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2018
Ramblers Hikes Page 2 |
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The
Ramblers are Carolyn Amicone, Julie Hornback, Wes Thiessen, Don
McClellan, Sue Wirt, Elsa Sweeney, Ardyss Webster, and Dick Estel, former colleagues at the Fresno County
Department of Social Services. Every month or so we get together for
a short hike, good conversation, and lunch.
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Photos
Related Links
More
Travel Reports 2017
Hikes 2018
Part 1 2018
Part 3 |
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Nelder
Grove
Rancheria Falls
Big Stump Basin
Courtright Reservoir &
McKinley Grove |
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Nelder
Grove
The
Ramblers seem to be a little beat up these days. Two of our members
are awaiting surgery. One is using a walker until further notice.
Another has a lot of personal matters to deal with. This left us
with just Sue,
Wes and Dick for our May hike in Nelder
Grove, one of our favorite destinations. Wes and I have done
Rambler hikes there several times, most recently in November
of 2016. Sue started coming to Nelder Grove around the same time
that I did, in the 1960s, but had not been there for fifteen years
or more.
We met
at my house on May 28 and took my pickup, stopping in Oakhurst for
sandwiches from Raley's. We started our hike around 11:30, choosing
to take the Bull
Buck Loop Trail counter-clockwise. This leads the hiker through
a half mile of pine, fir and cedar forest, set off by great numbers
of dogwood trees in
bloom. If you know where to look, the Bull
Buck Tree reveals itself gradually, the top
visible above its lesser companions, then the huge
red trunk glimpsed through the forest. A few more steps and you
are in the area cleared by a former campground host to provide a top
to bottom view of this amazing sequoia, from a distance of about
100 yards. To give an idea of what a delight this is, when I first
saw this tree it was surrounded by brush and smaller trees, and
there was no full view except standing at the base and tilting your
head WAY back, with very unsatisfactory results.
I like
to claim that on our hikes in California, there are always some
flowers any time of the year. This is late spring in the mountains
and on the calendar, and the trail was lined with yellow violets and
wild iris.
We saw patches of lupines here and there, and the large white blooms
of dogwood
along the roads and trail. The big round orange blossom clusters of western
wall flowers were evident along the roads and trail.
Many
other visitors were taking advantage of the excellent Memorial Day
weather (high 70s), and we saw perhaps a dozen vehicles parked in
various parts of the trail access area. Three groups were camping
there. On the trails we met and talked with five or six groups. We
finished the loop by walking down the old road from the Bull Buck
back to the campground, where we set up a table and folding chairs,
and enjoyed our lunch accompanied by the sight and sound of California
Creek.
The
creek flows south from the campground for several hundred yards. It
crosses the main road about a quarter mile past the turnoff to
Nelder Campground where it drops over a short waterfall. Starting in
the lower part of the campground there is a path, not an official
trail, along the east side of the creek. The trail ends at the top
of the falls. If my memory is correct it is impossible or at
least dangerous for sensible people to try to get down to the road
from this point. I had not gone down this path for many years, so
when we had finished eating and put away our chairs and stuff, we
decided to walk down it a ways. About two thirds of the way to the
end we came to a place where the creek dropped down fifty or sixty
feet in a series of cascades ending in a nice ten-foot waterfall.
There were three young people down in the creek bed below the falls
taking photos, so Wes, the youngest person in our group, decided he
would make his way down also. Sue and I continued a short distance
to where we could see the bottom of the little
falls and keep an eye on Wes. He made it safely back up to the
trail, and we returned to my truck and started for home.
Wes
provided his usual post-hike summary:
This Memorial Day, the Ramblers hiked the Bull Buck Trail in Nelder Grove, a short drive above Oakhurst. It wasn't the length of the hike but the beauty of those giant
sequoias. The Grove was touched by the Railroad Fire of last year. But it remains a magnificent stand of giant trees. When we completed the trail, we ate delicious sandwiches a la
Raley's. We then hiked along California Creek to enjoy its unique waterfall. In short, it was a great day with three friends who
were lost in the natural setting. We got back later than expected with smiles on
our faces. It was way too good! We all agreed that the photos below
are a poor representation of what we really saw. It's the best we can
do.
