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We made a long-shot attempt to visit Yosemite Valley during peak hydrological run-off to perhaps catch a glimpse of Yosemite Falls in their glory... on a Saturday. There was not a parking spot to be had in the valley by 10am, so we did a drive-through and headed to our back-up plan: Foresta Falls. We had the trail to ourselves! To see these gorgeous falls , one just needs to drive to the end of Foresta Road's pavement, park on the pull-out out area walk down the old dirt road for about 15 minutes alongside Crane Creek. The road at one time was passable by car all the way to El Portal but the bridge spanning the creek washed out many years ago and the bridge pieces that survived remain in a sketchy state. The 40' falls were gorgeous, and the hike down on this cool spring day through the burn scars of several recent fires was interesting. 
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We decided to utilize our full vaccination by taking our first trip outside of California in over 15 months! The remote lava-filled destinations would keep Z safe and we'd still have a great time exploring. We settled on renting a townhouse on the outskirts of Klamath Falls and using the house as a basecamp to visit Lava Beds, Crater Lake and the Sprague River Valley. Z's quote for the trip came after entering the lava tubes for the first time: "This is the best thing I've ever done in MY LIFE!" So I think a good, safe and socially distant time was had by all. And please check-out the Hi-Res photospheres I made at the end of this post. Zooooooom in!
Zoom In!
 The trail also walks past the remnants of the Mountain King Mine, and I for one could not tell just how extensive the operation had once been a century ago. There are several interesting accounts of miners dying by asphyxiation in the mine shafts due to failure of a water flume that powered an air blower used pump fresh air deep into the workings.
Lucky us! We were able to return to the cabin in Twain Harte during the start of our Xmas break. We had the luxury of isolating far away from folks while enjoying the paltry snow near Dodge Ridge (hello La Nina drought) and the amazingly warm December day in Yosemite Valley that preserved a bit of hoar frost from the previous evening.
 In an attempt to find some isolated happiness and joy during our week-long Thanksgiving break, we decided to spend the first five days of our vacation at the family cabin in Twain Harte and use it as a base camp to explore out-of-the-way trails. New to us this trip were hikes Lily Lake and Carlon Falls. We also visited the northwest shore of Lake Eleanor for the first time after having visited the south shore several times in the past. We ended the week with a trip
 
A socially-distanced, very long day-trip to Leavitt Lake with a brief hike over to Ski Lake. Fishing was not the best (8 others fishing Ski Lake!) but the hike and the views were glorious. It was 72F at 9600' in elevation and allowed me to be in shorts and short sleeves all day. I also got to spend some quality time with Z on our hike to Ski. He did such a great job going up and down steep slopes that were covered in loose scree in some areas.
The road to Leavitt has really deteriorated over the past decade and only high-clearance 4x4 trucks can make the journey. Even our Subaru wouldn't make it these days. We took a much needed break from reality by staying at our cabin in Twain Harte over the weekend. Highlight of the trip was our 4X4 journey up to Kavanaugh Ridge off of the Green Creek Road near Virginia Lakes. The road ends at 11,000' and overlooks the Hoover Wilderness and many lakes several thousand feet below. The wind was blowing well over 50mph during our visit, but on a calmer day it would be an epic picnic spot. The K.R. Trail should only be attempted by high-clearance 4x4 trucks or SUV's. We parked our Subaru Ascent at the trail sign and piled into Grandpa's Frontier for the final three miles to the top.    We squeezed-in three socially-distant hikes before school started. Emma Lake, Double Dome Rock and Horse and Cow Meadow. It's been a very long year. The geologizing, hiking and fishing was refreshing after a summer of vigorous work. We only saw six people total on the trails over our three days! Details about each hike can be found in the photo journal.  Emma Lake.
Finished a little family project last week: "The Best Hikes and Adventures from the Laffin Cabin". It will find a place on the bookshelf in our rustic WWII-era family cabin in Twain Harte. There are 26 adventures along SR 108 for my relatives to explore when staying at the cabin.
The Bennett Juniper is the oldest and largest known juniper of its species. Twelve and a half miles of forest service roads will put you at the doorstep of this protected 80’ tall behemoth that is estimated to be over 4000 years old! Two minutes of walking on a well-graded trail will put you in the shade of one of the most magnificently gnarled trees you’ll ever see.
Once you visit the juniper, return to the spur road and turn left instead of returning to the main 5N01 road. Take the small spur north about a half mile to its cul-de-sac end and enjoy a lunch while taking-in the glorious views of the Dardanelles and the Stanislaus River canyon. This lunch spot sits on a volcanic mudflow deposit that bulldozed some trees as it covered this area 10.5 million years ago. As a consequence there are many small pieces of very white petrified wood scattered about the hillside. There are worse ways to spend 30 minutes than perusing a hill for ancient forest bits. Please only take photos, though. For specific directions and more info on the tree, visit the SAVE THE REDWOODS site. 
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April 2021
AuthorRyan J Hollister - Geoscience & EnviroSci Educator, Avid hiker, Landscape photographer, WildLink Club Advisor, Central Valley Advocate. |
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