MOTHER DAY HIKE TO STEVENSON CREEK FALLS
MAY 12, 2024

Hiked along Garnet Dike Road from where it is closed to the Kings River Trailhead and from there to 2nd Pines Camp. There road is closed the last three miles before the end of the road and is still blocked at 1.75 miles in due to a large rockslide and wash out of the road. Even though it has not been maintained the trail is passable to 2nd Pines Camp. I ventured past 2nd Pines camp about a .25 miles before I decided to turn around. If I had more time I probably could have made it to Spring Creek. I will save that for another time. Hope you enjoy the video!

This was my 2023 Scouting trip of the Dusy-Ershim OHV trail. I did over five days from Aug 4th - 8th. I counted 218 trees or branches across the trail, plus 50 other points of interest. I do this trip as a volunteer scouting trip for the US Forest Service - Sierra National Forest- before they go in to clear the trail so they know what they are getting into. You can check out my scouting report at following link https://www.pathfinderwest.com/post/dusy-ershim-ohv-trail-scouting-report-august-2023 This is one of my favorite trips of the year. The Dusy runs between the John Muir Wilderness and the Dinkey Lakes Wilderness and delivers beautiful meadows, lakes and views. Also this time of year when I go the trail is not open yet, so no 4wd drive vehicles are around. If you have any questions about the trail please contact me through the socials or at pathfinderwest2021@gmail.com . #sierranationalforest #fresnocounty #dusyershimohv #dusy #hiking #hikecalifornia #johnmuirwilderness #dinkeylakeswilderness #pathfinderwest #shaverlake #courtrightreservoir #ohv #volunteer #volunteering

The trail starts across the street at the dispersed camping area known as Cliff Camp that overlooks the Wishon Reservoir spillway. This trail is not currently maintained but the trail is easy to follow and there are not too many trees down across the trail. Once you make your way down about One mile you come to a creek crossing to hit the main Cliff Camp Trail. If you make a left you can head towards Granite Gorge or towards the Crown Valley Trailhead if you stay on trail. Make a right and you head down towards the North Fork of the Kings River. When the River is high, crossing the river is not possible due to the Cliff Camp Footbridge being permanently closed. This is a great area to fish, explore and see wildlife. On this trip we saw two Osprey nests and at least three Ospreys. The Kings River was Running high due to the Wishon Spillway needing to be open due to the amount of water coming into the lake. The wildflowers were also just popping out as well and were beautiful. Hope to show more of this area in the future.

June 3 2023 I went with my buddy Steven to his cabin in Groveland to help him check it out and fix a TV and before we headed back the next day we took the opportunity to check out Hetch Hetchy. It was the first time for both of us and we were excited for the hike. The waterfalls were epic and we got their early enough that there was not a lot of people in the park yet! Can't wait to go back and spend some more time. Let me know how the video was and your experience at Hetch Hetchy and if you have ever been there before.

I got the privilege of scouting the Kings River Trail(NRT) for the Forest Service through the group I do volunteer trail work for (Mountain Warriors) . Since the area is closed due to US Forest Service Order and damage to Garnet Dike Road I had to get a special permit to be able to access the area. With Garnet Dike Road being closed I had to hike the road (7 miles) to get to the trailhead. The road already had a report done but I documented this as well since I was passing through. Kings River Expedition has already hired a contractor to clear the road to a certain point agreed upon with the Forest Service and that work Started as of April 11th. I noted 48 points of interest on road that need attention with a few major ones in the last 2.5 miles. Here is the link to my report where you can see all the issues with Garnet Dike Road and The Kings River Trail. Link: https://www.pathfinderwest.com/post/scouting-garnet-dike-road-and-the-kings-river-trail-nrt-report I took three days scouting this area hiking in Friday evening on April 7th to Garnet Dike and setting up base camp, scouting the Kings River Trail on Saturday April 8th and hiking out Sunday April 9th. The Kings River Trail had 79 points interest that needed attention with two major ones affecting the trail with the last one stopping me before I could reach Garlic Meadow Creek and Garlic Falls. Let me know what you think of this video and hopefully the report gets this trail some funding when road gets repaired so that the trail can be reached easily.

My friend Alan and I hiked the Bear Gulch trail to the High Peaks to the Condor Gulch Trail loop. We happened to luck out and not get rained on as it was raining all that month.

