2019 Rambler Hikes
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Rambler
Hikes 2017 Rambler
Hikes 2018 2019
Part 1 2019
Part 3
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Oakhurst
River Parkway & Corlieu Falls
Rancheria Falls & Big Creek
Buena Vista Peak
Tokopah Falls
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Oakhurst River Parkway
by Dick and Wes
Dick:
Our May hike brought us to a trail that none of us had hiked before,
although I had been on part of it with daughter Jennifer in the
early 2000's. We also did a second hike that was new to half our
group. However, I'm getting ahead of things here. On May 30 Ardyss,
Allen and I left my place in Clovis at 7:30 a.m., and met Wes at the
Park & Ride at Highways 41 and 145. We expected to have Don join
us there but he had to cancel at the last minute, so we all got in
Wes's Highlander for the 40-mile drive to Oakhurst. Here we met with
Bev from nearby Ahwahnee, and hiked on the Oakhurst
River Parkway. I didn't really remember what the trail was like
or even where it started, but an internet search turned up the
needed information, and we found it with no trouble. Wes:
The Ramblers' hike today was a "two for." That is to say, we got two hikes for the price of one. We started the morning at the Oakhurst River Parkway which offers trails along
China Creek and the Fresno River. Although we were in the midst Oakhurst, the trails gave the illusion of being in the wilderness. We crossed several foot bridges and enjoyed the lush green
plants and valley oak forest on the river banks.
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Ardyss,
Bev, Dick and Allen ready to hike |
The
Fresno River |
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We
didn't see them, but there are beaver in the river |
A rustic
bridge |
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Dick:
Along the trail and in the town park we saw a beautiful flower,
which Allen identified as rock rose - not wildflowers, but still
providing an added scenic bonus as we walked. From the park, the
trail led us down into the channel of China Creek for about a
quarter mile. We came to a short uphill section and found ourselves
in town again, on Road 425. We walked west a short distance to a
traffic signal where we could cross safely, then on a sidewalk in
front of a small office building. Soon we were back in nature, this
time walking along the bank of the Fresno River. We found a place
where a senior citizen who's almost 70 could pose safely for a
"Wes on the rock" picture.
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Rock
roses were planted in a number of places by the trail and road |
Wes on
the rock in the river |
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Wes: We saw a field of poppies which may have been planted years ago but appeared to be growing at random. They offered an interesting foreground to one of the
town
murals. Retracing our steps, we finished the river walk well before noon. Bev
left for home to prepare for company while the rest of us drove up
Highway 41 about five miles for our second hike of the day along the Lewis Creek
Trail.
We wanted to see Corlieu Falls at its peak
flow, and we were not disappointed. The water roared as it raced through large boulders and down
a 150 foot drop, offering lots of interesting sights and sounds.
Dick:
Although Wes and I have hiked this trail a number of times, it was
the first visit for Ardyss and Allen, who were delighted with this
little-known dramatic waterfall. Although it's only a bit more than
a half mile from the trailhead to a viewing platform, it's fairly
steep, and rocky in places.
The
trail descends into the Lewis Creek canyon through a forest of
canyon live oaks, ponderosa pine and cedar, plus the usual bushes
and plants. Flowers we saw included Indian pinks, elderberry,
miner's lettuce, bear clover and wild
iris.
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Corlieu
Falls |
A rush of
water at the base of the falls |
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After
enjoying the cool surroundings at the falls, we hiked back to the
car, and drove to Oakhurst for a delicious lunch at Pete's
Place, where we discussed our next hike. Options include Nelder
Grove and Rancheria Falls. Stay tuned!
More
Photos |
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Rancheria
Falls and Big Creek |
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This
is a hike the Ramblers have made several times, the first one in
2016. It's fairly short and easy, but the reward is one of the
more spectacular
waterfalls outside of our national parks.
We
left my house at 7:30 on June 19 and drove the 60 miles to Huntington
Lake. At the east end of the lake a dirt road goes in about a
mile to the trailhead for the Rancheria
Falls Trail. Our group this time included Sue, Wes, Allen and
Dick. It was cool and comfortable when we got on the trail, although
we did encounter some obstacles - at least five logs that had fallen
across the trail. The route had just opened, so we understood why
there had not been time for the logs to be cleared. |
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The
Ramblers: Dick Estel, Sue Wirt, Allen Ward, Wes Thiessen |
Getting
around the first fallen tree |
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We
managed to climb over or go around all the logs, and reached our
goal, where we saw that the falls was running as full as we had ever
seen it. It was the first visit for Sue and Allen, but Wes and I
have been there with or without other members of the Ramblers a
number of times.
