Wild and Scenic

We wanted to get out of the city today and explore the southern tip of the Sequoia National Forest. Riding along Rte 178 W we had no idea what was waiting for us. Once out of town we are in the Central Valley and it's really green with a heavy haze. All the flowering shrubs and trees are starting to bloom with blue and pink & white flowers. Gorgeous lush rolling hills of green against a backdrop of the huge granite Tahachapi Mountains. The mountains are rugged with rocky ledges winding through the Kern River Canyon. When you look up you can't see the top of the mountains.

The road follows the wild and scenic Kern River. Rushing water crashes over boulders in mini waterfalls as it rumbles over it's rocky path. Climbing out of the canyon and around narrow blind curves we came into the town of Lake Isabelle. The town is small with many whitewater tour companies. This is a big raft launching point during the summer. We followed the narrow Sierra Way, which is closed in winter, through the small historic gold mining town of Kernville. The road is lined with Pinyon Pine and the peaks rising above us are dusted with snow. We continued up the windy road looking for the Trail of 100 Giants, the southernmost grove of mighty Giant Sequoias which was suppose to be 13 miles up the road. (Never found it...) The beauty gets better with every turn. We found the Hospital Flat Campground, which was closed, but we decided to stop and have a picnic lunch anyway. Parking across the street we found a table in the trees next to a little stone wall and had lunch. It was amazing having this incredible place to ourselves.

After lunch we continued on. There were warning signs that the road was closed about 21 miles further on. Continuing the road is getting narrower and the tight S turns are becoming more frequent. Climbing we passed the turn off to the Sherman Pass (9200 feet). We didn't take the pass road, but did continue climbing until we started to see snow on the side of the road. Now we are up over 8000 feet with tight curves, drop offs, and deeper snow so we decided to turn around in the next turn out. Carefully we wound our way back down, now on the outside, to Kernville. On the way we pulled into a river access parking area to look down from a bridge into the river. Suddenly a fighter jet came soaring up and over the crest of a mountain just over our heads. We couldn't hear him until he went past and then the roar over took us. In this quiet setting it was awesome.

Back in Kernville we decided to take Rte 155 W back to Bakersfield. The route took us over the Greenhorn Summit (6,102 ft) and through plenty of snow. Cedar trees lined the road and in the damp the smell was really strong and fresh. We chose the shorter way home which leads south through Linns Valley and the former Butterfield Stagecoach stop of Granite Station. The Butterfield Overland Mail Company stagecoach service was commissioned by the US Postal Service. It connected St. Louis, Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee, with San Francisco, California to improve communications between the East and West. The finely crafted Concord coach carried six passengers, plus the conductor and driver through the Southwestern desert. Passengers rode three abreast in the coach, on facing padded leather seats. There was ample room for their legs and a boot in the back for their baggage and the mail. The coach stopped for unhurried meals and rest at various way stations. The passengers suffered only briefly from dust and snow storms, but worried about Geronimo’s marauding Apaches. The stage from San Francisco was scheduled to take 25 days to arrive in St Louis. Granite Station was built in 1873 by John Elden, the monument marks a stand of buildings which served as store, restaurant, and lodging places on the stage route from Bakersfield to Glennville. In later years it became a stopping place for freighters and sheepmen who were on their trek to the Mojave Desert.

It's now 4:30pm and the fog is starting to float over the valley and gives it a haunting feeling. On the way back we stopped at a place called Rosa's for Italian food. This was recommended to us by one of the folks at camp so we found our way there. It was pretty good.

It was a beautiful day. The roads were scary and spectacularly gorgeous.

Picture note: Kern River Canyon Rte 178, Kern River, Hospital Flat lunch, Hospital Flat Campground, Narrow Sierra Way, Mountain Jet came over, Over Greenhorn Mtn.