Flip-Floppin' the Yosemite Falls Hike

Yosemite is alive and kicking in the Spring, so we did a little road trip. One day, after kayaking the Merced River, we decided to jam up to Yosemite Valley to do a quick evening hike at Yosemite Falls.



Here's a shot of Dave on the Merced - notice that he forgot his drytop. Brrrrr.
I wasn't any better at remembering things, and realized (once at we were at the trailhead) that i had lost my shoes somewhere back at the river. So i had to hike in flip-flops.

I guess Dave felt bad so he hiked in his Tevas. Here's a shot at the top of the falls:

To avoid all the crowds on this classic hike, start in the evening with about 2 1/2 hours of daylight left! You'll pass only a few stragglers - and hopefully you'll elude the captain-safety-know-it-all hiker dressed head to tow in brand new REI techy gear, who cant resist giving you the scolding glance for starting the hike so late. Or maybe it was the flip flops?

The hike is about 7.2 miles round-trip with 2,700 feet elevation gain. Its not too long, but certainly steep. I highly recommend hiking shoes.

Here's a shot looking straight down the upper waterfall:

This is what the National Park says: "One of Yosemite oldest historic trails (built 1873 to 1877), the Yosemite Falls Trail leads to the top of North America’s tallest waterfall 2,425 feet (739 m) above the Valley floor. Do not stray off the marked path, as you will find steep drops adjacent to the trail. Enjoy spectacular views..."

Here's the webcam to check conditions before going.

Brush Creek Fever

Every winter and spring, we see this contagious stoke, this perma-grin, apparent on all the faces that come back from Brush Creek outside of Kernville. Finally Dave couldn't take it anymore, he had to go check it out. Thanks to Geno, who showed him all the lines, he got the most air time of his life! He couldn't really articulate the intensity of the experience... just all this stuff about "the ultimate freeride park" and something about "paddling up to the edge of an infinity pool and seeing the earth drop out before you..." He's got the Brush Creek fever.



Thats Dave and Geno peeking over the top of the Triple Drops. For some perspective, check out the picture below. Its the same picture...just zoomed out. You can just barely see them (the size of dots) at the very top of the rapids.



The scenery was magnificent, even though its the middle of winter.



Brush Creek is considered a classic in the boating world, and often called a "freak of nature." Even though its a steep narrow creek and there are nonstop drops and waterfalls, it is relatively safe for this type of kayaking.



Here are some more action shots from the day:

Cross Country Skiing to Hot Creek Photos

Looking at the White Mountains above Bishop.


Skiing down to Hot Creek.


Nobody else to be seen for miles!

Ahh, the rewards of skiing in a storm.

Heading toward Mt Morrison on our way back.

Here's a GPX file of our route to Hot Creek (it also includes a 5 mile cross country ski loop at Shady Rest).

Backpacking Little Kern to Kern Flat to the Forks

This 26 mile loop made a wonderful 3-day backpack trip in the Golden Trout Wilderness of the Southern Sierra. We hiked from the Jerkey Meadows Creek above Lloyd Meadow Creek to Little Kern River, up and over to Kern Flat, and down the Kern River to the Forks of the Kern.

The graphic above shows the Needles in the middle foreground with the Kern River in the gorge to the right, and the Little Kern Drainage in the middle. The blue line is our backpacking route, with Kern Flat being at the top right. The Forks of the Kern (the put-in for one of the most epic wilderness kayak/rafting runs in the US) is at the lower right of the loop.

Here's the GPX file of the trip.

The first day, we hiked 5 miles up to Jerkey Meadows and down to the Little Kern River. The granite bedrock gorge was filled with wonderful swimming pools and small waterfalls. It also happened to be one of the best fly fishing creeks I've ever been too. I bought a specific Little Kern Fly from Kern River Fly Fishing, and literally caught a beautiful Golden Trout on every cast.

There was no one around, and we set up camp on a secluded pool in comfy pristine sand! Since it was only 5 miles in and a relatively easy hike, we had time to swim, fish, and explore the area.

Because it was late in the season, the water level was low and fairly warm.

There was no need for backpacker food - we ate fresh fish for dinner!

Here's a photo of the Little Kern just below the trailhead.




And another picture taken near our campsite:



On the second day, we hiked up and over a pass on our way to the Kern River. We passed Flat Iron, several meadows and springs, and then made the long descent through the burnt-out Doe Meadow on our way to Kern Flat.



Wildlife tracks were everywhere - there certainly seems to be a healthy supply of bear, coyotes, and deer. The Kern River is absolutely beautiful in this area!



We hiked a little ways south along the river and found a nice campspot near some excellent fishing and swimming holes.



Once again, the fishing was world class with unique Golden-Rainbow hybrids...and they were big!!



