Red Hills Loop Trail

It is finally starting to feel like summer here in Central California. Everything is blooming, and the temperatures get to 80s in the afternoon. This is not good for hiking, especially without shade.

Red Hills Loop Trail is almost entirely in the sun. Very rarely do you get to enjoy the coolness of shade. There is a large parking lot at the trail head where you can park at no cost. While you might have looked at the maps before starting the hike, consider bringing one of the topo maps, follow the rout on AllTrails or just use Gaia GPS app. All these additional tools are needed because there are dozens of forks that can take you in so many directions. Some volunteers kindly marked the trail with white paint on the ground, but even with it you can get lost (we did!).

I used Gaia GPS to find the way out by downloading the topo map of the area and visually figuring out the loop to the parking lot. Originally, we were planning to hike the Extended loop, but because we got off track at about mile 4, and awfully hot, we opted for a shorter trail.

I found this trail boring. I saw lots of wildflowers during this season, but besides that the landscape does not change much. It felt like I was hiking forever. I did, however enjoy the drive there from Fresno. There is something about driving through the fields and green rolling hills (the key word here is "green", because very soon it will be replaced by "golden" or how I call it, "yellow and dry").

Stevenson Creek Falls

The more I hike, the more I realize that I will never be able to visit all beautiful places that I want, even within local forests. Stevenson Creek Falls (it does not even have an official trail) trail head is located at the intersection of Italian Bar Rd and Million Dollar Rd. The Million dollar Rd. is actually a private road and is closed to vehicles at all times. The road is owned by the utility company and is accessible to their cars only. It is well-paved throughout the whole hike and very easy to hike.

The views open up really quickly as soon as you start the hike. Depending on the season, you will see a raging (or not so raging at the end of the summer) river on the bottom of the canyon, mountain views and lots of wildflowers in the spring. There are several small waterfalls as you hike to the Stevenson Falls, and they are just as pretty as the main attraction.

There are also 2 caves along the way, one slightly hidden on the side of the road. Not sure what the purpose of these caves, but they are certainly cool!

Once you get to Stevenson Falls, you get an idea of how powerful water could be. The roar of pouring down gallons of water, splashing against the rocks, sprays in your face as the wind blows in your direction. 

Lewis Creek Trail (or most of it)

I remember doing this trail, but for some reason I never recorded it on this blog, hence I looked at my history on Meetup and found it! Apparently, I completed this trail back in November, 2016. Regardless, I barely remembered where it was and what the falls looked like, so I decided to hike it again (yes, against my usual "I need to hike a new trail every time" principle).

I met up with a group of hikers right on Hwy 41, but instead of going north and crossing the creek, we headed south towards Corlieu Falls. This was a nice hike downhill and the views along the whole way did not disappoint.

This is the parking lot we ended up at when we were done at the bottom of the hill.

 The creek was full, so we were not able to cross it to go the northern way, but maybe next time.

Lakeview Trail at Eastman Lake

This hike reminded me of one of the trails next to Millerton Lake that I hiked a year ago. Almost exactly 8 miles, this trail offers a variety of wildflowers, especially during the Spring, and a nice view of the lake. Most of the time you hike right next to the lake. The trail is very clearly marked, so it is easy to know where you are going. The trail can either be started here or here since it is an "in and out" hike.

MapMyHike recorded 8.6 miles, but Gaia App only 8. I often noticed that MapMyHike slightly overestimates the distance, so 8 miles it is.

Another bike ride, this time with a group

Who rides a mountain bike on roads? Me!

I joined a group of cyclists for a 30-mile bike ride in Clovis. What a better way to test out the new bike seat cushion?! The day turned out to be amazing: pure air, nice temperature and pretty views.

My knees were killing me at the end, but I was super proud about the stats.

Fresno...

Yes, you know I am not a big fan of Fresno... But this was a beautiful day with clear air and lovely views.

Pinnacles National Park - Finally!

Apparently, Pinnacles National Park is a relatively new park, or rather newly established as a National Park. Located only two and a half hours from Fresno, it offers something different from our usual (yes, I said "usual") Yosemite and Kings Canyon. It offers views similar to what you typically see in Utah at Bryce Canyon NP. Having visited all of the above and more, I have the luxury to compare and get spoiled by the beauty of our nature.

Pinnacles NP also offers cave hiking and climbing. I have seen several climbers conquering the mountains, pretty impressive, I must admit. But going back to caves... There are two main caves, Bear Gulch Cave and Balconies Cave. The latter was the one I was lucky to hike/climb through. You certainly need a headlight, well, it is a cave...

But other than that, no particular skills are required to hike through, although you will have to squeeze your body through tight rocks and hike up a few larger rock formations.

As you leave the cave, you can continue hiking up to get to the nice views.

I have yet to hike Peaks Trail.. Next time...