TCT #42 -- Wesley Trimble & the AHS

Wesley Trimble via Zoom

One of the first resources I discovered when I undertook the Tuolumne County Trailhead project was the American Hiking Society.  The AHS has a number of initiatives including National Trails Day, Volunteer Vacations, Hike the Hill, and Alternative Break.  In our first two years, we participated in National Trails Day (the first Saturday in June), hosting two trail service projects -- picking up trash on trails at Fraser Flat and Pinecrest.  When Covid hit, I looked to AHS for guidance on how to safely get outdoors and continue hiking.  For May's radio show, I reached out to AHS for info about how they're handling this year's National Trails Day.  They put me together with their Communications and Creative Director, Wesley Trimble, a Colorado-based lifelong hiker who's passionate about public lands and trails.  Wesley and I talked about National Trails Day, hiking responsibly, and some of Wesley's personal projects -- among them, he's summitted all of Colorado's 14'ers!

Here's a link to the radio show TCT #42 - Wesley Trimble & the AHS:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TTtLAmKthbMoCguT-zhDy0EZKQRLIFBa/view?usp=sharing

And here are a bunch of links to sites Wesley and I discussed:

• American Hiking Society's website:  https://americanhiking.org/
• Wesley's website:  https://www.wesleytrimble.com/
• Recreate Responsibly Coalition's website: https://www.recreateresponsibly.org/

Wesley was featured in an in-depth interview on the Adventure Sports Podcast.  Give a listen:  https://www.adventuresportspodcast.com/2021/03/ep-709-embracing-weakness-in-mountains.html

In lieu of an in-person event for National Trails Day, TCT recommends donating to 3 Forests Interpretive Association (https://www.3forests.com/donate/).  We encourage you to designate your donation for the benefit of improvements to the "Shadow of the Mi-Wok Interpretive Trail" in the Stanislaus NF, Summit Ranger District.  (See our virtual event on the AHS's list of National Trails Day activities: https://americanhiking.org/national-trails-day/find-an-event/#search-virtual-events/view-event-details15/60a5698929d40f0020cf25ff/.)

This month we're observing a couple of seasonal occasions:  The Opening of the Pass and the Blooming of the Dogwoods.  When the pass opens, my husband and I trek over to the East Side to observe the snow level and to reward ourselves with a meal in Walker.  However, this is a "flat-butt"-inducing amount of time to spend in the car.  Break it up by stopping off for easy walks at any of these short nature trails along the way: 

Just as you turn off Highway 108 to go to Pinecrest, on the right is the quarter-mile Shadow of the Mi-Wok Interpretive Trail.  Here's a link to the trail's webpage with info and GPS coordinates:  https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/stanislaus/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=15081&actid=50

Archaeologist Shelly Davis-King
at a replica Mi-Wok shelter
November 2018

The Donnell Vista is further up Highway 108, between Eagle Meadow Road and Clark Fork Road.  A left turn off the highway, it offers a sweeping view of the Stanislaus River canyon, the Dardanelle Cones, and Donnell Reservoir.  Here's a link to the vista's webpage and GPS coordinates:  https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/stanislaus/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=15073&actid=50

Donnell Vista -
Accessible Nature Trail!

The last of the three short "stretch your legs" options when taking the long drive over the pass is the Columns of the Giants, a mini-Devil's Postpile, is almost to Kennedy Meadows, at Pigeon Flat, to the right off the highway.  Here's a link to the geological site's webpage and GPS coordinates: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/stanislaus/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=15071&actid=50

Columns of the Giants, summer 2020

The dogwoods are in bloom, and you can see them on many of our forest trails.  They put on a real show on the Sugar Pine Railway, Twain Harte Branch.  This rails-to-trails conversion runs five miles between Confidence and Lyons Lake.  For a medium outing, walk about 2.5 miles in (then out -- 5 miles, duh!).  If you want more of a challenge, walk the entire route both ways for a double-digit accomplishment!  Here's a link to the interpretive brochure for the trail with directions to the trailhead and more: https://www.tuolumnecountytransportationcouncil.org/single-post/2016/08/10/Lyons-to-Twain-Harte

Dogwood along the Sugar Pine Railway,
Twain Harte Branch, May 2020
Note the metal walkway on the
flume below!