TCT #21 -- Kathi Joye

Kathi Joye & Stefano (a few years ago)

Wendy took a ditch walk with Kathi Joye, author of the "Day Hikes Along the Highway 108 Corridor" guide books, AKA, our bibles!  Most of the episode is devoted to Kathi's insights on writing guidebooks, favorite trails (it's hard to pick just one!), Leave No Trace, and staying found and safe when hiking.

Shelly Davis-King & Mi-Wok dwelling

Last November, we observed Native American Heritage Month with an interpretive presentation by Shelly Davis-King at the Shadow of the Mi-Wok Trail at Pinecrest (followed by a hike at Bell Meadow).  Shelly's talk was informative and evocative.  You Trail Heads responded with your hearts when you saw the disheveled state of the exhibit, a replica of a Mi-Wok village.  We're dedicating $5 of each T-shirt and sticker sale to whatever it takes to refurbish the site.  We've been in touch with Diana Fredlund, Public Information Officer for the Stanislaus National Forest.  Diana reports that there's major traction on the project!  She already has a team of volunteers set up for a trail service day in August (willing Trail Heads are welcome; we'll post dates and details here and on the Facebook page).  Over the winter work will be completed on new interpretive panels (this is where the money we raise will go).  In spring there will be a re-dedication ceremony.  Thanks for your generosity, Trail Heads!  We'll take orders for T-shirts again soon, and we'll provide contact information if you want to donate directly.  Photos of the merch below:

T-shirt front

T-shirt back

Slap a sticker on your car,
water bottle, or bear canister!

Iceberg Meadow

A year after the Donnell Fire raged through the Highway 108 high country, Clark Fork Road is open.
  Not all the trails are open to hikers, but the Clark Fork Trailhead is open, and it leads to a couple of worthy destinations -- Boulder Lake and Clark Fork Meadow (you can also access the St. Mary's Pass trails via cross-country route-finding).  We've been eager to take the Trail Heads into this area and are happy to be able to announce that our September 7 hike will be to Clark Fork Meadow, about an 8 mile round trip that starts in scenic Iceberg Meadow, climbs via switchbacks, then follows the Clark Fork River, leading to lovely Clark Fork Meadow.  We're thinking of offering car camping at a nearby campground then adding a second bonus hike/drive the next day -- maybe to the Bennett Juniper or Eagle Meadow.  Again, "watch this space!"

And here's audio of the radio show:  https://drive.google.com/open?id=10Zuek420YosGEOxN9gWv2xjasGQ50dap

TCT #20 -- Excited

View from Inspiration Point (by R Andrade)

It's summer, and it's exciting!  Roads and trails at the higher elevations are opening and trip-planning options are expanding.  Be careful out there, though.  The snowy winter means lots of runoff with streams running fast and full.

In this episode:

• We get three T (what was tough, trippy, and tremendous) trail feedback about our acrobatic journey on the Tuolumne Main Ditch and Flume.
• We have a couple of updates from Lisa Murphy and Erin Naegle (both biology teachers at Columbia College) Lisa has sad news from the Gold Country Bat Project -- White Nose Syndrome has been detected in California -- be sure to clean yourself and your gear when going in and out of caves that may contain bats!  Erin gives us an update on the fundraising effort, "Skip a Latte/Lager; Save a Lemur."  The goal is to bring Gerard Bakarizafy of Lokobe National Park in Madagascar to the US (and Sonora!) to attend the International Seminar on Planning and Managing Tourism in Protected Areas hosted by Colorado State University and the US Forest Service.
• Rebecca talks about going to an off-the-grid wedding in Montana and how Independence Day was celebrated in 1850's off-the-grid Columbia.
• Wendy talks about the bonus hikes and training for her long backpack trip on the Continental Divide Trail.
• Finally, we divulge the destination of our August 3 hike: Powell Lake -- HOLD THAT THOUGHT!!  The trailhead for Powell Lake, Gianelli Cabin, is still closed, so our Plan B hike will be Inspiration Point at Lake Alpine.  Since the program gives no info about the hike, we'll share some of the reasons Rebecca landed on this hike: "The hike features the Emigrant trail following the shores of Lake Alpine, at 7350'.  The difficulty level varies along the hike.  Around the shore is easy, leading up to Inspiration Point is moderate, and getting on top of Inspiration Point is difficult for some (steep and hazardous footing).  Inspiration Point offers incredible views of Dardanelles, lakes and mountains of the Stanislaus National Forest.  Inspiration Point is a lava bluff, which in itself is a geological wonder of the local area.  The unique geology of the lava bluff also creates beautiful varieties of wildlife habitat and vegetation.  I hope you will join me for a fun-filled day, as Wendy is off enjoying her big hike!  I love the educational component of TCT; and, as a former Interpretive Ranger of Lake Alpine, I'm sure we will enjoy exploring together!" 

