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Dick's Adventures of
2024 - Part 1 |
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Finegold
North Sycamore
Fire Road Secret
Trail at Finegold
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Finegold
North
(Photos by Teri and Dick)This
is one of my made-up names, and a short hike on an unofficial trail.
From Auberry Road a short distance into the foothills you can turn
left on Millerton Road; or you can access it from Friant Road near
Friant Dam. Near the Table Mountain Casino, turn on to Sky Harbor
Road, which goes up a hill, then winds around above Millerton
Lake
to a housing development. At the end of the road is the Finegold
Picnic Area, a county park that is almost always closed. People park
along the road and take the San
Joaquin River Trail up hill to the
south. That
route has become too steep for me, so I have been going down
from the turnaround north to a fishermen's trail/cow trail/old road that goes around a
little divide between the lake and a small
inlet. I've been there solo,
with the
Ramblers, and with daughter Teri. On this hike we didn't take
many photos, so I have recycled some from earlier hikes, with the
year of origin identified. On
January 13 Teri, her mom Jackie, and I went to Chowchilla for the
Chamber of Commerce Banquet, where my younger daughter Jennifer was
being honored as Teacher of the Year. We got back to Teri's
at 10:30, and as planned, I stayed overnight. The
next morning, after
a breakfast of oatmeal, we drove out to Sky Harbor (as planned) and
hiked the trail north of the road. The trail is mostly level with a few
gentle ups and downs, but it starts out with a rather daunting
30-foot descent from the end of the pavement. I get a good grip on
my hiking poles, proceed very carefully, and have never had a
problem on this section. The recent rains have made the trail damp,
which improves footing. When it's dry, it's easy to slip on the
loose soil. At
the bottom, he trail goes directly north and becomes completely flat
for a hundred yards or so as you pass the inlet. Water is not up
that far at this time due to the low lake level. Another short, moderately
steep climb brings you to an old road that goes west and around the
point of land between the inlet and the main lake.
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Where
the trail goes out toward the western-most point of the divide (from
2018) |
Our
trail is the black line on the left (from 2020) |
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The
weather was all we could ask for - blue sky with white clouds,
increasing slightly as the day went on. There were lots of cars
lining the road, and we got in a few hundred extra steps walking
from where we parked. For only the second time, we encountered other
people on "our" trail, a couple with a kid and a dog. They
went down the steep hillside off the trail to the lake, and out on a
little spit of land that jutted out into the water. Under
the "always something new" category, we observed large
areas of the tall, dry grass that had been flattened down. It was
the type of thing you see where cows lie in the grass, but the
hillside was too steep for that, no cows were in evidence, and the
area was much larger than what a cow or two does. We speculated that
there could have been a strong wind that knocked the grass over, but
it may always be a mystery. |
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Flattened
grass below the trail |
Dramatic
black and white rock |
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There
were plenty of rock outcroppings, trees and small bushes along the
trail, and of course, constant views of the lake. A dead tree that
fell across the trail a few years ago was held up by branches, but
has dropped down a bit and now requires a bit of bending to get
under. Some bushes with red stems grow along a 50-yard stretch of
the trail, but they remain unidentified, and we've never seen them
anywhere else. |
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The
Ramblers in 2020 at a tree that fell and created a tunnel on the
trail |
There are
a lot of these unknown shrubs in one short stretch along the trail (2022) |
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Low
winter sun makes the lake glow |
Cars
parked on Sky Harbor Road in 2019 are visible
through the branches of this leafless blue oak tree |
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When
we returned to the car, we had walked a mile and a third, and
enjoyed California's mild January weather. Colder days and more rain
were ahead, but we would be inside in our comfy chairs and wrapped
in blankets when that happens.
--Dick
Estel, January 2024 |
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Sycamore Fire Road
The next
Ramblers hike is not until April 18 and during the first week of the month, I was
getting restless. The weather was expected to be warm through Wednesday, with
a high of 80. The next day it would drop into the mid 50's as
one more winter storm tried to delay the arrival of spring. I
decided I would hike at Sycamore Fire Road, another of those "old favorites" I've visited and
written about many times. The first time was in April 10
years ago, a bit later in the month than this year.