--Dick
Estel, May 2018
Nelder
Grove Photos
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Rancheria
Falls
The
destination for our June hike was to a place that has become a
favorite, Rancheria Falls
near Huntington
Lake. Our first visit to this spot was two
years earlier, and we returned again in June
of 2017. The trailhead is reached via two miles of fair dirt
road off Highway 168 at the east end of the lake. The hike is less
than two miles round trip, but the surroundings are fantastic, and
the falls is one of the best I've seen outside the national parks.
As it
turned out, this
year's group was identical to 2017. On June 13 Wes, Elsa and I
drove up to the Park & Ride where the highway begins a steep
rise, and my daughter Jennifer drove there from Oakhurst to meet us.
The
trail is lined with flowers,
most of which we could not identify, and is shaded by huge
evergreens, with red
firs dominating. The flow of the
falls was slightly less than when we first saw it in 2016, but
was still a delight, with it's straight drop of 150 feet and another
two or three hundred feet of lively
cascades below. So enticing was the scene that Was had to make
his way down into
the gorge beside the lower cascades to get some
photos.
We
probably spent a half hour or so at the falls, taking pictures and
just enjoying the majestic beauty of falling
water. There were a lot of people on the trail, but not so many
as to make it crowded. Since our hike had been so short, when we got
back to the highway we drove a short distance toward home and turned
in at the China Peak Ski Resort parking area. At the very back of
the property a trail follows Big Creek upstream to some large
swimming holes known as Indian Pools. We had visited this location last
year as an alternative to Rancheria when that trail was still
closed. This hike was very short, just over a half mile round-trip,
but the creek was flowing well, and we were able to enjoy a slightly
different forest environment, dominated by Jeffrey pines.
Wes
provided his usual post-hike summary:
Today the Ramblers traveled to Huntington Lake to hike two trails including Rancheria Falls and Indian Pools. These are short hikes with magnificent waterfalls. We found there was less water flowing over the rock formations when compared to
last year. But any water forced down by the pull of gravity is worth seeing. With the lower levels, I was able to climb into the water channel and take photo images of the water flow. My companions were worried (not for me) because I had the car keys in my pocket (ha!). As we walked back to
the trailhead, Dick and his daughter, Jen, gave us an "inservice"
training on the difference between the various fir trees we encountered. Elsa and I were mystified by their lecture. All we could see is the beautiful bright green foliage that had come out since the year past. It is beautiful to see. I trust
our photo images captured that beauty.
We
returned to the car and drove down the hill to Shaver Lake, where we
searched for a place to have lunch. Out of several choices, we first
went into a barbecue place, but they were out of most of the limited
menu, and directed us to another location under the same ownership.
We enjoyed excellent sandwiches at the Pub
& Grub, which is located off the road a short distance, and
out of sight behind other buildings. It's worth seeking out.
When
we arrived back at the 2,000 foot level where Jennifer's car was
parked, we experienced a bit of "heat shock" as we opened
the door. After all, we had spent much of the day above 7,000 feet.
However, this prepared us for the even warmer temperatures when we
stepped out of Wes's air-conditioned vehicle at my house in Clovis.
We vowed to head for the high country for another outing as soon as
we could schedule it.
--Dick
Estel, June 2018
Rancheria
Hike Photos
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Big
Stump Basin
The
Ramblers welcomed a new member for this July 31 hike, Ardyss
Webster, another retiree from the Fresno County Department of Social
Services. She proved her commitment to hiking by buying boots and
hiking poles before the event. We also welcomed my older great
grandson, Colton. He's a good hiker and can keep up with everyone,
but insists on controlling the rest
and snack stops. Also present were Elsa Sweeney, Wes Thiessen,
and Dick Estel.
