My Favorite Backpacking Areas In The Central Sierra Nevada

My New Book

My Favorite Backpacking Areas In The Central Sierra Nevada

I have listed sixteen of my backpacking experiences that I have found to be in areas of the Sierra Nevada that are rich in beauty. In my earlier days, being from Fresno California, I approached the Sierra Nevada from the Western side. More recently, I have found approaching the Sierra from the east opens even more opportunities. This requires me to drive highway 120 through Yosemite most of the year and down around Bakersfield the rest of the year when highway 120 in Yosemite is closed.If I were to pick one town that is the epicenter of my more recent hiking and backpacking experiences, it would be Bishop California. Line Street (highway 168) out of Bishop takes you to South Lake, Sabrina Lake and North lake. Out of these lakes alone, one can spend years on different hikes, overnights and beyond. Bishop is the gateway to the wilderness for me. Glacier Lodge Road out of Big Pine (14 miles south of Bishop) is also an opportunity for views the Palisades and their glaciers from the eastern side. The Palisades are a group of fourteeners that take your breath away. There are many glacial lakes green from the glacial silt in this area.If I were to pick one national park in particular in California, it would be Kings Canyon National Park. Whether one goes over the Sierra Crest from the east side or approaches it from the west side. Most Fresnans have no idea that much of the park is in Fresno County. I was a “Yosemite guy” for a decade before I discovered the beauty of Kings Canyon. As a 12-year volunteer on the Fresno County SAR team, I learned beginning in 2004 that Kings Canyon is as wild and beautiful as Yosemite. Hopefully you will use this book as a primer to some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.

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In Paperback

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JVK4HNZ

Also available in Kindle Format in Color

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08K6RXF76

The Creek Fire

Dale Matson

What is left of our former cabin that we sold 3 years ago

The Creek Fire is both a wildfire and a forest fire. As of this writing it is over 245,000 acres and 18% contained. It is the 10th largest fire in California history at present. It has destroyed over 800 structures and endangered 9,500 others. There are approximately 3,000 fire fighters working this fire. All of the national forests in California are closed. The SQF Complex fire in Sequoia National Park 123,000 acres (12% contained) to our south is contributing to the smoke we are enduring in Fresno. The estimated date for containment is mid-October for the Creek Fire. There are 38 active wildfires in California.

This is a perfect storm of circumstances with millions of dead and down trees. The last 5 of 6 years were drought years with the pine bark beetle finishing off the trees already stressed by drought. In short, there was an over-abundance of fuel for the fires. Combine that with decades of poor forest management and we also had a record 22 consecutive triple digit temperatures this summer. And if you agree with Governor Gavin Newsom one can throw global warming into the mix also. As of this date, no human has perished in the fire. 

There is an enormous area of trees alone in Yosemite, Sierra National Forest, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Sequoia National Forest which are essentially contiguous areas. I believe this is the most wildfires in California and burned acres ever in one year.

These fires are so hot they can form what is called a Pyrocumulonimbus cloud.We built a cabin in the Sierra National Forest 10 years ago and sold it 3 years ago. The new owner contacted us to tell us that it was one of the structures destroyed. We built it according to the strictest standards and codes. We had 100’ of defensible space around the cabin. We had an extra 2,500-gallon water tank with a hydrant connection for a firehose dedicated to fighting a fire. We had tempered windows, concrete siding and a steel roof. We had 75 trees cut down that had died on our 7 acres. Every house/cabin on our road was destroyed in moments. Imagine the wildlife that have perished! Imagine the human sorrow! This is only one story among thousands.

At age 76, if I still owned the property, I would not rebuild. I don’t believe the insurance companies will now insure this kind of property or if they do, the cost of the insurance would be prohibitive. Additionally, I am too old to go through the process of building a place from scratch. Finally, I’m not sure if it is a good idea to build a dream cabin in the forests in California.

These fires have been predicted because of the available fuel and now they are happening. I believe the federal and state government needs to rethink their policies to avoid this from happening on such a large scale in the future.

The Cabin Before 

Panoramic Point and Park Ridge Fire Lookout Trail: Kings Canyon

Dale Matson

         For the particulars on this hike see Here:

 

https://midsierramusing.blogspot.com/2015/07/park-ridge-fire-lookout-trail-kings.html

        

Hike Route
 

 

         I did this hike August 12^th of this year as my final warm up hike before a big hike in the eastern Sierra Nevada. I did the hike twice before but did not have the big lens I used on this hike. I used the Sony 200-600mm with my A7R4. I also used the 1.4X TC and shot cropped to give me about 1,200 mm.

         The air was partly smoke filled which meant that I was magnifying bad air but it was amazing to see some of the major features from the west instead of the east side of the Sierra.

         The hike is about 5.5 miles round trip with considerable climb and descent as the trail generally follows the ridge. It is about the same elevation (about 7,500’) at Panoramic Point as it is at the fire lookout. The fire lookout is closed due to Covid this year. I had a leisurely pace and took about 4 hours round trip. There is one place where the trail is somewhat overgrown with buck brush and Manzanita and two places where the trail follows the service road for a time. I missed the turnoff to the right and hiked further on the fire road than I should have so I hiked an extra mile. You can see my error on the map.

Middle Fork Kings River

Palisade Crest North Palisade High Point Center

Hume Lake

Buck Rock Fire Lookout

Mount Goddard

 

The Mariposa Grove Of Giant Sequoias: Yosemite

 

Dale Matson

Giant Sequoia Center

Hike Route

 

The trail to the grove from the parking lot is 2 miles with 600’ of gain outbound. Total time out for me was 2:37. Just remember, the RT hike is 4, plus the tree viewing miles since the grove is huge.

         Yosemite has two Giant Sequoia groves. One, just above Crane Flat is the Tuolumne Grove and the other is the Mariposa Grove near the South entrance. Take note, the outbound hike at the Tuolumne Grove is downhill One of the first sights I had in Yosemite was the Mariposa Grove when I arrived in 1992. It is actually only about 1.5 hours from my home in Fresno but I have not been there in many years. It was closed in 2015 for restoration which cost 40 million dollars and was the most expensive renovation in Yosemite history.

         I decided to go there today and hiked the trail from the shuttle parking lot. You can also walk up the road (the shuttle busses are not running). I noticed a mountain biker climbing up the road to the grove and this seemed like a good idea for next time. If you are handicapped, you can still drive up the road to a (now) small parking area. I got my first Yosemite coffee cup in the gift shop at the grove which is no longer there. I believe this trail was not there before the restoration. Before the restoration the gate to the grove was closed in winter and I used to ski up there for photos.

I got my day pass (good for a week) for today and drove up. I parked in the shuttle parking area and hiked to the trailhead. I arrived there about 8:30am. As Yosemite trails go this would be considered easy to moderate. There were already folks finishing up as I began my hike. I saw fresh deer track on the trail.

I was impressed with the difference from years ago when I got to the grove. The small statue of the Fischer seemed a little odd and will probably be stolen sooner or later. But…the trees were the same and the light was fairly good for some of my photographs. I used my Sony A7R4 with the Sony 16-35mm GM 2.8 lens exclusively. It is not easy to get a full Giant Sequoia in the frame horizontally even at 16mm. Most of my photographs are thus vertical.

Those who visit Yosemite should make a point of seeing these beautiful huge trees. There is drinking water and bathrooms at the grove and a potty just off the trail about half way.