TCT #7 -- Relief Reservoir, Kennedy Meadows



Leftover building material, Relief Reservoir,
and East Flange Rock (almost dead-center)

At last we're heading to the high country.  On July 7 we'll take the strenuous 7.5 mile hike to Relief Reservoir near Kennedy Meadows.  Relief Reservoir is named for the rescue mission sent from Sonora to the stranded Clark-Skidmore emigrant wagon train who had a near-Donner experience in 1852.  For the 10-year life of the treacherous West Walker Route crossing the Sierra, a camp outfitted with supplies was maintained by the residents of the Southern Mines towns of Sonora and Columbia.  After that, a new route was constructed about 3-5 miles to the north.  This road, the Sonora-Mono Toll Road was used to transport goods from San Francisco and Sonora to the silver rush boomtowns of Bodie and Aurora.  Modern Sonora Pass roughly follows the route of the Sonora-Mono Toll Road.  In the early 1900s, East Coast money-men decided to invest in a hydroelectric project -- a dam on Summit Creek which runs through Relief Valley.  The investors hoped to strike their own "gold" by supplying power to San Francisco and communities on the way down from the Sierras.  And so we have Relief Reservoir and a lot of interesting artifacts on the trail.

The dam is rock and earth filled with a concrete "veneer"



Moving cars using
the derrick-pulley system

Today's trail follows

yesterday's dam supply road

This is our first high-elevation hike; the trailhead is at 6,127'.  We'll gain about 1,200' more as we hike up, up, up (then down, down, down).  Other things to be aware of is that we'll be going on footbridges high over creeks; if you're afraid of heights, steel yourself.  Speaking of heights, it's almost impossible to prevent elevation sickness, but there are some ways to cope if it comes on you (slow down, take smaller steps and deep breaths).  Also, we will be sharing the trail with equestrians and pack horses.




Learn more about this spectacular hike by listening to TCT #7, an interview with returning guest, Summit Ranger District Archaeologist Lisa DeHart.  Lisa talks about the history of the Relief area and her own contribution to Gold Country scholarship -- when she cooperated on an expedition that not only found the site of the Clark-Skidmore original relief camp but the exact location of the West Walker Route.  The show starts with audio trail reviews from our National Trails Day hike along the Sugar Pine Railroad Grade, Strawberry Branch.  Listen and learn why it's my favorite hike:



Trip Report - Strawberry Branch, Sugar Pine RR Grade, 6/2/18

My Favorite Trail

We celebrated National Trails Day by taking my favorite hike, the Sugar Pine Railroad Grade from Fraser Flat to Strawberry (and back).  Participating in the American Hiking Society’s  initiative to improve 2,802 miles of trail (the distance across the Lower 48), we committed to pack out our own trash and toted garbage bags to collect any other litter.  We were pleased to find the trail in fairly tidy condition.  Our take was less than one kitchen trash bag full, most of it the micro-garbage variety.

There were around 30 Trail Heads on the trip, ranging in age from very young (around 10-years-old) to senior (noneaya-business-years-old!).  There were families, couples, friends from out-of-town & out-of-state (Joshua Tree! Oregon!), singles, and even a teacher-student combo.  And, of course, dogs.

 

Rapids and Pools

Garter Snake

The day was perfect for hiking starting out cool, progressing to warm then hot in the sun but pleasant in the shade.  The trail offered sections shaded by tree canopy and sunny through meadows.  Almost always we had the South Fork Stanislaus River within view or earshot.  Blossom-laden Dogwoods were bountiful.  While it wasn’t quite a riot of wildflowers, there were colonies of tiny Five Spots, stands of Paintbrush, a few wild iris getting ready to blossom, bright Western Wallflower, and plenty of fungi.  In the animal realm, we constantly heard cheerily chirping birds, and we saw a small garter snake.  A group our size tromping along the trail scares away larger mammals, but once while snowshoeing here I’ve seen bear prints (winter access is from the trail’s Old Strawberry Road end).  As far as non-TCT humans, we did encounter at least one mountain biker.

This pleasant route is a little under 6 miles round trip.  Because it’s a former railroad grade, it has a gentle incline of just over 3%.  It’s my favorite because it’s easy to get to, it’s do-able for all skill levels and ages, and it’s got the attractive water-feature of the Stanislaus River.  I was pleased to see that there have been some improvements in the trail since last year – there are some trailhead and distance markers, and the interpretive signs have all been restored.  I’ve uploaded the interpretive guide; it’s under “Pages” in top right column of the blog’s main page.

Interpretive sign at Fraser Flat Campground

To get to the trailhead, go east on Highway 108 through Sugar Pine, Me Wuk, Sierra Vilage, and Long Barn.  Continue along the 4-lanes east of Long Barn.  After the road narrows to 2-lanes again you'll go about another two miles (the road's a bit windy then levels out).  Watch for a hard-to-spot sign on your right for Fraser Flat & Spring Gap.  The sign is on the right, but you'll make a LEFT turn (on the left it's Road 4N01/Fraser Flat Rd.; on the right it's Jenness Park Rd.).  If you get to Cold Springs/Mia's Restaurant, YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR!  Turn around & backtrack about a mile; heading west, you'll turn RIGHT on 4N01/Fraser Flat Rd.).  Drive downhill about 3 miles to the bridge.  Park as far off the road as possible.  The trailhead is on the southeast side of the bridge.

There aren’t any services at the trailhead.  However, if you continue over the bridge and go about a mile, you’ll come to Fraser Flat Campground on your left.  It’s worth a visit to the campground and not just to use the vault toilets.  There are two interpretive signs with interesting cultural and historic information, a bedrock mortar (Indian grinding stone), and a wheelchair accessible fishing platform!


Here's a link to the Tuolumne County Transit Council's Sugar Pine Railway, Strawberry Branch webpage:
https://www.tuolumnecountytransportationcouncil.org/single-post/2016/08/10/Strawberry-to-Fraser


Here's a link to the American Hiking Society's webpage:
https://americanhiking.org/