We'll save Powell Lake for a bonus hike later in the summer or early fall.

Here's a link to the audio of the July program.  Allow a moment for downloading: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MQyIsXfiZnBoard_zXErWCgcZcarqvf_/view?usp=sharing

Here are some photos from the Tuolumne Main Ditch and Flume hike.

Flume & S Fork Stanislaus River

The gang (by D. Morgan)

Trail Heads on flume on trestle (by D. Morgan)

Announcing TCT merch!!!

On Tuesday I ordered our first batch of T-shirts (36!!) and stickers.  I'm hoping they'll be available for distribution on our 7/6 hike (Tuolumne Main Ditch and Flume -- one way from Lyons Dam to Twain Harte).  The fabulous design is by local graphic artist Diana Beasley.  Thanks, Diana!  We love 'em!

T-shirts are $20 for sizes S - XL.  For XXL & XXXL, add $2 or $4 to the cost.  We are proud to tell you that $5 of each T-shirt sale will go to a fundraiser to improve the Shadow of the Mi-Wok Interpretive Trail at Pinecrest.

We will have a supply of stickers available for $5 each.  After recovering the printing cost, the full amount of each sale will go to the Shadow of the Mi-Wok Interpretive Trail fundraiser.

Sticker/Front of T-shirt

Detail of back of T-shirt

TCT #19 -- Lisa Murphy

Lisa Murphy & Erin Naegle
 & the bat-finding equipment

This month's episode of Tuolumne County Trailhead is short on voices -- I failed to get Three T mini trip reviews (what was Tough, Trip, and Tremendous) on our Pinecrest Lake loop hike.  We were so focused on the stewardship aspect of this National Trails Day hike that I simply spaced it out.  There were a dozen Trail Heads on the hike; as soon as we started walking, they started working, picking up all the trash and litter on the trail and a ways off, too.  Mainly we had plastic bottles and micro-trash, but we also found a wetsuit!  Pinecrest is a lovely destination for hiking (the lake loop trail is a fairly easy 4 miles), picnicking, boating, swimming, and just plain chilling.  It's a year-round recreation area with snowshoeing in the winter.

Here's a link to the US Forest Service webpage for the Pinecrest Lake National Recreation Trail:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/stanislaus/recarea/?recid=15077

Gay Hunt & litter haul

Anyway, no Three T trip reviews means more time for our main interview.  That's a good thing, too, because our subject, Lisa Murphy, has A LOT going on!  In this episode we limit ourselves to just three of her projects.  I'm sold on all of them, and I'm sure you'll be interested in at least one:  Bats in the Gold Country, Lemurs in Madagascar, California Naturalist certification at Baker Station.

Here's the link to the radio program TCT #19 -- Lisa Murphy so you can listen:  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BHCmkHVgE4Fu5XgJMsUJmrqiELiCxW6N

You know, we're gonna do an evening bat hike.  When?  Watch this space!

