relatively inexperienced, like myself, you can just wander and not be too concerned about the difficulty, except for steepness of the slopes.

Gary and Betty

The snow is old, so as Betty notices, we are crunching through it. Still that is the only noise we hear.  The silence of a snow landscape is so subdued, so different than our noisy city life.

As we follow the creek up, we start rising up. I realize that we might not be able to continue our course along the creek. So I look at the ridgeline above us and think, let’s see if we can go up there and find something interesting, or at least the Lakes trail.

Our route lead us up the side of a ridge, a bit of a zig-zag course, but well within the abilities of all. From my perspective, it was fun and a bit of a learning time-like how steep of a slope can I go up without sliding down vs digging in my toe. I figure I still have some things to learn.

Whose Paw Print?

Betty and Gary

As we get close to the top, three skiers whiz by up about 40 yards away. We must be getting close to the Lakes Trail. Sure enough, there is a yellow triangle in the distance where the skiers disappeared. We decide when we get to the top of the ridge, we will try to find a good view and stop for lunch. I notice some tracks, some big old tracks. Well maybe not old-less than three days old. I think we have some bear tracks we follow. In a few minutes, we find a nice look at Mt Sillman and a flat place to lay my space blanket down. Score!

Mt Sillman

 

As we munch on our lunch, two snowborders came by. They happen to be the backcountry rangers for Pear Lake. They check on us and continue on down. They are certainly graceful. I guess that is what practice, youth and coordination gives you. 

Sky Candy

Big Feet and Good View

Betty and Sherri ready to leave

Betty Descending

 We continue following the tracks for a few more minutes until they disappear, but we continue on. Nothing too exciting. The trail branches to the right and we decide it is time to turn back. But instead of following the trail which goes below the ridge, we follow the ridge in the hopes of getting some better views. But there are many trees blocking the views, so we catch glimpses of the area across the Topakah Valley. 

End of Trail

Eventually the Lakes Trail meets the ridge and we follow the trail down. It is much easier going down. By now the afternoon soon is starting to make the snow a bit slushy and consequently slippery. It is fun doing a mini-slide down slopes, even though it is pretty easy to fall. We reach the car without further incident around 2:15.

The next question is where to eat? We decide River View Bar and Lounge in Three Rivers will be a good place. Food was good by the fast moving Kaweah River. A good place to relax after our walk today. We drop off Betty at her car and proceed back to Fresno. Our arrival was about 6pm. Showers always feel good.

Trail Lesson:

Anytime I am in the snow I think of that verse which says Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Is 1:18). Fresh snow is so white, so clean. But as it ages, debris and dirt get mixed in and it no longer looks that blinding white. Is that not like me? While grace never diminishes, I need to be re-covered with His grace to look clean.

Background
The Wolverton area used to be a ski recreation area.



Extra Photo's

Sherri and Betty

Sherri and Betty descending

Animals

Bear Track