What is a YOLT? Well, you may have heard the term YOLO. Gary and Sherri think we can live again, not as James Bond, but as being reborn. Consequently, we are having fun in our life, after all, You Only Live Twice.
Adventure: 005, Hike 011 –
Deer Camp Loop and Return to Car
Team: YOLT
Date: May 31, 2013
Location:
Wawona, Yosemite
Hike Info:
Trail: Deer Camp Loop (different hike)
and Return trip to Car (repeat of May 30th)
Distance: 11.34 miles
Duration: 4:59Moving
Elevation Rise: 1,302'
Description: This area of
Yosemite is pleasant, not spectacular. So we did not take pictures of
noteworthy importance—you can tell that from the lack of pictures
on our blog.
Even so, Sherri and I enjoyed our 11+ mile day.
Adventure: 009, Bridge 006 –
The New Wawona Bridge
Team: YOLT
Date: May 31, 2013
Location:
Wawona
Description:
The day is getting old, the body is tired and the heat feels
unbearable. But low and behold, a bridge comes before us! It is the
new Wawona bridge across the South Fork of the Merced River. This
newly erected bridge, at least new by the Wawona Covered Bridge
standards, provides the entrance way into Southern Yosemite for those
coming up Highway 41, also known as the Wawona Road, north of Fresno.
There is a pedestrian walkway on the eastern side of the road. With
the river flowing beneath you, even the sun is bearable.
Like was said earlier, this is the new Wawona Bridge. The National
Park Service replaced the older bridge a few years ago. The original
bridge was constructed in 1931, then destroyed in a flood and rebuilt
in 1938. This bridge was deemed critically deficient in 1992. After a
series of court issues, it was replaced in the late 2000's. For more
information, see the NPS
site.
Coming back from a backpack trip, we
stopped in Wawona for a few minutes. We then remembered the two
bridges in Wawona. The first is the main bridge which is in use,
which guides traffic along Highway 41. But the truly
“stop-and-look-at” bridge is the old Wawona Covered Bridge. It is
part of the Pioneer Yosemite History Center. Occasionally a horse
drawn wagon will still cross this bridge, but none today. We were the
only ones here, except for one lady. It gives you time to hear the
river running under the bridge, the waters reverberating amongst the
rafters.
Coming back from a backpack trip, we
stopped in Wawona for a few minutes. We then remembered the two
bridges in Wawona. The first is the main bridge which is in use,
which guides traffic along Highway 41. But the truly
“stop-and-look-at” bridge is the old Wawona Covered Bridge. It is
part of the Pioneer Yosemite History Center. Occasionally a horse
drawn wagon will still cross this bridge, but none today. We were the
only ones here, except for one lady. It gives you time to hear the
river running under the bridge, the sound of the waters reverberating amongst the rafters.
All Yosemite-bound traffic through
here crossed the bridge. The deck and truss portion of this bridge
across the South Fork of the Merced River was built around 1857 by
settler Galen Clark, who established a tourist facility here. The
area was then called Clark’s Station. Clark’s role as one of the
original conservationists and innkeepers places him in one of the
earliest chapters of Yosemite’s history. After Abraham Lincoln
signed legislation in 1864 protecting Yosemite Valley and the
Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias by creating the Yosemite Grant,
Clark was appointed the Guardian of the Grant.
The road from Wawona to the Yosemite Valley opened in 1875 just
after the Washburn brothers purchased Clark’s land along the river.
The brothers, who were from Vermont, covered the bridge in 1879.
Although the large beams were hand-hewn with ax and saws, the lumber
to cover the bridge was cut locally at the Washburn’s sawmill.
Specialty axes were used to hew round logs into square timbers and
mortise and tenon joints were used to join the timbers. Bridges were
covered primarily to protect the large wood truss beams and flooring
from the weather. It is much easier to re-shingle a roof than to
replace the major supporting structures. The covering also helped
horses stay focused on the road rather than the sometimes raging
river in spring. Did the Washburn brothers cover the bridge
exclusively for practical reasons? Maybe so. But a granddaughter
claims the reason was nostalgia — they were homesick for a bit of
New England.
