Anyone here do a "full Monte"?
Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:45 pm
Curious who on this list has hiked the legendary Monte Wolfe trail all the way down the N. fork Mokelumne River from Hermit Valley, past the Meadow Creek junction to maybe the Jackass Canyon junction or to Camp Irene (esp. curious if giantbrookie has). Info much appreciated! I have been about 5.8 miles down from the trailhead at Hermit Valley in 2006 and on that trip clearly saw evidence of Monte’s old trail. Pics from that trip here:
http://tinyurl.com/52l6b8
But on that trip it was hot and I got tired of the bushwhacking and turned around; river swimming was a lot more fun. Travel was very slow to say the least. We were on his old trail I know that for sure (but I won’t say how I know that), and it was climbing pretty high above the river when I turned around.
But I might be getting ahead of myself, for those of you who don’t know about Monte see pics and info here:
http://tinyurl.com/3t63rh
What’s odd is that my family has had a cabin right at that trailhead since 1943 (built maybe in 1920) but I was never interested in going downstream the Mokelumne (I’m an uphill kind of person, peaks before fish ). So it is only now, many moons later that I suddenly have an interest in exploring the canyon more (and also because I’ve hiked everything else to the point of near-boredom in the last 40-odd years I’ve been hiking there on my own). Pics of the casa here:
http://tinyurl.com/4ea4lv
and here
http://tinyurl.com/42luuu
In closing I would like to propose that April 21 be declared Monte Wolfe Day, as that is the day he likely disappeared in 1940. On that day we should all eat trout, Spring vegetables and enjoy some rustic zin from the Sierra foothills. Just a suggestion!
http://tinyurl.com/52l6b8
But on that trip it was hot and I got tired of the bushwhacking and turned around; river swimming was a lot more fun. Travel was very slow to say the least. We were on his old trail I know that for sure (but I won’t say how I know that), and it was climbing pretty high above the river when I turned around.
But I might be getting ahead of myself, for those of you who don’t know about Monte see pics and info here:
http://tinyurl.com/3t63rh
What’s odd is that my family has had a cabin right at that trailhead since 1943 (built maybe in 1920) but I was never interested in going downstream the Mokelumne (I’m an uphill kind of person, peaks before fish ). So it is only now, many moons later that I suddenly have an interest in exploring the canyon more (and also because I’ve hiked everything else to the point of near-boredom in the last 40-odd years I’ve been hiking there on my own). Pics of the casa here:
http://tinyurl.com/4ea4lv
and here
http://tinyurl.com/42luuu
In closing I would like to propose that April 21 be declared Monte Wolfe Day, as that is the day he likely disappeared in 1940. On that day we should all eat trout, Spring vegetables and enjoy some rustic zin from the Sierra foothills. Just a suggestion!