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Miami Trail 4X4 Route
The weekend of May 18-20 I spent camping at Jerseydale U.S. Forest Service Campground and exploring some of the trails in the area. I have been on the eastern end of the Miami Trail near Fish Camp where the motorcycle trails are. This time, I took about half of the route from the western end which begins opposite Jerseydale Campground on Jerseydale Road. Here are scenes from the route up to near Battalion Pass and the intersection with Chowchilla Road
Miami Trail 4X4 Route .
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There's lots to sweat when tackling Kaiser Peak
Rising 10,320 feet above sea level, Kaiser Peak is the centerpiece of the relatively untrodden Kaiser Wilderness with a commanding view of the central Sierra Nevada from its summit.
Sounds great, right? It is, but you'll have to sweat to get there.
Most visitors to the Kaiser Wilderness enter via Potter Pass, Sample Meadow or the Upper Billy Creek trailhead on the west end of Huntington Lake. Few hike directly up Kaiser Peak, and for good reason: It's brutal, requiring 3,200 feet of climbing over 51/2 miles, much of the route exposed to the sun.
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Cliff Lake is a star in the Dinkey Lakes Wilderness
In 1984, Congress granted federal protection to 30,000 acres of dense forests, mountain meadows, alpine lakes and granite ridges on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada near Shaver Lake.
And so, the Dinkey Lakes Wilderness was born.
Of the 16 lakes contained within the wilderness area, Cliff Lake is one of the most scenic. But because the most direct route is from Courtright Reservoir instead of the popular Dinkey Lakes Trailhead, it's also one of the least visited.
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The best Sierra Nevada hikes
The Sierra Nevada is packed with day hikes. Some lead to majestic mountaintops. Others lead to lakes and waterfalls. Whatever your viewing pleasure, no matter how much energy you wish to exert, there's a hike for you.
From Yosemite National Park to the north to Sequoia National Park to the south, here are my personal favorites. Just put one boot in front of the other and go.
STUPENDOUS SUMMITS
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Rock Front OHV Recreation Area
A friend and I took a trip to Rock Front OHV recreation area in the Los Padres National Forest from March 16-19. We traveled from Fresno to Taft and then took Highway 166 past Cuyama and New Cuyama to get there. Travel time was about 3 hours. The entrance is about a half hour drive east on 166 from Santa Maria. The first day was all about traveling to the area, finding a campsite and getting set up. But once that was done, we did have time to do some exploring. Here are scenes from
Day 1: Branch Creek Trail The second day, it was all about hitting the trails and trying to see as much as we could. We did accomplish a lot and covered a lot of territory. Here are scenes from
Day 2: Canyon and Paradise Trails and
Day 2: Big Rocks Trail
The third day of the trip is March 18 and the plan is to check out the Sierra Madre Road. This route is just across Highway 166 from Rock Front OHV and climbs the ridges of the neighboring Sierra Madre Mountains. Here are scenes from
Day 3: Sierra
In October 2008, from the 12th to 14th, we took a trip to the Fresno Dome area with intentions of camping a couple nights and taking some trails I had not explored.
We headed up Hwy. 41 past Oakhurst and turned on Sky Ranch Rd. and found a nice campsite at Soquel Campground. Here are some scenes from the first afternoon at
Soquel and nearby trails.
The second day we headed for the Iron Lakes and Star Lakes OHV Routes. Here are scenes from Forest Roads 5S92, 5S92A and 23E04 -
the Iron Lakes Route.
The third and final day, the goal was to conquer the Star Lakes Route, Forest Road 5S26. This is a trail my friend had trouble with back in 2006 when his auto-locking hubs were not working - he has since replaced with a set of Warn manual lockers. Here are some pictures along
the Star Lakes Route.
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Soquel Campground & vicinity, Oct '08
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