TR: Little Kern River via Jerkey Meadow Trailhead June 3-4

[B.Kruger]

This is more of a mini-trip report, as it was by far the greatest number of hours I’ve driven (6) for the least amount of trail-miles-to-destination (also 6 :/ ), but I wanted a mellow shakedown trip to see how my new four-legged family member handled the road trip/trail time/tent sleeping combo. My preferred (read: closer to Vegas) options were still snowed in, so off to the southern edge we went.

We left Vegas at 5am Saturday morning, and made our way to Kernville to grab an overnight permit at the Ranger Station. From there we made the windy, slow drive up to the Jerkey Meadow Trailhead, arriving at about noon. By the time we hit the trail at 12:30 my car showed 84F. Not ideal. The first 3 miles of trail is consistently uphill and rather sunny, but does pass through a number of awesome sequoia stands that provide some shade. We were also lucky to come across multiple little runoff streams on the way up that I imagine won’t be there all season and probably aren’t usually there.

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We took our time so the dog could cool off in the water as much as he wanted, and eventually crested the ridge and intersected with the trail heading east through Jerkey Meadow and toward the little Kern. The hike along the ridgeline is lovely, with views of taller peaks to the north (still lots of snow) and a spring-sourced stream throughout the meadow (again, not sure how reliable that is in drier years). We followed the right-most decent option to get from the ridgeline down to the Little Kern gorge. This seems like the steeper option, but it followed the Jug Spring stream most of the way which made for a happy pup.

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We found the Little Kern to be not-so-little once down into the river valley, and we could hear it long before we could see it. The bridge spanning it, however, was still well above the water level and fine to cross. We found a nice, well used campsite just across the bridge and made camp there. The pup still had loads of energy and I considered continuing on to Trout Meadows, but he’s also got an inexplicable fear of unfamiliar inanimate objects (grocery bags, boxes, bowls, you name it) so I thought some time relaxing at camp with all the new ‘things’ would be good for him. He never quite came to accept that the tent wasn’t terrifying from the outside, but once coaxed inside he found it a rather nice place to sleep.

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In the morning we packed up and got on the trail by 7:30 to try and beat the heat. The climb back up to the ridgeline went quick in the cooler temps, as did the descent back to the trailhead. We were driving back toward Kernville by 10:00. All-in-all I found the region to be a quite nice, and longer treks to the Kern or Little Kern Lake, etc., are probably great early season trips that I’ll consider in the future. Also, if you're in the area with your dog, the Kern River Brewery gets three thumbs up for having nice food, nice beer, and a nice dog-friendly patio.

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[maverick]

Thanks for the TR and wonderful pictures, really like the one with Jin gone deep into doggy dreams.
What was Jin's post trip meal?

[B.Kruger]

Thanks for the TR and wonderful pictures, really like the one with Jin gone deep into doggy dreams.
What was Jin's post trip meal?

He got his very own plain burger patty! Spoiled boy

[maverick]

He got his very own plain burger patty! Spoiled boy

[cslaght]

I must second the KRBC, they make some good stuff, a perfect way to end! Thanks for the TR!

[rlown]

A very nice report.. And why do dogs always sleep with their heads the other way from ours.. :retard:

[maverick]

And why do dogs always sleep with their heads the other way from ours.. :retard:

Maybe bad human breath.

[rlown]

My dog is 15.5 years old.. I get the other end and it's bad.. Plus, he's become incontinent. Won't be long now.