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Friday, Oct. 23, 2009

Adam Blauert: Backroad to natural wonderland

Fall is in the air and the days are getting shorter, but it's not quite time to switch over to winter activities yet.

The backroad drives that I've featured in this column have aroused a lot of interest and reader feedback, so I'd like to suggest another one this weekend.

This drive is one of my favorite nearly unknown routes. You're not likely to see much traffic up there. If you do, it will probably be a PG&E truck. Along the way you'll see waterfalls, cascades, and a spectacular stretch of the North Fork of the Kings River known as the "Granite Gorge."

You'll also experience the excitement or terror of a narrow shelf road high above the river canyon. You won't believe how narrow and precipitous it is until you see it for yourself! The waterfalls are best in the spring, but this route was still quite enjoyable when I drove it on Wednesday. Some aspens along the route were just starting to lose their leaves, and many of the other trees were just starting to turn colors.

The route starts in Fresno. Head east on the 180 freeway. When it ends, follow the signs for Pine Flat Reservoir. This means that you'll be driving east on Belmont Avenue when you exit the freeway rather than taking the two-lane section of 180. Continue east on Trimmer Springs Road when Belmont ends. From this point onwards, your drive will be an interesting one.

Winding Trimmer Springs Road will give you many great views of Pine Flat. This reservoir holds the water from all forks of the Kings River. Thirty eight miles from the end of Belmont Avenue, you'll arrive at Bailey's Bridge. Cross the bridge and turn left.

This road will first take you up to Balch Camp, a PG&E facility. PG&E operates all of the hydroelectric facilities on the Kings River. Beyond this point the road remains paved, but diminishes to one lane with wider areas to allow passing. From an elevation of 1,267 feet at Balch Camp, the road climbs up to 7,000 feet in 25 spectacular miles.

This is the heart of the drive where you'll find the best views, the waterfalls, the frightening drop-offs and many places where you'll want to stop and look around. Eventually you arrive at a vista where you can gaze south, west, and east across the gigantic gorge. Two waterfalls, a cascade, the Wishon Dam and the crest of the Sierra are all visible at the same time. Only the last 12 miles of this section are unpaved. Usually they would be traversable by any passenger car driven carefully, but when I checked out the route this week I found one area with storm damage that made high clearance necessary.

When you reach the top, turn right and in four miles you'll arrive at Wishon Reservoir. You will be amazed at how gentle the paved road feels after the rough road up the canyon.

I got totally skunked the last time I fished at Wishon, but the time before that my buddy and I caught a string of nice rainbows. We were there during a late season snowstorm on Memorial Day and the fish got hungry as soon as the snow started falling. Fishing is supposed to be better if you have a boat and the same is true at Courtright Reservoir, just 10 more miles uphill via a paved road. At 8,170 feet, Courtright is the more spectacular of the two reservoirs.

From Wishon, it's 28 miles to Shaver Lake. On the way there the paved road takes you through the McKinley Grove of Giant Sequoias. It's a nice place to stop and walk around under the giant trees. There's a waterfall not much further down the road. I scrambled up to the top a few years ago with some friends. It was exhilarating, but there isn't a trail and the scramble is pretty risky!

The driving time for this route from Merced and back again is about eight hours, not including stops. It makes a full day trip and starting early is necessary if you don't want to feel too rushed. If you turn it into a two-day route, there are many places to camp along the way. Reservations aren't necessary this time of year. The weather is getting cold, however, so it would definitely be advisable to have a camper or rent a motel room or cabin at Shaver Lake.

Adam Blauert is an avid outdoorsman and local historian who enjoys fishing, backpacking and exploring the western states. He can be reached at adamblauert@yahoo.com