I
got started from home a little after 9 a.m. on April 3, giving my
brand new Honda CR-V Hybrid its first real test (I went over the 100
mile marker just before reaching the trailhead). Calling
this hiking place a road is a little generous. It IS in fact an
old road, but at its best is now more of a cow path. There is no
official maintenance, although some fallen trees that blocked the trail
have been removed. There's always evidence of other hikers having
been there, but it looks as if 4-wheel drive enthusiasts have given
up on the challenges offered by trees across the route, with new
ones coming down every year. |
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Pine Flat Lake and Island Park Marina
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Sierra snow and the hills above the lake
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However,
there is no shortage of wildflowers. Along Trimmer Springs Road there were many
poppies, especially after I got past the Edison Point trailhead.
Fiddlenecks and bush lupines at the lowest elevation were fading,
but were very good farther up. Just past Piedra, where the road
parallels Hughes Creek, there were the expected popcorn
flowers, but in small numbers, and where the road goes up over a
ridge and down to the lake, there were a few Chinese houses in a
location where they are always found. At the top of the ridge
massive numbers of fiddlenecks were in their proper place. |
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Chinese houses along the main road |
Filaree (AKA storkbill) gone to seed |
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However,
the number of species really increased along the trail itself,
although most were relatively few in number. This did not apply to
the bird's eye gillia, which appeared in massive clusters, just as
they had last
year. I could go on and on about the flowers, but I'll just
stick to a few thousand-word photos, except to note that at the one
place where we always see baby blue eyes, they were out in record
numbers. |
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The most common flowers were bird's eye gillia
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Harvest brodiaea, AKA pretty face
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Dove lupine
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Delicate blossoms of Sierra star
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Blue dicks, with a few daisies and Sierra star |
Baby blue eyes |
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Wild cucumber seed pods - definitely NOT edible |
Blue oak in its spring greenery |
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I've
written about this hike a number of times, and there's really not
much new to say, so I will babble on about the condition and
evolution of the trail over the ten years I've been going there. At
first it was clear that the route had been used by 4-wheel drive
vehicles (which I will abbreviate 4WD), despite the difficulty of
access. The beginning
of the trail is blocked by four stout concrete posts, but 4WD
users were undaunted, and made a bypass up the hill to the right and
around the barrier. There were several places where trees had fallen
across the trail, but visitors were not deterred. If the tree was
too big or brushy to just step over, hikers had created detours
close to the trail. The 4WD detours often required finding a route
between the rocks and trees, sometime as much as 50 to 100 feet
away, and a good distance up or down hill from the trail. In more
recent years I think the 4WD people have given up, since I've not
seen any vehicle detours around recent tree falls.
On
most of my hikes, there were newly
fallen trees to contend with on each visit. Some blocked only part
of the trail and did not require a detour, but others have
proved more challenging. This live
oak trunk cracked and came down part way but stayed up at such
an angle that I could easily duck under it. A couple of years later
it had dropped down to where I could not get under, and getting over
was very difficult. Fortunately someone came in with a chain saw and
solved the
problem.
A
bull pine with two big trunks required a bypass at first, but on my
recent hike, it had been breaking down, possibly helped by hikers'
boots, so that I could get through between two sections of one
trunk, and easily step over the other.
Although
I've mentioned 4WD and hiker detours, this is a very low-use area.
In all my adventures there, I've encountered other hikers just one
time. Lack of traffic allows grass and flowers to grow right in the
trail, but there is never any danger of getting off the route. Just
past where I turned back on my first hike, there is a large
open area with lots of grass and a few trees, and no discernable
trail. When I finally decided to walk through this area, I spotted a
very obvious road going east. There were so many trees
across this section that I hesitated to continue, but I did and
was glad, since I came to a creek crossing with the biggest flow of
any of the five streams that cross the trail. On my 2024 hike, most
of these logs have rotted or been moved, and there was only one
actually blocking the trail. An old man could easily step over it.
(I know this story is true, because I was that old man.)
When
I did this hike last year, I did not go as far as I usually have in
the past. When I reached the steep hill that goes into an area where
the trail is not really obvious, I rested on a log, then turned
back. This year I vowed even before I left home to push on to what I
call Best Creek, the biggest (and best) creek on the hike. That
daunting hill looked steeper and longer than ever, but I gripped my
hiking poles, gritted my teeth, and forged upward.
I
crossed the open grassy area, and got on the section that is the
most clearly marked stretch of old road on the entire route. With
only the one tree to step over, this section was almost restful. In
the past I have gone beyond the creek, but the first part is another
extra steep section, and I was pleased with what I had accomplished
to this point. I rested on a log, enjoyed the scenery, and started
back.