Following
his usual habit, Wes went down a steep, narrow unofficial trail to a
good vista point. Although there is a clear view of the 150 foot
drop of the falls from top to bottom at the end of the trail, the
spot Wes chose gives a better view of the cascades below the main
drop. |
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Wes finds
the perfect viewing spot |
Rancheria
Falls and the cascades below |
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We
enjoyed the view and the dramatic sound of rushing water, getting
well dampened with mist in the process. As we took a final look at
Rancheria Falls, I could not help thinking how much my great
grandson Colton would like it, having become a big fan of waterfalls
after his first visit to Yosemite at age three. |
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Rancheria
Falls |
The big
cascade below the main falls |
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It
was not even noon when we got back to the car. Since our hike had
been fairly short and easy, we decided to go to the Big Creek Trail,
which starts behind the China
Peak Ski Lodge, about a mile from the Rancheria road. We have
made this hike before, although we never go very far - less than
half a mile round trip in this case. This creek is even bigger than
Rancheria, and at this season is mostly white water crashing and
cascading over rocks and boulders. |
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Wes gets
too close to Big Creek |
Lots of
white water |
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After
we finished our second hike, we made a lunch stop at Shaver Lake,
where we ate at the Pub and
Grub, an excellent restaurant we had discovered by accident on a
previous Ramblers hike. We missed those members of our group who
were not able to join us on this special hike, but hopefully they
will be back on the trail in July.
--Dick
Estel, July 2019
More
Rancheria & Big Creek Photos |
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Buena Vista Peak
Here's
another place the Ramblers have visited several times, as have individual members on non-Rambler hikes.
Buena
Vista Peak is a 7,600 foot high dome in
Kings
Canyon National Park,
a short distance from the northern end of the Generals
Highway.
With a group of nine, we left the valley in three cars on July 19
for the 60 mile drive up Highway 180 and into the Grant Grove
section of Kings Canyon. Where the road forks we turned right, a
route that eventually leads to Giant
Forest in Sequoia National
Park. A left turn takes you to Grant Grove and eventually to Hume
Lake (outside the park) and the Cedar Grove section of Kings Canyon.
Present
for this journey were Elsa, Ardyss, Pati, Berdie, Sue, Allen, Don,
Wes and Dick. We've done over 60 Rambler hikes, and never lost
a hiker - until this time. Soon after we turned on to the Generals
Highway, we pulled off for a short stop at a vista point. When we
continued on, Wes was leading, with Berdie following in her burgundy 2014 Honda CR-V,
and me behind in MY burgundy 2014 Honda CR-V. Wes
pulled off into the parking area, which is just a wide dirt spot
beside the road. He thought I was behind him, and that Berdie would
see as I turned off. Instead I approached the trailhead, only to see
Berdie and Pati drive merrily past. The rest of us got ready to
hike, speculating on how far they would go (all the way to Visalia
was one possibility), but assuming they would soon realize there was
no familiar car in front or back. Don
was not going to do the entire hike, so he set up his chair in the
parking area to watch for their return, while the rest of us set off
up the trail. As it turned out, they figured out pretty soon that
they had missed the turn, but had to wait at a construction zone for
30 minutes before they could turn around. Fortunately,
both are strong hikers, and once they started up the trail, with Don
joining them the first quarter mile, they caught up with us as we
rested for the final approach to the peak. |
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Allen and Sue heading up the trail
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Wes approaches the final stretch with the no longer
lost hikers, Pati and Berdie
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The
rest of our hike was normal: Breathtaking views of the back country
of Kings Canyon and Sequoia Parks, with snow still visible on the
highest peaks; beautiful evergreens, particularly a giant sugar pine
near the trail, and a lot of flowers, dominated by penstemon of
various colors and wavy leaf Indian paint brush. We were especially intrigued by a red, star-shaped
flower that I don't recall ever seeing before.
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Snow-covered mountains in Sequoia National Park
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Ardyss contemplates this magnificent sugar pine
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Wavy leaf Indian paint brush decorated the trail in
many places
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Can anyone identify this delightful flower?
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At
the summit we captured a couple of variations of the mandatory Wes on
the Rock pose. We had views from there and many places on the
trail of Buck Rock,
a granite thimble with a fire lookout on top. It felt good to sit in
the cool breeze of the mountain top.
