Return to the South Fork of the Merced River

You will go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.  (Isaiah 55:12)

This past weekend I had the pleasure of returning to the south fork of the Merced River with five good friends.  My first adventure in that area happened almost exactly a year ago and marked a turning point in my emerging identity.  It also ended with all parties being covered in poison oak, something I hope we avoided this year.  Time will tell (no breakouts yet!).

What a difference a year makes!  Last year the temperatures were in the 90s, and much of the hillside vegetation had already turned a monochromatic brown.  On Saturday morning we awoke in a carpet of purple flowers.  Everywhere you turned the landscape was exploding in vivid hues of orange, red, yellow, green, blue, and purple.  I thought nothing could surpass my hike in Mt. Diablo State Park, but was more than happy to be proved wrong in such a short time!

To back up a bit - we left San Francisco around 8pm on Friday night, stopping in Oakland to pick up the last member of our party.  The drive to the trailhead took just under 4 hours, with the last 45 minutes or so a white-knuckled ride down some very twisty roads.  Around the time my eyelids started getting heavy, we arrived at Savage's Trading Post.

After 15 minutes or so of organizing gear, we threw on our packs and started hiking.  This time around we encountered no skunks, and only saw one or two red salamanders.  In no time at all we arrived at our first campsite, quickly setting up our resting place for the night.  Sleeping pads rolled out and food hung in the trees (keeps the bears away), we drifted off into dreamland.

I awoke the next morning to the gentle roar of rushing water.  I turned my head and saw a carpet of purple and green around my sleeping bad.  Wildflowers were blooming everywhere, and in a quantity and variety I had never seen!  Last year we saw only a token sampling of species, scattered few and far between.  This time around you couldn't walk an inch without running into something in bloom.

After investigating my surroundings a bit, I gave a yell and woke the rest of the group up.  Andrew and Wendy made a wonderful breakfast of potato cakes, after which we packed up and headed off to the river crossing.  Along the way I kept remarking how green and lush everything was!  Drinking cool (filtered) water from the river made it that much better.

Noon time approached and we had reached the river crossing.  Andrew, Yi, and myself got into our swimsuits and tested the water for depth and speed of flow.  I gave Andrew and worried look - the water was at least a foot deeper, and was moving much faster.  We both took a step into the critical channel in front our our destination and stopped.  The path we used last year was definitely out of the question - one wrong move and the unfortunate soul would be shot down the river like a cannon into ferocious rapids. 

Undeterred, we went back to the other side and looked for a crossing point higher up, forgetting for a moment that we had tried the same thing a year earlier.  Just like our previous experience, we quickly found the depth and speed of the water alone made any crossing further up categorically out of the question.

Now what?  Our intrepid friend Yi had found a tree branch almost 30 feet long and had an idea - perhaps we could make a "bridge" across a narrow spot, and then pull ourselves across.  Andrew, Yi, Michael, and myself all hopped in the water and began dragging the huge piece of lumber towards the narrow left channel.  (At the crossing point, a huge mass of boulders and sand temporarily splits the river in two.  We were on the right bank)  We no sooner got the log to middle island than we realized our first problem - the log was really, REALLY heavy.  Then we recognized problem #2 - the river was pouring through the right channel like water out of a fire hose.  If anyone fell, they would instantly be in big, BIG trouble.  Plus one member of our group didn't know how to swim, which made us even more nervous.

Around 2pm we finally threw in the towel and gave up.  It was a deflating moment to say the least.  The adventure of crossing the river last year was one of my favorite memories.  Now we had to settle for camping at Hite Cove in a very public area.  (A jeep track on the opposite bank is used by off-road vehicles and motorcycles, so we had a very noisy afternoon)

As a consolation, Andrew, Yi, and myself decided to hike to the top of the gorge ridge.  The south fork basin was once a large mining operation, and a steep, twisting road led all the way to the top.  Along the way we found an old mine shaft, as well as a pool filled with hundreds of tadpoles.  In addition we had an even thicker display of wildflowers, with several species we hadn't seen yet.  Yi must have taken over 100 pictures of the different blooms, along with the gorgeous scenery. 