Hiking to Nelson Lake & Nelson Mountain Highest Elevation: 10,220 ft Length: 16.1 miles It was supposed to be a three day trip with two nights at Nelson lake but we shortened it due to my hiking partner not feeling well and us hiking out Saturday late afternoon. We still had a good time and I still got to climb and summit Nelson Mountain. We headed out of the Cliff Lake Trailhead. The trail takes you down in elevation for the first mile and next to the Courtright if it is full. About three miles from the trailhead is the trail junction that we take to head towards Nelson Lake. From the trail junction it is about two miles to the lake. In this area is where we start to travel through the Bullfrog Fire (2020) burn area. We see a lot of burned trees but nothing across the trail. Once we get to Nelson Lake we head towards our preferred camping area. There were a few cars at the trailhead and we thought we might run into some people, but to our surprise there was no one at the lake or our camping area. Once we got our tents set up and some fire wood collected I headed out to get some pictures of the lake. Being that it was later in the season there were not as many mosquitos as there would have been earlier in the season. The next morning after getting a few pictures of the lake in the morning sun and eating breakfast. I headed towards Nelson Mountain. On the way up I stopped by the upper Nelson Lakes. As I climbed up the ridge above west of the lakes the views started to show up. Every time I got a little higher I the views became better. There was a fun section where I was on the top of the ridge and to the west there was a steep drop and I could see Sportsman Lake down below. Once I crossed that section of ridge the hike became much easier and the top of the mountain was now in sight. The views from the top of Nelson Mountain were spectacular. You could see all the way from Mammoth to the north to Farewell Gap in Sequoia National Park to the south. After spending 30-40 minutes at the top I started to head down and ran into three guys just getting to the top. The three guys were doing a loop and were going to Eagle Peak next and then back to the Cliff Lake Trailhead. I chatted with them for a few minutes and then headed back down to Nelson lake. Once back to camp my hiking partner was still not feeling great so we made the decision to hike out while he still had the strength to do so. We made good time on the hike out, and got to our vehicle before it got dark. 📍Nelson Lake & Nelson Mtn - Donkey Lake Wilderness - Sierra National Forest- Fresno County - Home of the Western Mono/Monache Tribes.

Hiking the Dusy-Ershim OHV Trail Highest Elevation: 10,114 ft Length: 30.8 miles Took our annual Dusy-Ershim OHV trail scouting trip in early July. We start at White Bark Vista near Kaiser Pass in the Sierra National Forest and finish 30.8 miles later at Courtright Reservoir. Our first day we hiked from White Bark Vista to Mallard Lake. On the way we passed the photogenic Lakecamp Lake. Mallard Lake is a great place to camp and has a Pit toilet at the turnoff to the camp area. Fishing at the lake is said to be good. The Second Day we leave Mallard Lake and stop at Knights Camp which is close to where the Theodore Solomons Trail cuts through the trail for the last time if you are going NOBO. On the way we stopped at Ershim Lake which has a large area to camp and two pit toilets (though they can be locked at times). Knights Camp is a sandy area next to a stream with brook trout and a great view of Black Peak. The Third Day we left Knights Camp and hiked to Thompson Lake. On the way there we pass East Lake (Great Fishing and pit toilet), and Summit Lake (beautiful area). Thompson Lake has a lot of places to camp and of course a Pit toilet. The rumor is there is no fish in Thompson Lake. The Fourth Day was our longest at over 10 miles. We left Thompson Lake and headed to Chamberlain Camp. This day was just about all downhill. We did stop once we made it to Courtright. Just past where the trail crosses Dusy Creek there is a camp area with picnic tables and a pit toilet. From there we completed the Dusy-Ershim Trail but still had a little over a mile to get to Chamberlain Camp. The Fifth day was our shortest by plan and we hiked under 3 miles to the Maxon Trailhead where my Truck was waiting for us. 📍Dusy-Ershim OHV Trail - between the John Muir Wilderness and Dinkey Lakes Wilderness - Sierra National Forest- Fresno County - Home of the Western Mono/Monache and Nuumu (Northern Paiute) Tribes. Music: Anywhen You Say - Cheel Mulholland - King Canyon Unavailable - Causmic Like and Subscribe! You can find me at Instagram @dwveatch and @pathfinderwest

Hobler Lake Elevation 8,993 ft / 2741 m Took my first solo trip of the year in early June to Hobler Lake in the John Muir Wilderness via the Maxson Trailhead. The weather was a little overcast and it tried to sprinkle but it was perfect for hiking! Made a pit stop at Chamberlain Camp, the only spot with an outhouse right off the trail. Once I got to the lake I had it to myself with no one else around except for the wildlife to keep me company. The ducks, the birds and frogs were singing all evening! It was good to get away even if it was for a night. 📍Hobler Lake - John Muir Wilderness - Sierra National Forest- Fresno County - Home of the Western Mono/Monache Tribes. Music: Rollin - Lauren Duski Stinson - Reed Mathis Pine Street - Reed Mathis Communicator - Reed Mathis Peace Creek - Ashley Shadow In the Atmosphere - Bad Snacks