Rambler Hikes 2025 Page 2

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Mariposa Grove          Indian Basin Grove          Rancheria Falls          Crescent Meadow          Panoramic Point

Mariposa Grove

May in central California – is the weather going to be like winter? Summer? The month was named because you MAY experience any kind of weather. This year we’ve had highs around 95 degrees, days with cold rain and mountain snow, and of course, perfect springtime conditions.

In late May the weather is likely to be quite warm. Because of this, the Ramblers usually move our outings to higher elevations, and on May 22 a dozen of us set off for the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite National Park, between 5,000 and 6,000 foot elevation. Those present were Dick, Keith, Beth, Vickie, Wes, Don M, Don B, Jim, Bruce & Susan V, Susan S, and Laurie. Several members of our group were making their first visit to the grove.

Consistent with many locations where people have begun loving our national parks to death, the Mariposa Grove had many issues that threatened the health of the trees and distracted from visitors’ enjoyment. In 2014 a project to restore the area was launched, with the grove closed from 2015 to 2018. With the re-opening, most visitors park at a large area just inside Yosemite ’s southern entrance, two miles from the grove, and ride buses to a trailhead. Several trails start here, ranging from a third of a mile to over six miles. Holders of a handicap placard can drive to this area and the additional mile to the grove’s venerable and iconic Grizzly Giant.

Don M brought his handicap placard, but rode in Wes’s larger vehicle, along with Don B and Jim. They drove in while the rest of us took the bus for the six minute ride (buses run about every 15 minutes). Most of us then walked the .3 mile trail that goes through a number of giant trees. The longer trail breaks off from this short loop, and the majority of our group walked the .6 mile route to the Giant, while Wes drove those who did not want to take that uphill hike. In fact, he made two and a half trips up that road, “herding Ramblers.”

We didn’t have any trouble finding parking spaces at the plaza, and were able to get on the first bus that came along, but there were still plenty of people visiting the park. At the Grizzly Giant, you pretty much had to accept that there would be “other” people in your photo.

A hundred yards or so from the Giant is the California Tunnel Tree. This is not the famous drive-through tree, which fell in 1969, but it has an opening big enough for an easy walk-through. At this location there was a line to take pictures of your companions at the opening in the tree, but the wait was not long.

Once we finished enjoying this section of the grove, we began our trip back down. Some of us rode with Wes; others walked. With a dozen people, and several groups doing different things, it was not surprising that we lost Beth, Keith’s wife. They had started walking up to the Grizzly Giant, but she decided it was more than she could do, and started back down. We expected to find her at the bus pick-up/drop-off plaza, but there was no sign of her. We finally decided she had probably taken the bus back to the main parking lot, and fortunately there she was.

At this point we had exercised enough to be thinking about lunch. A few days before the trip Johnny, my older grandson, had said, “I know you usually eat at El Cid. But there’s a very good place in Fish Camp called Aroma Tavern.”

We decided to try this place. If you are not familiar with Fish Camp, there is a general store that has been there most of a century, and a few service businesses. It should be easy to find the restaurant, right? We did not see it, but sent a delegate into the store to inquire. The first person she talked with was not familiar with that restaurant, but the other person on duty told her it was two miles down the highway at the Yosemite Sugar Pine Railroad.

Doesn’t matter. When we arrived, we found that the restaurant was not open until 4 p.m. Fortunately we have our permanent Plan B dining location in Oakhurst, El Cid Mexican Restaurant, and everyone was happy eating there, including several who were first-timers.

Full and satisfied we got into our three vehicles for the drive back down to the warm San Joaquin Valley . Looking ahead to June everyone wanted another trip to the Sierra Nevada Mountains . 

--Dick Estel, May 2025

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For our June hike the Ramblers looked for a place we’d never been to before, a bit of a challenge after 132 hikes. Our destination was the Indian Basin Grove, a grove of giant sequoias that were all cut down early in the 20^th century. There are many huge stumps, and a lot of tall, young sequoias, most probably close to the 100 year mark.

