Hiking Lewis Creek Trail
May. 15th, 2022 08:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerYesterday (Saturday) we hiked the Lewis Creek Trail in Sierra National Forest. After a drive of just over 3 hours from home and then brunch in nearby Oakhurst we hit the trailhead at 11:15am. Not a bad start for having already traveled 185 miles that morning!
The trail begins inauspiciously. It starts at the edge of a crowded parking lot on the side of busy Highway 41, with cars streaming back and forth between Fresno and Yosemite National Park. The trail's also very wide, a wide fire road with bits of old pavement in the first 100m or so. Oh, and off to the left, out of the picture frame, is a porta-potty.
Fortunately the trail changes character quickly. As the porta potty is left behind, a Sierra forest aroma asserts its dominance. It smells like fresh, mountain air and coniferous trees. Oh, and the too-wide, almost-paved trail? It's actually just a short spur down to the actual Lewis Creek Trail.
From the junction with the Lewis Creek Trail you can hike north or south along the creek. We chose to go north first. We'd visit the south branch later in the day. The north branch of the trail crosses a footbridge over Lewis Creek and becomes a much more intimate path.
Past the bridge over the creek 1/4 mile in the trail narrows to a single track about 1m wide. Though we'd see at least 20 other people on this stretch of trail during our visit it rarely felt crowded. It's a pleasant walk winding through the forest, sometimes it's near the creek, sometimes partway up the canyon sides.
It's interesting that though we've hiked along Lewis Creek in this area before, we haven't hiked this stretch of the trail. In 2018 we hiked south from the upper trailhead to Red Rock Falls. Today we're hiking north from the middle trailhead.
While the more northern leg of the trail was mellow, this middle segment is... mellow and exciting? Is that possible? The trail is a pleasant walk in the woods with the creek never too far away, but on this segment there are lots of little falls and cascades along the way. They add a dash of liveliness every few minutes.
Update: the adventure continues at Red Rock Falls!
The trail begins inauspiciously. It starts at the edge of a crowded parking lot on the side of busy Highway 41, with cars streaming back and forth between Fresno and Yosemite National Park. The trail's also very wide, a wide fire road with bits of old pavement in the first 100m or so. Oh, and off to the left, out of the picture frame, is a porta-potty.
Fortunately the trail changes character quickly. As the porta potty is left behind, a Sierra forest aroma asserts its dominance. It smells like fresh, mountain air and coniferous trees. Oh, and the too-wide, almost-paved trail? It's actually just a short spur down to the actual Lewis Creek Trail.
From the junction with the Lewis Creek Trail you can hike north or south along the creek. We chose to go north first. We'd visit the south branch later in the day. The north branch of the trail crosses a footbridge over Lewis Creek and becomes a much more intimate path.
Past the bridge over the creek 1/4 mile in the trail narrows to a single track about 1m wide. Though we'd see at least 20 other people on this stretch of trail during our visit it rarely felt crowded. It's a pleasant walk winding through the forest, sometimes it's near the creek, sometimes partway up the canyon sides.
It's interesting that though we've hiked along Lewis Creek in this area before, we haven't hiked this stretch of the trail. In 2018 we hiked south from the upper trailhead to Red Rock Falls. Today we're hiking north from the middle trailhead.
While the more northern leg of the trail was mellow, this middle segment is... mellow and exciting? Is that possible? The trail is a pleasant walk in the woods with the creek never too far away, but on this segment there are lots of little falls and cascades along the way. They add a dash of liveliness every few minutes.
Update: the adventure continues at Red Rock Falls!
