April 5, 2013 - Old Big Oak Flat Trail

Title: April 5, 2013-Old Big Oak Flat Trail

Trail head: V9, Yosemite Valley

Hike Info:

Trail: Old Big Oak Flat Trail

Destination:Rainbow View

Actual Destination: About a third of a mile shot

Distance: 2.9 miles

Travel Time: 3:09 ( mph)

Moving Time: 1:32 ( mph)

Elevation Rise: 742'

Maximum Elevation: 4,641'

Description:

We left Fresno for Yosemite Valley around 9:30. This is an unmaintained trail we read about in a book which my brother got me ages ago, called Tales and Trails of Yosemite and the Central Sierra's. Then we saw how rough it is in Mr. Half Dome's blog. Also Backpacker magazine did an article about a North Rim trip which started with this trail. The trail is not noted on modern maps, but shows up on a 1996 USGS Topo map. If you can grab a 1909 topo map, it shows the road. So we will go up the Old Big Flat Oak Road until we hit the rockslides and then see how much bouldering we want to do. Then walk around the west end of the Valley.

Ribbon Falls

Got to the trailhead around 11:45. Trailhead is rather a loose term. You come in along the Northside Drive, a little west of El Capitan. After crossing Ribbon Creek, if it is flowing, look for the V9 guide site. There is a road there.  It is a semi loop where the locals get their wood. If you go up as high as you can, you will get to a place called the "Woodpile". Go a little beyond that and the road has a low rock barricade. Stop here and get out of the car and start enjoying your walk.

Follow the old crumbling pavement of the1940's Highway 120. At first, it seems too broad to be a trail and too narrow to be a highway. It is rock strewn, with logs crossing it. Definitely not suitable for automotive travel, but fun for walking. We quickly come to a place where Sherri and I need to do a short amount of boulder hopping. Nothing serious. But more is to come.

Each stretch we walk, gives us a JDV (Jaw Dropping View). Bridalveil Falls shows itself to be quite a lady with her base veiled in mist. Even so, we see she has some hidden drops from the main falls which you do to see from the Valley's floor. Or Ribbon Falls coming down from the West of El Capitan is so much closer than from across the Valley.






As we go further down the trail, the unmaintained part of this trail becomes more evident. We cross several fallen logs-a few are the type which you need to straddle. But nothing too badly. Then the boulder crossings for the most part are short and not too bad. But a few of them you need to make some Spider-Man moves. With the manzanita and other brush starting to overgrown the trail, sometimes you get to meander close to the edge.






At the edge of one of the boulder fields, we stop to enjoy our peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches. Of course we do get a world-class scenery with Bridalveil Falls providing the eye candy. Tunnel View has come into range and get to see all the people on the road. So far it is just Sherri and I with all of this and not having to share.

Lunch

After lunch we go a little ways further until we get to another rock fall. We think we are within a half of a mile of Rainbow View, when we decide to turn back so we can see Yosemite Falls, today, as well.

If anything, the sights coming back, even though it is on the same trail, is even better. Bridalveil is front and center. The mist is even more pronounced than when we came up. A little before we get back to the car, we come across our first and only  group of hikers. They tell us a little bit about what the trail looks beyond the point. The road beyond the point did some zig-zags up a steep grade. They are no longer around, having been obliterated by rockfalls. But you can still climb up to the next stage of road.

View Eastward from Old Big Oak Flat Road

Trail head:  Standford Chapel, Yosemite Valley

Hike Info:

Trail: Some of Valley Loop Trail

Destination:Lower Yosemite Falls

Actual Destination: Lowe Yosemite Falls and Pine Campground

Distance: 3.8 miles

Travel Time: 1:47 ( mph)

Moving Time: 1:19 ( mph)

Elevation Rise: 261'

Maximum Elevation: 4,121'

Royal Arches Cascades

Later on, we take the car to the chapel and leave it there. Then walk to Yosemite Falls, then over to the visitor center. From the visitor center, we take the Valley Loop trail up to the Pines Campground, where we catch the bus back from e the Stables and then do a short walk back to the car. When we were on the Loop trail, we got a fine look at the Royal Arches Cascades.Usually dry in the summer,e rather were very refreshing to look at.

On the way back to Fresno, we stop at Todd's--to enjoy fine BBQ food. A good day and and a good discovery of a trail we had not been on before.

