Question for those Fresno area guys:

[BrettM]

next weekend i'm gonna go visit a buddy near Fresno, i'd like to hit up one of the trails down there while I'm at it. I've heard lots about Dusy, Bald Mt., etc. but never really payed much attention. My understanding is Dusy is very long though, so that won't work.

what i'm looking for is a trail that I could leave Fresno area in the morning, get to the trail, run the trail in a few hours with enough time for a good lunch break etc, and be back in Fresno by evening. so probably something that's 6-7 hours roundtrip from Fresno if you took no breaks. Scenic stuff is a plus.

as far as difficulty, I won't bring my 35s, so 33s, locked rear, ARB front, all the good skids, etc. So something just a little less than Rubicon or Fordyce difficulty.

so are there any trails that fit the bill?

thanks
brett

 

[Jes]

Bald Mountain is a nice day trip from Fresno. It's very scenic and has lots of optional stuff to get stupid on.

Jes

 

[ChuckD]

Your setup that's for sure. Bald is nice, but you should also consider Red/Coyote or maybe even Swamp. Are you planning on heading back in July?

If you go to the Prather Forest Service Station, they have flyers on all the trails. Pather is at 168/Auberry Road, there is a gas station, market and Fosters Freeze. Look on any map and you'll see where you need to go.

All the trails are pretty much centered around Shaver Lake. Do a mapquest it will take you right there.

 

[Big Red]

next weekend i'm gonna go visit a buddy near Fresno, i'd like to hit up one of the trails down there while I'm at it. I've heard lots about Dusy, Bald Mt., etc. but never really payed much attention. My understanding is Dusy is very long though, so that won't work.

what i'm looking for is a trail that I could leave Fresno area in the morning, get to the trail, run the trail in a few hours with enough time for a good lunch break etc, and be back in Fresno by evening. so probably something that's 6-7 hours roundtrip from Fresno if you took no breaks. Scenic stuff is a plus.

as far as difficulty, I won't bring my 35s, so 33s, locked rear, ARB front, all the good skids, etc. So something just a little less than Rubicon or Fordyce difficulty.

so are there any trails that fit the bill?

thanks
brett

Brett, here is a link to a desc and more detail on that trail. You might just want to go a little into it and come out because it is a long trail, 30 miles or so and compared to the Rubicon in difficulty. http://www.californiajeeper.com/dusy_ershim/review.htm
Troy

 

[basalt51]

Coyota is a great little trail. Some nice tough spots, but you won't need the ARB. It's a little over 1 hour fromt he trail head to red lake, then another 2 hours or so to coyote depending on your pace.

You can see pics in my sig if you sign up for imagestation.

 

[BrettM]

okay, so Bald, Swamp and Red/Coyote seem to be the favorites. does anyone have any links to trail writeups or trip reports for these? Do any have any nice lakes/rivers to swim in? which is the shortest (time)? longest?

thanks a lot guys!

 

[ChuckD]

Bald - no rivers and the shortest, nice look out over Shaver Lake

Swamp - Grouse Lake has great swimming, proably the farthest

Red/Coyote - two lakes, Red is nice to camp and fish and swim, Coyote is the harder trail. It's Somwhere in the middle between Swamp and Bald as far as time. Red doesn't take very long.


As far as writeups, the ones I have come across don't go into much detail. Just visit the Forest Service staion in Prather and pick up a couple flyers to read. Unless thats to hard for you to do.

 

[BrettM]

okay, i'll pick up one of those fliers, it would just be nice to know where i'm going before the morning of. does anyone happen to know where a copy of that flier is available online? if not i guess i can scan one after i go and make it available to all...

 

[Big Red]

okay, i'll pick up one of those fliers, it would just be nice to know where i'm going before the morning of. does anyone happen to know where a copy of that flier is available online? if not i guess i can scan one after i go and make it available to all...

Brett, I found a map that is a bit hard to read while doing a yahoo search for Swamp Lake. http://www.4x4him.com/red_lake_&_coyote_lake.htm

I hope you have a good time. I will most likely be able to make the Swamp Lake trail run 7/17 by coming to the trail with the group at Matt's house. The link has slight references to Coyote/Swamp/Bald Mt. etc. Hope it helps. Try doing some yahoo searches for either of these trails and you might get a better map.
Troy

 

[Matt S.]