Our
destination was the Big
Stump Basin Trail, just inside the entrance to Kings
Canyon National Park. As we drove up Highway 180 from Fresno, we
were concerned about parking problems and crowds. We knew that the
large parking lot at the trailhead was closed for maintenance, and
much of Yosemite was closed due to a fire, sending many extra
visitors to Kings Canyon and Sequoia. However, there was only one
other car parked along the road when we arrived, with room for
several more. Smoke from the Ferguson
Fire near Yosemite and several other blazes is drifting all over
the state, and we had some haze during the drive up, but it was
pretty clear with no smell of smoke where we hiked.
I have
hiked this trail a number of times and Colton and I did it last
September. However, it was the first time for the others. It's a
short loop hike that passes a few large
sequoias, a number of big
stumps from 19th century logging operations, and a large meadow
filled with flowers. Our first side trip was a fairly low stump that
both Wes and Colton were able to climb. Farther on a spur trail goes
a short way off the loop to the Mark
Twain Stump, where a huge sequoia was cut down in 1891 so that
sections of its 16-foot diameter trunk could be displayed in New
York and London, partly to prove that such huge trees did in fact
exist. A photographer captured the felling of the
tree, and the
photo is displayed on a plaque near the stump. Stairs have been
built to allow easy access to the large top of this stump.
A
short distance from the Mark Twain is "The Castle,"
Colton's name for a huge, broken-off sequoia with jagged spires, and
plenty of easy foot and handholds for
climbing. This is probably his favorite part of the hike,
although he did less climbing this time than he did a year earlier.
Heading
back toward the start of the trail on the
rest of the loop takes you across the "Shattered
Giant," a big sequoia that broke into pieces when it was
cut, a common happening due to the brittle character of the wood.
Many sections of such trees were split into posts and roofing
shakes, and the Shattered Giant shows evidence of such work.
All
the "newcomers" enjoyed this mile and a half walk. During
our hike we talked with visitors from China, France, Belgium and
Austria. Some of them had planned to visit Yosemite but had to
content themselves with this lesser-known but still delightful park.
After we returned to the cars and changed out of our boots, we went
to the Grant Grove Restaurant, where the international flavor or our
day continued as we were seated by a host who hails from Russia. We
enjoyed our lunch as well as a nice view from our window table of a
flower-filled meadow below.
As
always, Wes provided a spot-on post-hike review:
This morning, five brave souls left this smoke filled valley for greener pastures. We drove to Kings Canyon National Park and found sunshine and blue sky over the 6,000 foot mark. Our goal was to walk the Big Stump trail just inside the park entrance. We found ourselves walking in a
deep green forest with wild fern plants all around. We welcomed Ardyss Webster on her first of many hikes to come. She was
quite the sport. And the veteran hiker, Colton, was true to his reputation: strong and fast on the trail. Of course I brought my camera which I focused more on
our people than the landscape. I trust you will enjoy seeing
our intrepid crew in some of the images on the web page.
Despite
the elevation of around 6,000 feet, it was a fairly warm hike. We
plan to head up another 2,000 feet higher in August.
--Dick Estel, August 2018
Big
Stump Trail Photos |
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Courtright
Reservoir & McKinley Grove
The
ever-changing mix of Ramblers sought relief from triple digit
temperatures at the 8,000 foot level on August 15. The always
intrepid hikers on this trip were Ardyss, Sue, Wes and Dick. Since
it's a long drive, we got started around 8 a.m., and made a few
stops to look at attractions along the way. The result was that we
didn't get on the trail till 11:30 a.m., but we still had time to do
our hike and enjoy lunch surrounded by the pines and junipers near
the parking lot.
Before
we got to the turnoff to Courtright, we stopped at McKinley
Grove, a small but very
nice stand of giant sequoias a few miles east of Dinkey Creek on
the McKinley Grove Road. Although the grove is not very big, the
trees there are impressive,
averaging 15 feet in diameter and 250
feet in height. A short, paved trail winds through the
approximately 20 big trees. Just up the road is Gigantea
Campground, with about 10 spaces.