Here's a link to the High Sierra Institute webpage with a schedule of classes being offered there (through Columbia College) including the California Naturalist Certification:
https://www.gocolumbia.edu/arts_sciences/highsierrainstitutepages/hsi-classe-schedule.php

Here's a link to the Gold Country Bat Project website: https://www.goldcountrybats.org/

Here's a link to the Go Fund Me page for Gerard Bakarizafy:  https://www.gofundme.com/hexfse-skip-a-latte-save-a-lemur-or-skip-a-lager

Flume just west of Lyons Dam

I've got a special treat planned for our July 6 hike:  We're going to walk the Tuolumne Main Ditch and Flume Trail from Lyons Lake to Twain Harte.  This is a little over 5 miles and fairly easy IF you don't have height or vertigo issues.  The ditch system is a remnant from the Gold Rush; it moved water from the high country to the placer mines in Columbia and other "dry diggings."  By now, the historic ditches do double-duty as infrastructure (still supplying untreated water to many communities) and recreation trails.  Some ditch trails are on private property and not accessible.  However, most or all of the Tuolumne Main Ditch is accessible to the public.  It's an adventure to walk it, though -- some of the time you'll be on planks above the rushing water; other times you'll walk on a dirt trail alongside the ditch; occasionally gaps are traversed by trestles.  This will be a one-way hike with a car shuttle setup.

TCT #18 -- Karie Lew

Yellow Mariposa Lily

A memory came up on my Facebook page the other day:  "While walking the dogs this morning, I came upon a little girl in a tree singing a made-up song that went, 'Will it rain?  I don't know, but if it does, it'll probably snow.'"  Ten years later, we certainly resemble this remark!

Cross your fingers for good weather for our June 1 hike on the Pinecrest Lake National Recreation Trail.  June 1 is National Trails Day, and again TCT is cooperating with the American Hiking Society in a trail service day.  AHS invites us to take the pledge, "We saw how our public lands suffered during the government shutdown.  Together, we'll give back to the places we love and set the world record for the most people improving trails in a single day.  Be a part of history by pledging to clean up a trail or volunteering at a trail service project on National Trails Day."  Our service will be two-tiered:  we'll start with a Leave No Trace education session with Stanislaus Wilderness Volunteers at the Pinecrest Ranger Station; then we'll grab trash bags and clean up the trail as we hike the 4-mile loop around Pinecrest Lake.

Trail Heads on the Green Springs Trail

Rebecca and Wendy, your TCT co-hosts, plotted all this in the May edition of the radio program.  The show also features "three T" mini-trip reports (what was Tough, Trippy, and Tremendous) about the May 4 hike on Peoria Mountain.  We had Ranger Hilary Maxworthy of the Bureau of Reclamation along to provide interpretation about this lightly-visited area of New Melones Lake.  Noteworthy sightings include yellow Mariposa Lilies, poppies, an Osprey nest, and Half Dome!  Yes, we could see Half Dome, 55 air-miles away!

Trail Heads on the Peoria Ridge Trail; New Melones Lake on the right

The radio show also includes a lengthy interview with Karie Lew, the Sonora resident who is coordinating an ambitious weekend of trail-building on the Dragoon Gulch Trail in October.  The goal is to add a mile of trail over two days of work.  Karie hopes to recruit 150 volunteers and set a record for Volunteers for Outdoor California (V-O-Cal).   Karie is passionate about this project; you'll want to join her in the project for sure!  To volunteer or donate: contact Karie at dragoongulchtrailproject@gmail.com

Here's a link to the Union Democrat article about Karie's Dragoon Gulch project:  https://www.uniondemocrat.com/localnews/6947187-151/volunteer-group-to-add-a-mile-of-trail

Here's a link to V-O-Cal's webpage:  http://v-o-cal.org/home.html

Finally, Here's a link to the google drive file for the May 2019 Tuolumne County Trailhead radio program, TCT #18 - Karie Lew:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NEQwTSt7IIgxb3cbkep1bbF1OorQhNIT/view?usp=sharing