Brett, what weekend is it your going to be here? If you want to go and see some trails, I have a friend that literally wheels almost every weekend. If he is going, he could "show you the way". Maybe its to late, and you are comming today, or yesterday! If so, hope to see you up there. I am leaving RIGHT NOW!

Matt

 

[ChuckD]

Brett, I found a map that is a bit hard to read while doing a yahoo search for Swamp Lake. http://www.4x4him.com/red_lake_&_coyote_lake.htm

I hope you have a good time. I will most likely be able to make the Swamp Lake trail run 7/17 by coming to the trail with the group at Matt's house. The link has slight references to Coyote/Swamp/Bald Mt. etc. Hope it helps. Try doing some yahoo searches for either of these trails and you might get a better map.
Troy

That's about the best site I found that actually has maps. Otherwise the trails are not that hard to find. They are marked off the main roads.

 

[Goatman]

I'd stick to Bald Mt. Swamp is way too long for a day trip, we don't like running the trail in one day, so driving up and back as well as running the trail would be murder. Red Lake/Coyote Lake is a great trail, and there can hardly be a better lunch spot than at Coyote Lake, but you have to have a good sense of how to get there with an hour plus of dirt road to get to the trailhead. The trail itself is one hour to Red and another hour to Coyote. Bald Mt trail is easy to find, the view at the top is great, and there are some very fun optional spots, but you could easily miss the good optional stuff if you're not with someone familiar with the trail. Still, it's easy to find, scenic, and fun.

So, if you want to have lunch on a mountain top, run Bald, if you want to have lunch at a beautiful lake, run Red/Coyote.

 

[basalt51]

First link in my sig.

basalt51
guest

Just don't go changing anything

 

[BrettM]

hmm, i'm going up this coming Saturday, I'm leaning heavily towards Coyote/Red because it would be nice to do a little swimming. But what's this about an hour to Coyote and another hour to Red? is that from Fresno, or from Shaver area?

let's say you got to the Shaver area at 10am and were going to run Coyote/Red, what would the time-frame from there look like?

 

[Goatman]

hmm, i'm going up this coming Saturday, I'm leaning heavily towards Coyote/Red because it would be nice to do a little swimming. But what's this about an hour to Coyote and another hour to Red? is that from Fresno, or from Shaver area?

let's say you got to the Shaver area at 10am and were going to run Coyote/Red, what would the time-frame from there look like?

From Shaver, it is about 20-30 minutes to the turn off to go to Red/Coyote trailhead. Once you turn off the highway, it's about an hour on dirt roads to the trailhead, then an hour on the trail to Red Lake, then another hour on the trail to Coyote. It's also about an hour from Fresno to Shaver.

 

[BrettM]

So does this sound reasonable for a rough plan:

9 Fresno
10 Shaver
11:30 start Red trail
12:30 lunch/relax at Red lake
2 start Coyote
3 relax at the end of Coyote

then how long from the end of Coyote back to Shaver?

thanks a lot guys, i really appreciate all the help!

 

[ChuckD]

So does this sound reasonable for a rough plan:

9 Fresno
10 Shaver
11:30 start Red trail
12:30 lunch/relax at Red lake
2 start Coyote
3 relax at the end of Coyote

then how long from the end of Coyote back to Shaver?

thanks a lot guys, i really appreciate all the help!

Well there will be plenty of sunlight, I would say back to Shaver in about 2-3 hours. Where does your friend live in Fresno?

 

[basalt51]

The trails not a loop so you just retrace your steps to get out. If your feeling adventurous hike to the top of red mountain from Red Lake. It's GORGEOUS from up there.

 

[FarmerMatt]

For what you're wanting to do with just a day run I'd stick to Bald Mt. There's no swimming, but it's your best bet for a day run. Easy to get in & out of the trail &, as Jes stated, there is plenty of stuff to get stupid on.

Matt

 

[BrettM]

okay, it's settled then. Bald Mt. We can stop at Shaver to go swimming.

thanks guys!