The bridge was used until 1931 when the Wawona Road was rerouted
west to a modern concrete bridge (which, in turn, has been replaced
after damage from the 1997 floods). A flood in 1955 nearly destroyed
the covered bridge. Its
1957 restoration was the first step in the
creation of the Pioneer Yosemite History Center. Glenn
Gordo, master craftsman and builder from
Mariposa and grandson of a pioneering Portuguese couple, along with
his crew, were recruited after the flood to restore the bridge.
(PYHCOT)
Description:
One of our
favorite early season hikes. The falls on Alder Creek are first rate,
even though this year, they are not as full as they usually are. Nice
afternoon hike. See our blog
for more info.
Trail: Bull Buck Loop Trail, Nelder
Grove Trail, Trail of the Sequoias
Distance: 7.91 miles
Duration: 4:36
Elevation Rise: 1,430'
Description:
Enjoyable hike, with lots of people, some new to me and some
people whom I have enjoyed hiking with before. For a description of
the hike, see our blog.
Description: Where there
are lizards, there are snakes. But this year, we saw no snakes, just
a lot of lizards. The bad thing about lizards, is that they are fast
and camaflouge well, so it is hard to get a good picture of them.
Adventure: 009, Bridge 004 –
Bailey Bridge across the South Fork of the Kings River
Team: YOLT
Date: May 24, 2013
Location:
Cedar Grove, Kings Canyon
Description:
Bailey Bridge across the South Fork of the Kings
So lets start in with the obvious
question, Who is the Bailey Bridge named after? It is not named after
a person, but it is a type of
bridge. Leading up to World War II, the mechanized divisions of
the army were getting heavier and heavier. The old style of temporary
bridge replacement could not hold up to these machines. Along came a
guy named Donald
Bailey and figured out a way to build a strong bridge. Which can
quickly be installed, even without a lot of heavy equipment. During
WW II, Bailey bridges were erected in all sorts of situations,
thwarting German intentions of blowing up bridges. As quickly as a
bridge was blown up, a Bailey bridge was put in place. The Army
still uses these types of bridges. It has even been suggested as a
temporary replacement of the Washington bridge along I-5 which
collapsed this year.
When the Kings River wiped out the
old bridge a decade or two ago, the National park Service was in a
pickle. They needed a cheap way to install a bridge. It would quickly
be needed as hiking season was on them. Please they could not bring
in heavy machinery. What did they turn to? A Bailey Bridge. They
raised up the entrance to the bridge and constructed it, about as
quickly as the government could work. So we have a bridge, probably
about 150' or so long, anchored by a large boulder in the middle and
safe for people like us to walk across.
Adventure: 005, Hike 008 –
Return to Roads End via South Trail
Team: YOLT
Date: May 24, 2013
Location:
Cedar Grove, Kings Canyon
Hike
Info:
Trail: Upper
Paradise Valley to Roads End via the South Trail
Distance: 11.10 miles
Duration: 5:49 Moving
Elevation Rise: 1,013'
Description: Nothing like
returning back to the car after three days. But even better yet was
going back by a little bit different route and enjoying it more. Want
to read more? Look at our blog.
Description:
This is the second leg of the Rae Lakes Loop. I would argue that
it is the least enjoyable of the five days of the loop. Still, that
said, if this hike was almost anyplace else, you would get a crowd of
people. As it was, we had the trail almost to ourselves, since this
was an early season hike. For more, see our blog.
Adventure: 009, Bridge 002 –
South Fork of the Kings River at Woods Creek
Team: YOLT
Date: May 23, 2013
Location: South
Fork of the Kings River at Woods Creek
Description:
Before 2005, the way which the trail crossed this river was on a
large log. Back in 2009, when we did the Rae Lakes Loop, there was a
crew putting the finishing touches on a bridge. We were so glad that
we could cross on a bridge, rather walking a log, or worse, fording
this river.
Adventure: 009, Bridge 003 –
Golden Gate of the JMT
Team: YOLT
Date: May 23, 2013
Location:
John Muir Trail at Woods Creek
Description:
This is a bridge which strikes fear in the heart of most
backpackers. It sways! It groans! It bounces! Its narrow! You see the
rushing waters below your feet. A sign says: “One Person At A
Time”. And yet, it is a lot better than what was there before. If
you were lucky, you found boulders to go across. Most of the time you
crossed barefoot in freezing water. So the Golden Gate of the John
Muir Trail was constructed, to scare the daylights out of those who
dare to cross it.