Access is via Highway 180 through Kings Canyon National Park. After passing through the Grant Grove section, the road leaves the park, and in a few miles comes to Princess Campground, the starting point for the hike. If you see the turnoff for Hume Lake, you’ve gone a couple hundred yards too far. The road re-enters the park another 30 miles or so farther, but this location is partly in the Sequoia National Forest and partly in the Giant Sequoia National Monument.

The trail is asphalt and has only the slightest uphill section. At the start it goes by a huge meadow complex, which is visible from many points on the trail. Along the way we saw at least a dozen species of wildflowers, plus pines, cedars, firs, sequoias and shrubs of various kinds. There were also large ferns by the thousands.

We saw very few other hikers. As we started we chatted with a large group that was finishing their hike, learning that they are from Tulare and have been hiking and camping together for 50 years. We encountered about four other groups, either couples or parents with one or two kids.

At one point a 20-inch sugar pine cone dropped from the tree and landed three feet from Allen.

The weather was very nice, although as we finished it was getting warm walking in the sunny spots. All in all it was an incredibly delightful hike.

Although around eight Ramblers had indicated a desire to go, illness and other factors reduced our number to four: Wes Thiessen, Allen Ward, Sue Wirt, and Dick Estel. Mobility problems kept Sue from hiking, but she enjoyed the outing as much as any of us, sitting in a shady spot with her book at the trailhead.

Sue, Wes, Allen and Dick at lunch

Wes on a big stump, surrounded by ferns

When we departed from the trailhead, we stopped in the national park at the Grant Grove Restaurant for a nice lunch, then made our way back down to the warm, hazy valley.

--Dick Estel, June 2025

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On July 3 the Ramblers hiked to Rancheria Falls. But which one? There is a Rancheria Falls that drops into the now-flooded Tuolumne River canyon at Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, but it's a pretty challenging hike. There is a long series of cascades and short drops that tumbles down the east side of the Kings River's North Fork, below Wishon Reservoir, visible only at a long distance from a dirt forest road above Black Rock Reservoir. There's a short, easy to reach one off the Alaska Highway in the Yukon, but that's a pretty long drive. Then there's the one we visited, one we've been to at least four times, near Huntington Lake.

I've been there probably an additional half-dozen times without the Ramblers, so I did not take many photos. Pictures linked from within the text are from earlier visits.

Once again we had a small group, but we were delighted that it included Elsa and Pam, who are rarely able to join us. The group was filled out with Allen, Don B, and me (Dick). The weather at this location, ranging from about 7,500 to 7,900, was just right, cool enough for comfortable hiking.

Along the trail we saw the usual flowers that bloom in this season at this elevation. The dominant flowers were lupines, but we also saw Indian paintbrush, western wall flower, this unknown beauty, and four or five others.

This is the elevation at which we see red firs, recognizable by their massive reddish trunks and the bluish color of new growth. There are also white firs, sugar and ponderosa pines, and near the falls a few western white pines.

Along the trail we met or were passed by maybe a dozen other groups, but there was never any feeling of being crowded. When we reached the falls we were glad to see that the flow is still around half the peak level, meaning it was still loud and impressive.

As usual we separated into groups of one or two, so we were never all at the falls together. However, we reunited at the parking lot, where Don took a selfie that managed to include the entire group. Heading back down the highway to home, we stopped at one of our favorite after-hike restaurants, Velasco's in Prather, for a delicious Mexican lunch.

Like many hikes, this one has become a bit more challenging for me, so when Don dropped me off at my home, I was ready to drop into my recliner and enjoy the morning and afternoon naps that I had missed.

--Dick Estel, July 2025

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After two hikes in a row with only four Ramblers, we were happy to have a turnout of nine hikers for our August outing. Of course, being "ramblers," we did not all hike together or even in the same direction. More about that later. Our destination, Crescent Meadow in Sequoia National Park, was familiar to some of us and new to others. The Ramblers went there in June, 2015, a little over ten years ago (!) 