We spent most of the 3rd day fishing and hiking all along the river - about a 12.5 mile hike. About 7 miles down, we reached the Forks of the Kern, where the Little Kern meets the North Fork. Here, we passed several day hikers and rafters getting ready for a super low flow 4-day trip down the Kern River to the Johnsondale bridge.



The remaining portion of our trip took us uphill from the Forks, and back to the trailhead. We cant wait to return and explore more of the area. Hiking/climbing down the Little Kern Drainage and kayaking these upper sections of the Kern River are now on our list of things to do!

An Autumn Hike at Rock Creek Lake

This was a great day and a perfect place for a late season hike! Rock Creek Canyon, in the Eastern Sierra north of Bishop, is filled with superb hiking trails. On this particular trip, we hiked out of Mosquito Flat, above Rock Creek Lake, and on into the Little Lakes Valley. There are several other trails near Rock Creek Lake: Hilton Creek/Lakes, Tamarack Bench, Sand Canyon for mountain biking, and numerous backpacking options. We took the Morgan Pass Trail.



One of the the unique features of this area, is that the trailhead is at 10,300 feet! So, immediately you're immersed in the high alpine lake terrain.



After entering the John Muir Wilderness and a hike up the Crankcase Grade, we followed a creek filled with darting brook trout. The trail splits after a steep-but-quick climb; a deviation from the mellow pace. Backpackers often head Mono Pass, but we continued through the Little Lakes Valley.

We came upon Mack Lake, and then upon the ultra scenic Marsh Lake. Unfortunately we didn't have our fishing poles; it looked like some excellent brown trout habitat! I know the Big One is lurking in there.



The hike meandered along Ruby Creek and on up to Heart Lake and Box Lake.
As we were enjoying the beautiful Box Lake, the T-shirt weather started to turn a little chilly as clouds rapidly developed and hovered over the Sierra.




The happy forecast of sunny weather was starting to look a bit off - it was looking like a storm was brewing.

So we had to keep jammin' up to see Long Lake before the weather turned to nasty!



Well, right when we got there it started snowing! So i didn't get any pictures of Long Lake, 'cause we weren't hanging out too long. The trip back went quite a bit faster. With no jackets, wet snow, and a breeze coming off 13,000 peaks, we were motivated to move fast.



I guess it was another lesson learned: always be prepared in the High Sierra - at least have a jacket! Although, i think we've said that a million times before... its just more fun this way!

A Stormy Dry Meadow & Needles Hike

Yesterday we went hiking up above Johnsondale, just as the first snow of the season was brewing in the distance. After months and months of perfect sunshine and blue skies, seeing the ominous clouds was energizing! There is so much to explore in this area ranging from the Western Divide and the upper Kern River.

We started hiking near Elephant Knob and followed Dry Meadow Creek (an epic steep creek kayak run) for a bit. We ended up wandering a trail running perpendicular towards Peppermint Creek miles to the north. The views were awesome...Sentinel Dome, Dome Rock, the Needles and several other geological features were in view.

We took a lunch break on a granite slab that overlooked the Forks of the Kern run and the Kern River Trail, another spectacular hike. We could see all the way from Split Mountain in Wofford Heights and into Golden Trout Wilderness to the north.


The only evidence of humans was an old motorcycle track; otherwise it was just deer prints, bear track, and coyote poo. Rad! We'll have to check out more of the trail, but it could make a good mountain bike ride.

After looping back, we got the urge to go check out The Needles on the Western Divide. The Needles are a group of huge granite spires and domes that lunge out above the Forks of the Kern, and are extremely popular for rock climbing.

The storm seemed far enough away, that there could still be some excellent views. We did see newly snow covered peaks out towards Mt Whitney.

But - of course - the storm intensified right when we got to one of the best viewpoints in the Sierras; the Needles fire lookout. (See the fire tower perched on top of one of the granite knobs in the picture below.)



The wind picked up and it started snowing as the visibility dumped. After climbing all the rickety steps up to the tower, we had about 2 minutes before the ranger closed it down due to lightning.

The only thing was that there was no lightning! It was the deer hunting season opener, and some poor deer bit the dust. It was very obviously a gun shot to everyone up there...except the ranger lady. She was all panicked and argued that there was lighting RIGHT above us! Oh well... we couldnt even see to the bottom of the Needles at this point. It was fun enough just hiking in a storm! Finally some precipitation!

Here's a GPX file of our wanderings.

Welcome to the Sierra Sojourner blog!

What's all this about?
We will be blogging about our adventures throughout the Sierra Nevada mountains as we explore this vast region via mountain biking, hiking, climbing, backpacking, kayaking, backcountry skiing, and whatever else we can think of!

We're motivated to spread our love of nature, photography, and outdoor sports as we sojourn in the Sierras.


Sierras: (n.) Some of the most amazing and rugged mountains in the world, ranging from Oregon to Mexico.

To Sojourn: (v.) To journey, abide, inhabit, travel, vacation, adventure.