Anticipated summer crowds on the popular Relief Reservoir trail failed to materialize, and we had an outstanding post-holiday high country hike! The trail starts just east of the Kennedy Meadows Resort and Pack Station. Hilly at first, it follows the Middle Fork Stanislaus River upstream to one of the meadows. Soon you enter the Emigrant Wilderness and with the benefit of steps hacked out of the granite, you begin your ascent along the stream, which you will cross twice via sturdy footbridges.
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| First footbridge over Middle Fork Stanislaus River |
All along the way you'll see discarded material from the construction of the dam (1907-1911). Indeed, some of the trail takes the old road and railroad built to move construction material. Besides manmade artifacts, there's stunning natural scenery: Trees, some appearing to grow straight out of immense granite boulders; Wildflowers along the trail and in cracks and meadows; Birds singing and chirping; Craggy, snowy mountain peaks; Water in creeks cascading down the canyon walls and, in some seasons, spilling over the trail.
The steep incline inspired some of us to take more "beauty breaks" than others, so the group ended up pretty spread out. So much so that the advance wave missed the turn around point and added some extra mileage. We intercepted most of the faster Trail Heads at about the 4.5 mile point at the Grouse Creek crossing and directed them back to the north end of the reservoir to reconvene at an overlook. Once reunited, we scrambled down to the dam to survey the surroundings at lake level then scrambled back up to the trail for a group photo. |
| Trail Heads on the dam |
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| Southern view of Relief Reservoir at dam level |
The Kennedy Meadows trailhead, about 57 miles east of Sonora, is your gateway for many adventures in the Emigrant Wilderness including trails to Sharon Lake, Kennedy Lake, Upper and Lower Relief Valleys, Brown Bear Pass, and more including our hike to Relief Reservoir. Turn off of Highway 108 at the road to Kennedy Meadows Resort and Pack Station. From here, it's about .5 mile to the trailhead parking lot (a bit past Baker Campground on your left). There is plenty of parking and a vault toilet. Walk .5 mile along the trail/road from the parking lot past the resort to the actual trailhead. This is a strenuous hike starts at 6,127' and gains 1,200' over about 3 miles to the reservoir. In the summer it's a hot AND popular hike, so it's good to get an early start if you're venturing out on a weekend or holiday. Because this is such a heavily trafficked route and shared with equestrians, it's essential to know trail-yielding conventions: Downhill hikers yield to uphill hikers; large groups yield to smaller groups or solo hikers; bikers yield to pedestrians and everyone yields to horses. When horses appear, step off the trail on the down-slope side; don't reach out to touch the horses.
Here's a link to the Stanislaus National Forest's Highway 108 hiking trails webpage:
Here's a link to the Tuolumne County Historical Society webpage about Relief Reservoir:
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