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Buck Rock with fire lookout perched on top
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Sue and Elsa and the endless vista from the top
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On
the way down we found Don relaxing in an area of huge granite
boulders, where a cedar tree grows out of the rocks at
an angle, then sweeps upward as nature intended.
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Don captured this dramatic rock formation
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At
this location we also saw something new, the rock on Wes. Despite
the slight mix-up, everyone had a great time, and those who were
visiting the peak for the first time enjoyed discovering this new
destination. A
short distance from the trailhead is the Kings
Canyon Overlook, which offers breathtaking views of Spanish
Mountain, rising 7,000 feet above the Kings River Canyon, as well as
the high peaks of the park's back country, most notably Mt.
Goddard. We stopped here for our group photo, although the view
was fairly hazy. This was offset by the sight of dozens of rock cairns
that visitors have built just below the lookout. The park service
scatters them every so often, but they always come back.
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What will happen if Wes lets go?
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Seated: Elsa, Don, Pati; standing:
Wes, Sue, Ardyss, Allen, Dick, Berdie
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The park service scatters these cairns and tourists
just rebuild them
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We
finished our day with an excellent lunch at the
restaurant in Grant Grove Village, and made our plans for another
hike in the same general area for August.
--Dick
Estel, July 2019 More
Buena Vista Peak Photos
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Tokopah Falls
For
our August 5 hike, the Ramblers picked a very challenging outing. The
trail to Tokopah Falls starts at Lodgepole
Campground in Sequoia
National Park, and is 1.7 miles each way, according to the sign. Like
most such distances, this is a rough guess, and the walking app on my
phone reported a total hike of 4.3 miles. The trail rises several
hundred feet in elevation, which is not a lot. However, much of that
rise is via stone steps as much as a foot high. These require a lot of
care and effort for older hiker, especially going down hill.
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Ardyss, Sue and Allen cross the bridge over the
Kaweah at the start of the trail
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Dick at the top of some rocky steps
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Discussing
this hike over lunch on our Buena Vista Hike, Wes suggested that it
was a bit longer than we are used to. Sue proclaimed that it was not
that difficult, and that we could handle it. When we reached the first
place where you can see the entire falls, Sue decided that she had
gone far enough. She observed that something had changed in the 30
years since her previous visit.
It
was a very warm day, despite the 7,000 foot elevation, and Ardyss,
Allen and I all stopped short of the final few hundred yards. Only Wes
went all the way to the end of the trail, where he met a curious
marmot, and had another hiker take his picture with the falls close
behind him.
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Tokopah Falls
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We always see marmots on this hike
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The lower section of the falls
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Wes at the end of the trail
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Despite
these minor setbacks, we all had a great time. We enjoyed walking
among huge pine, fir and cedar trees. It was spring at 7,000 feet, and
every damp area was full of
flowers. Best of all, the route runs along
the Marble Fork of the Kaweah
River. The peak runoff period is over, but there was still plenty
of water, dropping over cascades of varying height and flowing through
pools lined with evergreens. There were people playing in the water in
a couple of spots, and at the trailhead, which includes a large
campground, there were easily three or four dozen visitors enjoying
the cold water. There were also many people on the trail, all of whom
seemed to be younger and faster than us.
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Some nice cascades on the river
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These big yellow flowers were thick along the trail
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The
Kaweah Valley is a typical glacier-carved canyon, with rock cliffs
towering above in some areas, most notably The Watchtower. The
falls itself does not have a true vertical drop, but consists of
series of steep cascades totaling 1,200 feet. The full drop is visible
from a distance, and the end of the trail offers a pretty good view of
most of it.
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The Watchtower rises above the valley
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Brilliant orange penstemon decorate the trail near
the falls
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Driving
to Lodgepole, we had a 20-minute construction delay right where the Generals
Highway goes through the upper part of Redwood
Canyon. We took advantage of the stop to get out and get a close
look at some big
trees that we had previously glimpsed only while zipping past at
the park speed limit of 35 MPH.
Because
it's a long drive from home to the trailhead, and the hike was longer
than usual, we decided not to take time to eat in a restaurant.
Instead everyone brought their lunch, and ate while resting along the
way or near the end of the hike. As we returned home we decided to go
for a low-key outing in September, having met a big challenge in
August.
--Dick
Estel, August 2019
Tokopah
Falls Photos
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