March 27, 2013 - Wawona Point

Title: March 27, 2013 - Wawona Point

Trail head: Mariposa Grove Parking Lot

Hike Info:

Trail: Combination of trails

Destination:Wawona Point

Distance:  6.6 miles

Travel Time: 4:06 (1.61 mph)

Moving Time: 3:13 (2.05 mph)

Elevation Rise: 1,302'

Maximum Elevation: 6,885'

Description:

Another Wednesday, another meetup hike with John and Cathey. We met at Kohl's at 7 and headed to Mariposa Grove in southern Yosemite. We have Bill in our car. As an added bonus, Shawn is going on the hike. Shawn is the lady whom we met at the November  half marathon walk which introduced us to the meetup group.

We get to the Grove and start hiking around 9. John has selected a direct route, up to the Grizzly Giant. Most of the time, we have gone on the Outer Loop trail and come by the Grizzly Giant at the end. We quickly come to the Giant--ooh and ahh, then continue our upward march. When we hit the section which contains the Grove Museum, we make a right and go up the Outer Loop Trail. This circles around the upper part of Mariposa Grove and eventually hits the the junction where the Galen Clark tree stands. From here, it is a short half mile ascent to Wawona Point.

Wawona Point over looks the upper part of the South Merced River.You see Wawona Dome, straight across, hiding Chilnualna Falls. Wawona with its green golf course, lays to the north of us. The upper part of Wawona Meadow looks sandy instead of the green I expected. This is the first time which we have visited this point. We will need to make a point of coming again. Our group is in no hurry to leave as the sun is warming us and the conversation is flowing. But we do head out.

Our path back takes us via the road to the closed Grove Museum. Here John is tired of walking on the road, so we take the path across a small meadow and meet the junction of where we came up. Instead of returning the same way, we head a bit west and come across the the Clothespin Tree and the Old Faithful Couple. We continue westward and find the Outer Loop Trail, and several of our group returning from the other part of the Outer Loop trail. From here it is a short distance back to the parking lot and our cars.

Having made it down, we stop in Oakhurst at a new place for us--Crab Cakes. Like it sounds, it is sea food. I have Dana's Wrap, with salmon. Sherri had crab lingini. Pretty good and a good way to end the day.

March 21, 2013 - Lewis Creek

Title: March 21, 2013 - Lewis Creek

Trail head: Cedar Valley Road, Oakhurst

Hike Info:

Trail: Lewis Creek Trail

Destination: Red Rock Falls

Distance: 6.5 miles

Travel Time: 4:40 (1.39 mph)

Moving Time: 3:15 (2.00 mph)

Elevation Rise: 1,478'

Maximum Elevation: 4,309'

Description:
Another meetup hike. We gather at Kohls at 7 and head up to Oakhurst. Stopped at the Chevron station for a bathroom break and then head out to Cedar Valley Rd. We get there and start walking at 8:45. This hike we have done this hike several times. As such, this has been described in other blog entries (see below).

Part of Hiking Group

But today the sky was overcast; the air was damp and threatening more rain than had fallen last night. But the benefit of such an environment was the trees were shimmering with fresh rain drops and it was such a good temperature for a pleasant hike--we all were ready to charge forward. Like all John and Cathey lead hikes, John acted as the sweep, insuring all of little chicklets were safely in front of him. Nobody gets left behind and all needs are attended to.

Spider Web with Rain Drops

One of the consequences of the recent showers was that Lewis Creek was merrily rushing its way down the mountains, while we climbed up the trail. When we got to the base, there is a rock table which juts out into Lewis Creek. From here you got to see the base of Corlieu Falls. I enjoyed showing the sights to those who had not experienced them before. A few minutes up the trail, we come to the viewing platform and enjoy the main section of the Falls.

Lewis Creek

Corlieu Falls

By this time, I have fallen back in the pack--this is not a race,  but enjoyment. So when we cross the river I was in a whole pack of people--Cathey, Cindy, Pat, Sherri, Jeff, Jim and some others. Jelly Belly;s were offered and some were accepted. Small treats like these made the whole bunch of us feel lighter and more energetic.

After crossing Lewis Creek, the trail is much milder and we make pretty good time. Much better than some of the log hugging we had to do earlier--crossing some downed logs or going underneath fallen trees.

Red Rock Falls

We stop at Red Rock Falls and have a bite to eat while enjoying the creek going over the rock. Some of us go down a small trail about 60 yards and view the base of the falls. Not a major falls--or as someone said, it is just a cataract. But a pleasant enough view.

The trip down goes smoothly. Some of the less experienced hikers feel some knee pain, but all make it down, having enjoyed a good hike. Stopping time was 1:10. We all decide that Todd's is our stopping place and Todd's did not disappoint us. A good way to end a good hike and day.




