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canyonwalkerOakhurst, CA. Sat, 14 May 2022, 10:30am.
Over the past several years we've done a lot of "Friday Night Halfway" trips. ...Well, actually not so many in the past two years due to... *gestures broadly at everything*... In the past 12 months I've only used my moniker for it, Whoa, we're halfway there, twice. Once was for an actual trip, the other was to joke about Jon Bon Jovi turning 60. He's the writer and performer of the song that line comes from, "Livin' on a Prayer". Or as we'll have to sing it in a few years, "Livin' on Medicare".
Anyway, Friday Night Halfway. It's on my mind because this weekend we're taking a trip for which I considered doing a Friday Night Halfway— driving a few hours Friday night to split the driving so we could have more time for hiking Saturday and also not get home so late. But we decided instead we'd go all the way on Saturday.
Our plan for the day is to hike along Lewis Creek in the Sierra National Forest. It's south of Yosemite National Park and just north of the small town of Oakhurst, CA. There are a few waterfalls there.
As we plotted out the drive we realized we could do it all in one day. One long day. And we'd have to leave early.
We set our alarms for 6am Saturday. We were up by 6:20. We skipped showering, knowing we were going to get dirty anyway and would shower after coming home. We packed our hiking gear, grabbed breakfast that could be finished in the car, and rolled out of the garage at 6:50am. My aim was "Leave no later than 7am" so we were already on plan!
The morning air was cool, still in the 50s, as we started heading south on US-101. We had the top down in the convertible anyway to enjoy the fresh air. We cranked up the heat to compensate. It was a bit like our morning roadtrip to The Pinnacles 3 weeks ago except a) this trip we left earlier and b) we turned off US-101 at Gilroy to head east through the mountain pass on CA-152.
Soon enough we were blasting through the Central Valley, passing through the small town of Los Banos and then the even smaller town of Chowchilla. The map above shows a slightly different route than going through Chowchilla; I have a favorite drive through the Sierra Nevada foothills to/from Oakhurst that traverses country roads through more remote areas.
A hair over 3 hours after leaving home we arrived in Oakhurst. The only stops we'd made were for red lights and stop signs. It was nearly 10am. Time for brunch!
So that's where we are now. In Oakhust. Having brunch. At a Jack in the Box fast food restaurant, because that's how we roll. 😂 Seriously, fuck expensive fancy-ass hipster brunches. We'll take comfort food every time. Today's comfort food was chicken pitas, fries, and— ooh!— a bucket of 15 Tiny Tacos for $3! 😋
Update: Next up, Hiking the Lewis Creek Trail!
Over the past several years we've done a lot of "Friday Night Halfway" trips. ...Well, actually not so many in the past two years due to... *gestures broadly at everything*... In the past 12 months I've only used my moniker for it, Whoa, we're halfway there, twice. Once was for an actual trip, the other was to joke about Jon Bon Jovi turning 60. He's the writer and performer of the song that line comes from, "Livin' on a Prayer". Or as we'll have to sing it in a few years, "Livin' on Medicare".
Anyway, Friday Night Halfway. It's on my mind because this weekend we're taking a trip for which I considered doing a Friday Night Halfway— driving a few hours Friday night to split the driving so we could have more time for hiking Saturday and also not get home so late. But we decided instead we'd go all the way on Saturday.
Our plan for the day is to hike along Lewis Creek in the Sierra National Forest. It's south of Yosemite National Park and just north of the small town of Oakhurst, CA. There are a few waterfalls there.
As we plotted out the drive we realized we could do it all in one day. One long day. And we'd have to leave early.
We set our alarms for 6am Saturday. We were up by 6:20. We skipped showering, knowing we were going to get dirty anyway and would shower after coming home. We packed our hiking gear, grabbed breakfast that could be finished in the car, and rolled out of the garage at 6:50am. My aim was "Leave no later than 7am" so we were already on plan!
The morning air was cool, still in the 50s, as we started heading south on US-101. We had the top down in the convertible anyway to enjoy the fresh air. We cranked up the heat to compensate. It was a bit like our morning roadtrip to The Pinnacles 3 weeks ago except a) this trip we left earlier and b) we turned off US-101 at Gilroy to head east through the mountain pass on CA-152.
Soon enough we were blasting through the Central Valley, passing through the small town of Los Banos and then the even smaller town of Chowchilla. The map above shows a slightly different route than going through Chowchilla; I have a favorite drive through the Sierra Nevada foothills to/from Oakhurst that traverses country roads through more remote areas.
A hair over 3 hours after leaving home we arrived in Oakhurst. The only stops we'd made were for red lights and stop signs. It was nearly 10am. Time for brunch!
So that's where we are now. In Oakhust. Having brunch. At a Jack in the Box fast food restaurant, because that's how we roll. 😂 Seriously, fuck expensive fancy-ass hipster brunches. We'll take comfort food every time. Today's comfort food was chicken pitas, fries, and— ooh!— a bucket of 15 Tiny Tacos for $3! 😋
Update: Next up, Hiking the Lewis Creek Trail!