Going
down the steep section below the big grassy area is a little
difficult with gravity trying to "help" you get down, but
I made it safely through that spot and back to my car. As I neared
the trailhead, I'm pretty sure I heard a rattlesnake sound a warning
in the grass off to the side of the trail. I had brought lunch and
drove about a mile to the wide entry to one of the old campgrounds,
where there was room to set up my chair and eat lunch in the
shade. I resisted the temptation to walk in a short distance
on the road, because I will be hiking in this location with the
Ramblers later in April. I drove home with only a couple of stops to
take more photos, which was just as well, since I managed to take a
total of 166 photos on my camera and cell phone. Only a select few
appear in this report and below.
--Dick
Estel, April 2024 |
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Secret Trail at Finegold
OK,
it's not much of a secret, but more about that later. On April 10, a
week after my hike on the unofficial Sycamore Fire Road, I found
myself on another unofficial trail, this one at the Finegold Picnic
area at the end of Sky Harbor Road, next to Millerton
Lake. There is one official trail here, the San
Joaquin River Trail, which goes about 12 miles to the San
Joaquin River Gorge Special Management Area. I've hiked up to a
mile and a half in and back on this trail, but of course, 12-mile
hikes are long in my past. I also sometimes hike a mile or so in and
out on the other end from the Gorge parking area.
There's
another trail here I've hiked a number of times, including in January
of this
year. It goes down from the parking lot and around a point of land
between the main lake and a little cove below the road. I call it
Finegold North. And there is one more unofficial trail which I had
partially explored
in 2012. From the parking area a path leads to a group picnic
shelter a couple hundred yards away. A clearly marked trail goes
beyond this point, parallel to the lake. In 2012 I went a short
distance on this route and then headed up hill from the lake. I ended
up reaching the knoll above
the saddle on the San Joaquin River Trail from the "back
way." After the trail started up the "trail"
disappeared and I was going cross country over
fallen logs and around brush, an adventure I did not care to
repeat 12 years later. But the "good" trail follows the
hills above the lake an unknown distance, and I walked a total of
eight tenths of a mile before turning back.
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Millerton Lake from the Finegold group picnic area
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Posts without a fence
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I
rarely encounter others on these unofficial trails, but just after
going through a gate a short distance from the picnic shelter I
realized I was not alone. A woman came through the gate and was
catching up to me, so I stopped to let her pass. Of course, we said
hello, and she said, "I recognize you." It turned out she
was Karen B., who I had known in the Westerners
International organization that I belonged to for a while. She had
also worked with the county retired employees association board, of
which I am a member, on a ballot measure supporting the county
library. We talked for several minutes and I learned that she lives
there at Sky Harbor, although she is selling her house. She said she
will miss being able to step out her door and walk on the trails.
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About a fourth of the posts in this fence are trees
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The tree grew over the wire, but now appears to be
dying
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As
we said goodbye, she told me that there were bedrock mortars where a
drainage comes down into the lake, a short distance up the trail. I
continued to follow the trail, enjoying the various wildflowers along
the way, till I came to a large rock formation. I did not see the
native grinding holes, and did not want to try to climb up in the
rocks looking for them. Instead I sat on a log, enjoyed a snack, and
got ready to return to the parking lot.
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Jumbled rock formation where the trail goes through
a drainage
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Close-up of fiddleneck blossoms
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There were only a few purple brodiaea
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Popcorn flowers are mostly done, but this one
still looked great
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I
struggled to come up with one of my personal names for this trail.
It's obviously not a complete secret, but it gets very little use, so
it's kind of a secret from most visitors to the area. I hope to visit
again and explore a little further, and maybe that will inspire a
better name. In the meantime, Secret Trail will have to do.
I
should mention, for those who are inclined to follow this old man's
footsteps, that there are a couple of very steep spots. They are
short, not more than 30 feet, but I had to take great care when going
down, and go a bit off the trail in one spot to find better footing.
As usual, going back up was much easier, although it put great demand
on the lungs. This is just a hap-hazard cow path/fisherman's trail -
no engineers labored over the drawing board to make steep descents
easier.
The
grass was still green, the flowers were a delight, and all in all it
was a very satisfactory outing.
--Dick
Estel, April 2024
More
Photos
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