Some of the times which I have in my blogs are:

• June 11, 2012
• Jan 12, 2013 with Central Valley Hikers meetup group

March 13, 2013 - Million Dollar Road

Title: March 13, 2013

Trail head: Jose Basin Road, Million Dollar Road

Hike Info:

Trail: Million Dollar Road

Destination:Stevenson Creek

Distance:  7.7

Travel Time: 3:41 (2.09 mph)

Moving Time: 2:55 (2.64 mph)

Elevation Rise: 940'

Maximum Elevation: 2,338'

 Description:

We met up with our group at the Park and Ride in Clovis. Probably about 25 of us, with John and Cathey leading us. Headed out a little after 8 in the morning for the Million Dollar Road, our trail for today. We have Bill and Debbie with us--Steven has gone with us as well. Got up there around 9:45.



This road was cut by SCE in the 1920's as part of the hydro-electric project, which created Shaver Lake. The road itself did not cost a million dollars, but there were water tunnels which did cost that much to bore through the granite. This is a road still in use, but is considered restricted to only SCE vehicles, bikes, and walkers--we being the later in this category.

We parked the cars at the lower end of the Million Dollar Road, on Italian Bar Road. We crossed a locked gate and started our hike. The road is paved, so most of us did not take poles, but was evenly divided between boots and tennis shoes. A couple of hundred yards gets us to Mill Creek, which we cross on a grated bridge. Mill Creek gives us a taste of what is to come. This whole road is carved out of the side of a steep 2000' tall hill. So any creeks coming down, come down fast and abrupt. Mill Creek is not an exception, except for the pond under the bridge.

On we walk, on the shady side of the hill, up a mild, but consistent grade.It really does not seem much. I alternate talking with some of my fellow flanerie's: John, Cathy, Sherri, Betty, and Debbie. Part of the fun of walking on this road, with lots of people. Sort of a traveling carnival of conversation.

The one consistent sight for us is the San Joaquin River canyon. Here, of all places, I see it as a gorge, cutting through rock. Now mostly a few pools, with trickles running down into Redinger Reservoir. Most of the vegetation is manzanita with some brush, oaks, a few pines--maybe digger pines. We see fiddlersticks, with poppies, some lupine and other wildflowers.

We reach the top and turn a ridge and start our descent into Stevenson Creek. But we do not get to the full beauty of the creek, until we are a couple hundred yards from the creek, when the falls pop into view. This is what I have envisioned some of the falls around Hetch-Hetchy to be. Water falling down a slick rock surface, down to a pool which empties under our bridge. This is the end point of our walk.

We gather and have lunch--us, the standard peanut butter and nutella sandwich. But as we look around, we see there is more to the falls, than what you see at the start. Above us, hidden by a rock cropping is another set of falls, and then another at the very top. Just spectacular! Also there is a cave/tunnel which was part of the original project. It is sealed off by cement and a welded in plate over a four foot pipe.

After lunch, we return the way we came. The only difference is that the shadow of the hill has receded, leaving us in the sun. A sun which is in the 70's now--not bad by Fresno standards, still pretty warm.

We get back to the car about 1:30. Everybody lingers around and we enjoy several mini-conversations before everyone leaves. At Prather, we have a late lunch, early dinner at Velasco's. Not bad--we will be adding it into our list of restaurants to go to when we go up to Shaver Lake area. We return back to the Park and Ride, dumping off Bill and Debbie before heading home, to recuperate.

March 5, 2013 - Outer Loop

Title: March 5, 2013 - Outer Loop

Trail head: Mariposa Grove Parking Lot

Hike Info:

Trail:Outer Loop Trail

Destination:Back side of Mariposa Grove

Distance: 6.4

Travel Time: 3:33  (2.10 mph)

Moving Time: 2:48 (2.28 mph)

Elevation Rise: 1,235'

Maximum Elevation: 6,756'

Description:
A small storm is coming in tonight, but we thought we could squeeze a hike into before things got bad. We were right! We left Fresno at 9am and head for Mariposa Grove in Yosemite. We hike this area frequently, so it is a place we enjoy and only about 90 minutes from Fresno.

When we got there , it was cool, with a light breeze blowing through. Got started a little before eleven, and immediately started climbing up the road, which is the Outer Loop Trail. During the first mile or so, it is a 400' climb, not bad, but coming from sea level, it always takes a little bit of adjustment. It has been warm enough and dry enough that the trail is pretty clear of snow. Last year Steven and I skied a lot of what we will be doing today.