Enjoying this hike were Wes Thiessen, Susan Silveira, Laurie Fitzgerald, Pam Frazier, Elsa Sweeney, Dick Estel, Jackie Taggart, Bruce Nieman, and Dave Smith. Dave likes to go early and take photos on the way, and Bruce also chose to drive up by himself. He was waiting in the parking lot when we arrived, but Dave was nowhere in sight.

The trailhead is about two miles from the Giant Forest museum. Shuttle service is offered, but we took a chance on driving in and were lucky enough to find parking. Along the way there is a big tree that fell across the road in 1935  A tunnel has been cut to allow access for most cars. There is a bypass for vehicles that are too tall.

Normally we like to go to our right and take this loop trail counter-clockwise. This gives us a trail that is paved all the way, and takes us past the meadow plus Tharpe's Log. However that direction was blocked by caution tape, so we went the other way on a dirt trail, enjoying views of the meadow most of the way. We also hiked past many giant sequoia trees, since the meadow is within the Giant Forest.

As we sauntered along, who should we meet coming toward us but Dave. We stopped to chat for a while, then all went on our way.

Eventually this mostly level trail started uphill. Bruce checked the map on his phone and informed us we were heading away from the meadow and the trail that would take us back to the parking lot. We backtracked a short distance, and took the right fork instead of the left. Not far from here a paved trail came in from our left, and we realized that was the path we would have been on if we had  been able to follow our usual route. From then on, we had a mostly level asphalt trail that took us around the southern end of the meadow and back to our cars.

Our previous hike at this place was early in the season, and we were delighted to see that the meadow was filled with flowers, more then we had ever seen on our other visit. 

When we finished our hike, seven of us drove a few miles back toward Kings Canyon and went to the Wuksachi Lodge for lunch. This proved to be a frustrating experience for some of us. There is no wait staff - you place your order on a large touch-screen computer device, which was not designed to be user-friendly. We all eventually managed to order, but one of our group was prompted to enter their name five times before the order was accepted. From now on, we will bring out own lunch.

Despite those minor issues, the hike was fantastic, with great weather. I had forgotten how many sequoias there are along the trail, and with the trees, the meadow, and the flowers, we indeed were able to walk in beauty.

--Dick Estel, August 2025

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As fall approaches, the Ramblers have to be concerned with weather conditions when we hike. Will it be hot? Will rain from a southern tropical depression make its way into our hiking area?

For our hike in Kings Canyon National Park on September 18, we had a little of everything. Rain, "heavy at times," was expected, but mainly after 1 p.m. The official forecast was a 50% chance of rain - good odds in a casino or the Sierra Nevada. I'll deal with the results a little later in this report.

Our destination was Panoramic Point and the Park Ridge Trail above the Grant Grove Visitor Center. The trailhead is at the end of a two-mile narrow, winding paved road. A half-mile hike up a slight uphill paved trail brings you to a vista point with Hume Lake below and the High Sierra backcountry in the distance. From the vista point a dirt trail goes 2.5 miles to a fire lookout, following a ridge top with only moderate up and down sections

Unfortunately, smoke from fires and moistures from incoming storms reduced the distant view to a hazy outline. But the evergreens and bushes around us were vibrant and provided plenty of the mountain scenery we cherish. The most common shrubs along the trail were greenleaf manzanita and chinquapin. This, along with many dramatic rock formations filled our view along the trail. We also saw a half dozen deer, mostly along the road to the trailhead.

As you may have guessed, we did not walk the entire five-mile round trip trail. As usual, we hiked till we had gone half of far enough and turned back. The trailhead provides plenty of parking, a restroom, and picnic tables. We had all brought our own lunch, and restored our energy in the beauty of the Sierra at 7,000 feet.

This hike brought together seven Ramblers: Laurie Fitzgerald, Keith and Beth Sohm, Allen Ward, Dick Estel, Wes Thiessen and Don Bandoni. Hopefully we will see these and more on our next few hikes.

Although some of our members kept a wary eye on the cloudy skies, we stayed dry and happy on the entire trip. As we were picking up after lunch, about four drops of rain fell, and we experienced two or three brief showers down in the low country while driving home. The serious rain held off till late in the evening - after we were all safely tucked away under our respective roofs.

--Dick Estel, September 2025

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