8-23-13 Anthony Chabot

Ranch Trail

I felt like doing a little hiking this morning, but didn't feel like I had the energy for anything very long. Plus, I wanted to have time to do some painting later. I remembered that I had intended to go back to the Ranch Trail in Anthony Chabot so I could get a good GPS track on it, since the park district map shows it obviously in the wrong location. Fog hung over the hills and kept it cool all morning and nice for hiking.

Darby and I started off from the Bort Meadow Staging Area and headed up the valley on the Grass Valley Trail. Not far beyond the Bort Meadow group camp area, the trail crosses the creek and switchbacks steeply up a spur ridge as the Ranch Trail. We came across a guy with a couple of dogs who leashed them and passed by without incident. Near the top of the ridge, we turned left on the Goldenrod Trail and went about a half mile, then turned left on the Buckeye Trail. It descends steeply down log steps into a little canyon. We passed the guy with the two dogs again -- apparently he was doing this loop in the opposite direction. Otherwise, we met no one else on the trail.

We were back at the car after just an hour of hiking. This is a nice little loop for a relatively short hike. It's a bit of a workout, with some steep climbing, and it is a pretty area with lots of variety in the vegetation -- grassy hills, brush, shady woods. The map below, while still not perfect because my GPS track was somewhat erratic, shows the locations of the trails much more accurately than the park map, which as you can see, is way off.

2.4 miles, 500 ft. climb

8-13-13 Sierra Camping

Maureen and I and Darby just spent 8 days in the Sierra. We spent 5 nights car camping and two nights in a cabin. It was a very relaxing trip and I got a good dose of Sierra -- something that I never seem to get enough of. We're calling this our vacation, but I don't know if you can still call a trip a vacation after you are retired.

We started off at our all-time favorite campground, Sherwin Creek near Mammoth Lakes. We've been camping there for about thirty years, ever since a friend recommended it. It's about three miles southeast of town on a partly unpaved road. It looks like it is just out in the sagebrush, but then you come to the campground in beautiful pine forest and aspens. The place is lightly used and quiet because most campers head for the lakes. We've noticed that every campground seems to have its own personality because of the type of campers that are attracted. This one seems to attract more of our kind of people -- those who are content to just quietly hang out and enjoy their surroundings. It's also conveniently located just a couple of miles from the many stores and restaurants of Mammoth Lakes.

Our Sherwin Creek campsite

Near Sherwin Creek Campground

Our first day, we did just that -- enjoyed our surroundings with a couple of short walks around the area around the campground. It's an area right on the edge of where the mountains meet the desert, a mix of sagebrush, forest and riparian vegetation that I find especially beautiful. Our next day, we set out to hike to Sherwin Lakes, a two mile hike with about 800 ft. of climbing. Maureen likes to hike, but she is not especially goal-oriented, so she turned back about a half mile from the lakes. Darby and I continued and I enjoyed sitting by a nice little lake and he enjoyed swimming after a thrown stick. Later, we drove out to Hot Creek and walked around a little. It is still fenced off and closed to swimming, but several people had climbed the fence and gone in anyway. It is still a beautiful spot even without the soak in the hot springs.

Sherwin Lakes

Hot Creek

We packed up and headed north, stopping as usual at the Mono Lake Committee store in Lee Vining. We had wanted to break up our trip so we wouldn't be in the same place too long, so we had reserved a campsite at Twin Lakes near Bridgeport. We were familiar with the area, but not the Lower Twin Lakes Campground, and when we got there, we discovered that our campsite was not designed for tent camping. The campsites were all packed together side by side with just a driveway for an RV and a table. No space for a tent. Plus, there was a group right next to us with a loose dog running around that was sure to make trouble for Darby. We seemed to be stuck in a bad situation -- no useable campsite on a Saturday afternoon in an area where all campgrounds are usually full in August. We wanted to check for available reservations in other campgrounds, but we had no phone service, so we drove back into Bridgeport, stopping along the way to check out all the other forest service campgrounds nearby. No luck with any of that, so as a last resort, I called Mono Village, the private resort at the head of the lakes, and they said they had sites available. We've stayed there several times before, and Maureen doesn't like it, but we didn't have much choice. But we found a nice site by the creek with plenty of room, and we settled in. The resort is a funky old place that has barely changed at all since I was first there in the late 50's. It's one of those places where families have been coming to for several generations.