At the mile mark, we come to a junction. The one trail goes directly to the Grizzly Giant, about a mile away. The trail we take heads a little downward and towards a ridge separating the Grove from Wawona. We cross a pretty little creek and then start up a ridge. This ridge is the one Steven and I missed last year skiing this area.

While there is no scenic vistas, we are still struck by the beauty of the woods, particularly the Sequoia's. Even bare of snow, they stand majestic, as giants of the forest. But not the ugly kind of monsters, but more of what Tolkien had in mind with his Ents, shepherding the younger trees.

We arrive at the Galen Clark Tree. As Sherri says, it is nice to visit a tree named after a real person who had impact on the area and its preservation. Of course most of what I see in Yosemite and Kings Canyon is appropriately named.


We go past the Fallen Giant. Then to the fallen Stable Tree, which was used as a place to house horses. (Why did the tree fall after the horses were removed? It had become unstabled. Get it?) we finally come to the Grove Museum, which is close. We were going to eat lunch here on the fence rail, but decide to go on and see if the bathroom is open-it is not. But we have our peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches overlooking the grove on a cut down tree stump.

Then it is back down the trail. We come to the California Tunnel Tree and the Grizzly Giant- a very majestic and picturesque tree. We continue down and back to the parking lot, just short of 3pm. A nice hike and a pleasant day. Of course, we do stop at Todd's to wrap up our day.

February 21, 2013 - Balconies Trail

Trail head: Old Pinnacles Parking Lot

Hike Info:
Trail: Balconies Trail
Destination: Balconies Caves
Distance: 6.0
Travel Time: 3:10 (1.89 mph)
Moving Time:  2:25 (2.48 mph)
Elevation Rise: 826'
Maximum Elevation: 1.523'

Campsite #59

 Description:

I woke up first and read a few minutes from the Imitation of Christ. Then worked on this blog. Andrea got up about 45 minutes later, followed by Sherri. It is oatmeal for breakfast again. Yummy. Then we all pack up camp. Andrea leaves us around 10:30 and we head off to the trail head, after breaking camp.

Chalone Canyon

The trail head which we started at is called The Old Pinnacles Road. Way back when I was in Boy Scouts, we would camp there. Now, it is paved, instead of a dirt road. Also, there is nothing at the end of the road instead of an undeveloped campground. I think the campground was closer to the cave than where the parking lot is.

Balconies

We get out of the car and hit the road around 11. The Balconies Trail is pretty level, with some small ups and downs. Part way it follows the old road. It is hard packed, sandy soil, mostly in the shade. Chalone Creek creeps past us, sometimes flowing, other times disappearing. But what really strikes you is the huge rock cliffs which start to loom above us as we get closer to the caves. The area narrows down until we get to the base of a rock fall. These are the caves.

Sherri Climbing

Pondering the Climb

We don our headlamps and enter the boulder field. The boulders are stacked 40-80' high. Right from the get-go, these are not the caves I remember. The public could pretty much walk through them then. But now, we have to crawl up places, being careful not to bump our heads-Sherri did a few times, ouch! We also climbed up some steep , small steps in places-glad we had boots on. The headlamps came in use many times. There are no large caverns on this trip. But the clutter of rock make the caves interesting. Towards the end of the cave section, we come across several chockstones wedged straight above us-in some places causing us to duck. After going through there, I felt like Aron Ralston, but with two arms, thankfully.

Above the Caves

Yours truly, forgot to bring, or even pack, our lunch. So we had to be content to eat a Clif bar at the end of the trail, just after crossing the creek. We then decided to use a trail which bypasses the caves, but goes up towards the base of the Balconies. This ascent, reminded me, more in texture and temperature, than duration and rise of Refrigerator Canyon in Zion. The redness of the rock and the rising up to see the lay of the land. But the ascent only took about 20 minutes.

California Condor

Condors at their Next

When we got close to the base, we saw some black looking birds circling high up. One of them landed in a hole in the rock wall. The rest circled around. We looked at them for a good 15 minutes. Looked like some California Condors to us. As we traveled the base of the cliffs, we were able to look down on the boulder field which created the Balconies caves. It is still pretty impressive. We got back to the car around 2pm and took off.

Instead of coming back via Hollister, like we came, we went south down highway 25, towards Coalinga. There is some. Beautiful spring scenery in that area. Also, pretty isolated territory. Enjoyable drive. Had a Subway sandwich in Coalinga, then headed home. Got back to the house around 5.:30. Unpacked and had dinner at Casa. Pretty satisfying trip.

References:
Feb 19th Hike
Feb 20th Hike