Adventure 008, Hike 083 - Sugar Pine Trail

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 008, Hike 083 – Sugar Pine Trail

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  September 3, 2012

Location: North Fresno

Hike Info:

Trail: Sugar Pine Trail

Distance: 5.3 miles

Duration: 1:39

Elevation Rise: 109'

Description:
If you walked this trail 20 years ago, you would be stepping along an unused railroad bed. The bed would have been the remains of the Clovis Branchline/Pinedale Spur, owned by Union Pacific. Since that time through the efforts of the Coalition for Community Trails and a vast number of volunteers, this trail has been transformed. In 2000 in a world class event, over 4,400 trees with 33 different varieties of trees were planted by 3,000 volunteers. As is pointed out in the Falcon Guide book—Best Easy Day Hikes-Fresno—this is still an urban trail. The best parts is the trail connects a major shopping center with businesses with residential neighborhoods, with parks and some local shopping malls. The worst part is that there is litter and in places, the trail crosses busy streets with only a cross walk. Earlier this summer, tragedy struck on this trail when a young girl was struck by a drunk driver. There is now some support for the trail to go underground.



We start this trail at the River Park shopping center. This is the ugly part of the trail. We first come across what looks like the remains of a homeless encampment—litter and clothes. After a quarter of a mile, we go beneath Fresno St—this is the one underpass on the trail, and even there, it is littered with broken bottles. But after this, the trail begins to shine. We start to meet people—on bikes, walking, jogging, walking their dogs, like us. The trees have grown since 2000 and are starting to shade the trail. Even then, this is Fresno in the summer—predicted high is 99 degrees. Hence, the reason we are hiking it in the morning. The trail goes diagonal to the street layout until we reach Shepherd. Once there, it follows Shepherd all the way down to the Old Towne Clovis trail. We stop after walking two and half miles and return along the same route. It is a good morning walk for us.