TCT #17 -- Joel Silverman

In this episode of Tuolumne County Trailhead, we get the inside scoop on hiking trails in the Stanislaus National Forest!  Listen to Rebecca and Wendy's conversation with Wilderness Supervisor Joel Silverman about his favorite "secret" trails in our three local wildernesses -- the Emigrant, the Mokelumne, and the Carson-Iceberg.  Joel and Rebecca also give a glimpse into the upcoming Stanislaus Wilderness Volunteers (SWV) annual meeting on Saturday, 4/27.  Rebecca is President of the SWV this year and has committed to a mercifully fast and efficient meeting from 10am to noon at 10 S. Forest Rd. in Sonora.  The group will then travel to Tuolumne to take a Leave No Trace Awareness hike at 1pm on the West Side Trail.  You don't need to be an SWV member to take the hike.  The mission of the SWV is to "preserve the wilderness character of designated public lands through education, example and coordinated effort in direct support of US Forest Service work in the Emigrant, Carson-Iceberg, and Mokolumne Wilderness areas of the Stanislaus National Forest."  The organization provides free training in Leave No Trace education and wilderness preservation and restoration techniques.  There's a membership dues of $50/year (which mainly covers insurance) which may be reduced for seniors/students/low-income.  Here's a link to the SWV website: http://www.swv1.org/

Sutter Buttes Geology

Dean Place, Sutter Buttes

Episode 17 also features a report of a "Remote Possibility" hiking weekend Wendy took with Trail Heads Corinne Grandstaff and Shelly Davis-King.  The threesome took two hikes in the Sutter Buttes: a "Wildflower Exploration" at Dean Place (near Yuba City) and a "Ranch Exploration" at Shaeffer Ranch (near Live Oak).  The Sutter Buttes are billed as "The World's Smallest Mountain Range" and are largely in private ownership.  Four families allow limited hiking through agreements with Middle Mountain Interpretive Hikes http://www.middlemountainhikes.org/.  Middle Mountain is what all the local tribes called the formation which was sacred to them all.

Gary & Wendy at Brushy Peak

Morgan Territory

Our April 6 road trip to Livermore to hike at Brushy Peak and Morgan Territory was lovely but sparsely attended with only Wendy and Gary Stockel making the journey.  Despite predictions of extreme weather conditions, it turned out to be a perfect day, and we explored another area that was sacred to native people.

Peoria Mountain Trail

Finally, for our next hike, May 4, we'll have Ranger Hilary Maxworthy along to guide us on a wildflower exploration of our own at New Melones Lake's Peoria area northwest of Jamestown.  Ranger Hilary has arranged to open the old New Melones Dam Overlook for parking for the hike and picnicking after.  We're planning on hiking a 6-mile loop that includes Peoria Mountain.  Mercifully, approaching the mountain from this starting point provides for a slightly less demanding haul uphill.  Thanks, Ranger Hilary!






Listen to the episode here (be patient while the Google Drive file downloads):  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g8HNRaQ5m8Yd0vS8R3uaekDfAsdoRAf8/view?usp=sharing

Brushy Peak/Morgan Territory 4/6/19

Hello, Trail Heads!

We're sticking with Saturday, 4/6 for the Brushy Peak Hike.  Gary Stockel has offered to lead a bonus hike of 3 miles after we finish the main hike (7 miles; moderate-to-strenuous).  This will be to a Vulvon village site on Contra Costa Water District property accessed from Morgan Territory Regional Park, a short drive from Brushy Peak.  Unfortunately, dogs are NOT ALLOWED on CCWD property, so if you bring your pooch, you'll be limited to the Brushy Peak hike.  The addition of the hike to the Volvon village will lengthen our day, but will be SUPER-SPECIAL!  Thanks, Gary!

Please RSVP via reply to this email by Friday night.

To carpool/caravan, meet at the Jamestown Day-O between 8:15 - 8:30.  Or meet at the trailhead; hike starts at 10am.  We'll probably be back to Sonora around 6pm.

To get to Brushy Peak: From I-580 in Livermore, exit north at Vasco Road and immediately turn right onto Northfront Road. After about .8 miles turn left onto Laughlin Road and proceed approximately two miles to the staging area at the end of Laughlin Road.

Take care, stay dry & hope to see you soon!  -w