A few
miles farther the road forks, with the right fork going to Wishon
Reservoir, and the left to Courtright. Both routes are about eight
miles. The Courtright road rises steadily, getting up above 8,000
feet, dipping down, and back up at the lake. Along the way there is
a vista point offering a spectacular view of the LeConte
Divide and the drainage of the North Fork of the Kings River.
Mt. Goddard stands above everything on the divide, rising above
13,000 feet. We also had a couple of delays at places where dead
trees are being removed. The longest was about 10 minutes, so we got
and enjoyed the shade of the red fir forest.
After
these stops, we continued on to the
lake, driving across the dam. This gives you a heart-stopping
view down the canyon of Helms Creek, with a nearly vertical drop of
over 200 feet from the crest of the dam to the bottom. It's about a
mile from here to the Maxson Trailhead parking lot, where we left
Wes's vehicle and started north on the trail. This is a route I've
taken and written about numerous times, but it always offers
something new.
Wes
and I have hiked this trail several times, but McKinley Grove and
Courtright were all new to Ardyss, and Sue had not been to
Courtright for over 40 years. One of the great joys of our hikes is
seeing familiar places through the eyes of friends who are enjoying
them for the first time.
As we
were sauntering along, we heard a vehicle approaching, heading out.
We talked with the two occupants, and learned that they were going
out to get ice and make a phone call, then were returning to join
several others the next day to start the 35-mile, 2-3 day drive to
Kaiser Pass on the Ducy-Ershim
4-Wheel Drive Trail, considered one of the most challenging in the
U.S. Their Jeep was clearly up to the task, with a high short wheel
base, heavy duty tires, and other added features that are a
necessity for this route.
They
also told us that one of their companions had a bag of medications
that was snatched by a raven, and asked us to be on the lookout for
it. Later we calculated the odds of recovering booty from a raven
were pretty small.
About
3/4 of a mile in, the route separates, with the 4-wheel drive route
going left, and the foot trail entering a wet area where the trail
is a boardwalk for several hundred feet. The boards are actually
small native logs, and because they have deteriorated considerably,
the ladies took an alternative foot path around this spot. Wes and I
forged ahead, but decided we might prefer the detour next time.
Just
past the end of the boardwalk, we went west off the trail to the
place I have named the Giants'
Marble Game and also the Big
Granite Slope. The second link leads to a good discussion of
this feature, so I won't repeat it here. The large boulders
scattered across this granite base offer endless opportunities for
the traditional Wes
on the Rock photo, and this time I also captured video of Wes
getting OFF the rock,
which is at least as important as getting on.
We had
a snack here, took a group photo, then followed the rock cairns and
blue reflective dots that mark the 4-wheel drive trail across the
slope, and made our way down a somewhat challenging section of that
road. We all agreed that we would not care to drive on the trail in
any kind of vehicle.
We
made our way back to the trailhead, which requires a fairly steep
uphill climb for the last 100 yards or so. You can go up the rough
jeep road, or a rocky foot path, and we chose a combination which
seemed to take in the best parts of each option.
As
always, Wes had a few things to say as he sent out some of his
photos from the hike:
The Ramblers are back in business after a prolonged period of
smoke filled skies. Today Dick, Wes, Sue and Ardyss traveled to the high country to find blue skies and
white
cotton fluffy clouds. Our destination was Courtright Reservoir, a hour's drive
east of Shaver Lake. We made frequent stops along the way to enjoy the big
sequoias at McKinley Grove and marvel at the LeConte Divide at the top of the Sierras. We hiked a trail on the
east side of the dam to study unique rock
formations. It was an amazing adventure and we all came away with a sense of
awe at the natural beauty. The images on the web page can show you
only a small piece of the beauty.