Description:
We met John W through the Central
Valley Hikers Meetup group. John is the person
who organizes our mid-week hikes. He is pictured in our Adventure
005, Hike 006 up to Mist Falls, and then beyond
to Upper Paradise Valley.
Description:
We met Cathey through the Central
Valley Hikers Meetup group. She is one of the
leaders of our group. She is pictured in our Adventure
005, Hike 006 up to Mist Falls, and then beyond
to Upper Paradise Valley.
friend, Lesley, friend, Ellen, Richard, John P, Rose, Lana, Jerry, Lee, Dennis,Irene J, Christine M, Stephanie A, Cathey W, Leslie D, John W, Nat
Capture California, the Game-2013
Adventure: 005, Hike 006 –
Mist Falls, Paradise Valley
Team: YOLT
Date: May 22, 2013
Location: Kings
Canyon NP
Hike Info:
Trail: Paradise Valley/Mist Falls
Distance: 10.58
Duration: 6:32
Elevation Rise: 2,688'
Description:
Sherri and Gary hiked this trail with our mid-week meetup group.
But instead of turning around at Mist Falls like the rest of the
meetup, we kept on going up to Paradise Valley for a two night trip.
See my blog
for a full writeup of our trip.
Location: East
of Copper Creek, Roads End, Kings Canyon National Park
Description:
We were on a hike with our meetup group, when there was the
exclamation, “There's a bear!” Of course, we all looked for him,
saw him, but from a respectful distance. Well at least most of us.
Some of us went and followed the bear a little ways to see what he
would do. But then he turned into the forest and we decided to let
him forge in peace.
Description:
Sherri and Gary hiked this trail with our mid-week meetup group.
Just a splendid time on a splendid day. See my blog
for a full writeup of our trip.
Description:
When you look east from the Pohono Bridge, you see the Merced
River rushing towards you, in a hurry to pass under your bridge. In
the background, Cathedral Rocks and Spires loam over the scenery with
an assortment of pines and blooming dogwoods providing life to the
whole scene. But we are not the first to walk across Pohono Bridge.
Built in 1928 for $29,081.55 with native granite, it has seen a lot
of traffic-both automotive and pedestrian. It is recognized as part
of the Yosemite
Historic Bridge District. Seen from the the front, the arch seems
a fitting exit for the waters of the Merced to leave the valley.
Description:
So what could be better than walking around the Valley? What
Valley, first of all? Central Valley? No, but good guess. Santa Clara
Valley? Even better! Yosemite Valley? Ah yes. With the rugged granite
reaching toward the skies and the waters rushing down, the dogwoods
in bloom and the smell of fresh air.
We celebrated our son's birthday by going up to the Valley.
Bicycling around the valley from Happy Isles down to the Pohono
Bridge and back. It is a happy time this thirteen plus miles. Plus a
good time to train for the Fresno Eye-Q Classic Freeway bike ride
this coming weekend.
Description:
Why have Ma for only an hour outdoors, one day a year? Two of our
children took Sherri out backpacking for the weekend—this was
Sherri's Mother's Day request. So out we went-overnight to Pescadero
County Park in San Mateo County (also Memorial and Sam McDonald
County Parks). We stayed at Tarwater Camp and hiked 7 miles in and 7
miles out-but different routes. Sherri enjoyed herself and her
children. A fuller write up will be made in the next few days under Adventure 5, Hikes 2 and 3.
Trail: Pomponio Trail, Brooks Loop
Trail, Townes Fire Road
Distance: 7.18 miles
Duration: 4:35
Elevation Rise: 1,516'
Description:
This is the second day of our overnight, Mother's
Day hike. While the start and end points from our previous
day's hikes are reversed, we really did a loop around the eastern
part of this wonderful park. For more on our hike, see our blog.
Description:
What better way to start off the return trip from backpacking
that doing a bit of yoga. While Steven and Sherri are novices, Andrea
has taken yoga for awhile. So armed with Sherri's Sleeping Bag Yoga
book, exercises were done before setting out this fine Mother's Day
morning.