Backbone ridge jutted out prominently - a distinctive feature just behind the river crossing which makes the hill look like a gigantic fossilized dinosaur.  Then, towards the top we could see snow on the peaks in the distance.  When we reached our summit, Yosemite was off in the distance to the East, the higher elevations still dusted with winter's white blanket. 

The trip took about three hours, and we arrived back at camp just as the light began to fade behind the gathering clouds and high walls of the gorge.  Yi was in charge of dinner, so he started boiling a huge pot of water.  Our meal that night was an experience to say the least!  We had noodles with the following:  shrimp, spam, pickled bamboo shoots, pickled fish, eel, rooster sauce, and who knows what else.  It was absolutely delicious, especially the eel.  Dessert was tapioca pudding with fruit, with some hot tea to finish things off.

Prior to our hike I had decided to set up my new tent, mostly out of a desire to test it out.  Earlier in the month I had used my REI dividend and 20% off coupon to purchase an ultra-lightweight quarterdome tent.  Theoretically it will sleep two people who are either married, midgets, or desperate to get out of the rain.  For one person it is just the right fit - perfect for any solo trips I may take in the future. 

Sunday morning arrived and we slowly emerged from our sleeping bags.  The second Yi was awake I got his attention and enthusiastically asked, "Do you want to go swimming?"  I received an equally enthusiastic "YES!"  We changed into our swim clothes and headed down to the river.

As most of you can imagine, the Merced River is primarily runoff from melted snow in the Sierras.  The water is really cold!  No worries - you just close your eyes and dive right in.  The first moments are a burst of electrifying energy as the crystal-clear water rushes over your body.  Then it feels like you just smacked your head into a giant block of ice!  Swimming in mountain lakes and rivers has become one of my favorite things to do.  After collecting all the sweat from the previous day's hike, the morning bath was completely invigorating and refreshing.

Ready to tackle the new day, I headed back to camp.  My roommate David and I were responsible for breakfast, so we broke out two packs of Trader Joe's apple smoked bacon and started frying.  Next we took a gigantic aluminum frying pan and cooked up a dozen eggs over the fire.  The final step - stuffing the eggs and bacon into whole wheat pita bread, along with a slice of pepper jack cheese.  Breakfast in the wilderness never tasted so good!

Cleanup commenced in earnest after breakfast, and we headed back towards the trailhead around 11:30am.  After an hour or so we stopped at a bend in the river to have our Sunday morning worship and communion service.  With stones painted like an artist as our seat, and the clear blue-green waters rushing by as our sacred music, we broke break and passed the wine, sharing scripture and words of encouragement.  I started things off with the following verse:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

I have truly come to love the wilderness.  Finding pure, noble, lovely, and admirable things to think about is not hard when you are surrounded by soaring hills, rushing water, and a kaleidoscope of flowers.  Being there with five of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ made it that much better. 

After worship we saddled up and pushed on, stopping constantly to take pictures of all the different flowers.  Our next goal was the favorite part of the entire trip - an outcropping of rocks from which you can jump into the river.  The drop from the higher ledge is about 12 feet, plummeting down into a deep, calm eddy.  Yi jumped in first, and I quickly followed.  The rush of shooting down into ice-cold water like that is really indescribable!  Andrew, Wendy, and Michael all decided to take a plunge as well.  (I have a great video clip of Wendy's jump)

Greatly refreshed, we had some snacks, filled our water bottles, and made our final push to the trailhead.  Again the going was leisurely because there were so many things to take pictures of!  Yi was having the time of his life, snapping away every few feet. 

Around 4:30pm we emerged from the path and headed down to our cars.  Success!!!  We finished things off with our great camping tradition - Mexican food for dinner in Merced.  On the trip last year we stumbled upon what I think is the best Mexican place I've ever found.  I wish I could remember the name!  I had succulent, tender pork carnitas. 

My car arrived at Clement St around 9pm, safe and sound.  David helped unload the gear, and I went looking for a parking space, finding a good one several blocks away.  Back to civilization!  What a great, great weekend.