We had
our lunch sitting on rocks by the parking area, and started back
down the mountains, getting home a bit over ten hours after our
departure.
--Dick Estel, August 2018
Courtright
Photos |
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Photos
(Click to enlarge; pictures open in new window)
(Photos by Wes
Thiessen and Dick Estel) |
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Nelder
Grove
Rancheria Falls
Big Stump Trail
Courtright Reservoir &
McKinley Grove |
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Nelder Grove |
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Wes on
the trail |
Wild
iris |
A patch
of western wall flowers |
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Dick and
Sue inspect a dogwood |
An
excellent dogwood blossom display |
The top
of the Bull Buck |
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Top to
bottom view of the tree |
The base
is surrounded by dogwood |
Dick,
Sue and Wes - the Ramblers at the Bull Buck |
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California
Creek runs under the camp road |
The
upper falls on California Creek |
Another
cascade on the creek |
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Trail
through the trees |
Dogwood
blossoms by the Bull Buck |
Big
stump and the creek |
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Rancheria
Falls Hike |
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The
trail where it approaches the falls |
First
view of the falls from the trail |
Elsa
takes in the amazing view |
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Long
cascade below the falls |
Wes down
in the gorge |
The view
Wes enjoyed |
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A wide
angle view from down in the gorge |
Rancheria
Falls |
Wes had
to climb up to climb back down |
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New
growth on fir trees |
Trail
through the red fir forest |
Mountain
pride penstemon |
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These
unknown flowers were thick |
Dick,
Elsa, Jennifer, Wes |
Big
Creek, east of China Peak Ski Resort |
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Big
Stump Basin Trail |
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Ardyss,
Elsa, Colton and Wes, ready to hike |
The big
sequoia near the start of the trail |
Young
and old alike can climb this stump |
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Colton
and Wes on the stump |
This
tall stump looms over the trail |
Elsa and
Ardyss were not tempted to do any stump climbing |
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Colton,
Dick and Wes at our snack stop |
A
green stretch of the trail |
Colton
on the "Castle" |
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Ardyss,
Elsa and Dick at Smith Comstock Mill site |
Evidence
of logging from the late 19th Century |
A patch
of yellow against the green |
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Western
asters |
An
earlier photo of the Mark Twain Stump |
Colton
at the Mark Twain Stump |
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The
beginning of the last leg of the trail |
Dick and
Elsa make their way across the Shattered Giant
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Big tree
that escaped becoming a big stump |
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Courtright
Reservoir & McKinley Grove |
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Wes, Sue
and Ardyss marvel at a huge sequoia |
Base of
the giant |
The
grove has a number of very tall specimens |
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Once on
the rock, Wes must also get down |
A
classic view of Courtright Reservoir |
Wes on
the rock (click for a video of him getting down) |
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The
Ramblers: Sue, Dick, Ardyss and Wes |
It was
one of those days with beautiful cloud formations |
More
clouds over a distant dome |
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Wes on
another rock |
Constant
Dome, between the trail and the lake |
The Big
Granite Slope, with nice clouds |
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The road
across the dam |
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The
Big Granite Slope at the end of our hike |
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Related
Links |
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Friends
of Nelder Grove |
Shadow
of the Giants Trail |
USFS
Nelder Site |
Dick's
Nelder Grove Page |
Bull
Buck Tree |
Bull
Buck Loop Trail |
Railroad
Fire |
Other
Nelder Grove Visits |
A
Hike in Nelder Grove |
Rancheria Falls |
Huntington
Lake |
Pub
& Grub Shaver Lake |
Kings
Canyon National Park |
Big
Stump Basin Trail |
Felling the
Mark Twain Tree |
Saving
the Sequoias |
McKinley
Grove |
Courtright
Reservoir |
Ducy-Ershim
Trail |
LeConte
Divide |
The
Ramblers First Courtright Hike |
About
the Big Granite Slope |
Video
- Wes off the rock |
Previous
Courtright Trips |
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