 

Meadow next to Mono Village Campground

We walked around a nearby meadow that was really beautiful in the late afternoon light with the high peaks all around. The next day, after a little excitement when a small bear walked through our camp, we hiked up the Horse Creek Trail. I had been up and down Horse Creek several times in the past, and I remembered some nice views. We came to the cascades after about a half mile, and Maureen decided that it was far enough for her, and turned back. Darby and I continued up another mile or so and about 900 ft. up, to the first little flat valley, and were rewarded by a great view of Matterhorn Peak above a waterfall.

Matterhorn Peak from Horse Creek

Monday, we packed up again and drove north, stopping in Minden for groceries, and then to Ebetts Pass. I remembered years ago hiking a short distance to a little lake, but we couldn't find the trail, so we just sat on a hillside with views all around and ate some lunch. We continued to Lake Alpine and checked in to the Lake Alpine Lodge in a rustic little one-bedroom cabin. It was a nice change to have a clean place with a real bed and bathroom.

Lake Alpine Lodge cabin

Tuesday, we decided to hike to the top of the hill on the far side of the lake, a place called Inspiration Point (I wonder how many other places have that same name?). After a steep climb of about 700 ft., we were at the top of the ridge with interesting cliffs and outcrops of volcanic rock. I took a look at my phone and saw a happy birthday message from my old friend, Rosemary and her husband, Bo. I also got one from another friend, Norma. Yes, it was my birthday, and I couldn't have asked for a better one. Nice little hike, a swim in the lake in the afternoon, and a good steak for dinner at the lodge restaurant.

Maureen and Darby in Lake Alpine

We had been wondering about the lodge since Maureen checked Yelp after we had already made our reservations, and the reviews of both the cabins and the restaurant weren't so good. One of the burners on the stove didn't work and some folks that we met said they didn't have any hot water, but otherwise I guess we were lucky. I think maybe some people expect a mountain cabin to be like an urban hotel, but we expect it to be a bit old and funky. Makes it seem like roughing it some.

Altogether, a very good trip. I would have liked to have more time for some longer hikes, but it's also nice to just relax in beautiful surroundings.

8-1-13 Dinosaur Ridge

Yesterday, I was adding some maps to some of my previous posts, and I noticed that there was a comment on my post about Dinosaur Ridge from 4-19-13. I was quite surprised. Since I haven't done anything to publicize this blog, I didn't think anyone would ever find it. The comment suggested an easier way to get to Dinosaur Ridge from Bellhurst Lane at the top of the Columbia development off Cull Canyon Road. I had been intending to try this anyway, so I decided to go ahead and do it this morning.

Part of this route would be on EBMUD land, where dogs are not allowed, so I left Darby at home. Lately, I've noticed him limping a bit after some of our longer hikes, so I'll probably start leaving him behind more in the future. He's going on 8 now, not so young anymore, and he's getting some arthritis. I'll really miss his company on hikes.

The entrance to this trail is a driveway and gate between two houses, and it is not at all obvious from the street. On the gate, there is a sign saying "No Trail Access". But there is a gap between the gate and the fence just big enough to squeeze through. Obviously the park district wants to discourage anyone from using this entrance, but I doubt that they would do anything to enforce it. Anyway, on a Thursday morning, there was no one around, so I was able to slip past the gate unnoticed. Just inside a second gate there were three horses in a pasture who appeared unconcerned by me walking by.

Soon the houses were out of sight and I was following a grassy and brushy ridge with nice views of the hills all around. After a half-mile or so, there was another gate entering EBMUD land. The sign said that unlike all of the other EBMUD trails, no permit was required for this one. The trail continues as a wide fire road going up and down near the top of the ridge, and then climbs a couple hundred feet to the top of Dinosaur Ridge. Since I had been there only a few months ago, I didn't bother staying long, but I did notice that where before it had all been green grass and poppies, now it was all dead grass and weeds.

On the way back I passed another hiker doing the same hike as I, the only other person I saw all morning. It was a nice little hike -- quiet, good views, and it only took a little less than 2 hours. It was definitely an easier way to get to Dinosaur Ridge, although it was still a bit of a workout.

The map below shows my route deviating from the trail shown on the EBRPD map. That's not because I went off the trail, it's because their map is not accurate. I've recently noticed inaccurate trail alignments on several park district maps, and in this case I checked it against the GPS track on my iPhone, and my red line is closer to the location of the real trail.

4.2 miles, 800 ft. climb.