Looking for short/easy one nighter for May 19

[Wandering Daisy]

Although not immediately life-threatening as swift water, the lower elevations will have lots of poison oak and ticks. The ticks are really prevelent at Henry Coe. I ran into a group of 8th graders at the group camp at Wildcat (Point Reyes). They all had short-shorts, tank tops (that is all kids want to wear nowadays). They need to check often for ticks and wash off poison oak oils (Dawn in cold water) at the end of the day and not sleep in their outdoor hiking clothes.

Another issue about Henry Coe or Point Reyes is that it costs more (if that is an issue) than Forest Service trips. Of the two, Henry Coe or Point Reyes, I would choose Point Reyes. Coast camp is nice and you can walk in from Liminitor Beach, avoiding all the tick and poison oak problems. It is a short walk. You could supplement the backpack with a day-hike on the trail to Tomalas Point and/or go to the lighthouse. The elk are out there and the historic ranch is interesting. If it is hot in the central valley, the coast will be cool and foggy, whereas Henry Coe would be very hot. Which is preferred, depends on your group. I am not keen on backpacking in the heat, others do not like the fog. Unfortunately, getting a group site at Point Reyes may be difficult on weekends. Too bad you cannot do your trip mid-week.

Not only is a group of 20 too large for a permit in the Wilderness, the group is probably not that much into a quiet wilderness experience. The kids at Wildcat last week were constantly talking but I was not there expecting a wilderness experience. The adults did a really good job quieting them down by 9PM.

[Tom_H]

Ditto on Pt. Reyes and Coast Camp from the beach.

[wildhiker]

Have you considered any areas in the Los Padres National Forest between the south end of the San Joaquin Valley and Santa Barbara? There are some high trailheads (about 6,000 feet) in pines that should be pleasant in May. You might need a wilderness permit, but there won't be any quotas. Areas to consider would be the higher parts of Mount Pinos, the Sespe Wilderness, and the Dick Smith Wilderness. This is a lot closer to Visalia than anything in the Bay Area.
-Phil

[AlmostThere]

Have you considered any areas in the Los Padres National Forest between the south end of the San Joaquin Valley and Santa Barbara? There are some high trailheads (about 6,000 feet) in pines that should be pleasant in May. You might need a wilderness permit, but there won't be any quotas. Areas to consider would be the higher parts of Mount Pinos, the Sespe Wilderness, and the Dick Smith Wilderness. This is a lot closer to Visalia than anything in the Bay Area.
-Phil

Group size issue is the same. Ticks issue is the same, and there are lots of rattlers, and some trail closure issues. There are no wilderness permits issued in Los Padres. Some roads are gated in winter though they are likely open unless they have been damaged. May is very HOT for that area.

The rule with large groups is to split them and always keep them 1/4 mile or more apart. You can't go out separate and get together to camp.

[SSSdave]

You should have indicated where you are located. That is why suggestions are all over the map. For a one nighter, a person is obviously not going to want to drive far especially with lots of kids. A central San Joaquin Valley person? May 19 is poor time to be looking at Sierra backpacking especially at short notice without having done homework.

Mid May on a heavy snow year, it is difficult to find any low elevation trails below the snow that are suitable for school age kids. What one does find is likely to be boring (like climbing up hot canyon slopes to old prospecting sites or within deep monotonous forest) or dangerous (along big rivers). The below is the latter. This is an area that burned to a crisp a decade ago so the forest is gone. However new vegetation should have long since started to colonize the sooty hillsides. And at 3.5 to 4k elevation it ought to be quite green and spring like with wildflowers about plus small animals at their best time of year. Trail just goes up and down minor vertical along riverside. And being next to the river one could stop at any suitable used camp spots.

A few fishermen might venture up the trail though the high water would keep serious anglers away. There could be some rattlesnakes about and any river is of course dangerous. So some instruction would be necessary. In any case one can expect a group of kids will be very happy and fascinated to be next to a river. Not a wilderness area so no permits necessary. If interested, definitely phone the Sequoia NF office to get latest info.l

David

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=35.99495,-118.47091&z=15&t=T

http://campkernville.com/files/hiking_original.pdf

snippet:

RIVER TRAIL (33E30)-
begins 19 miles north of
Kernville on the east side of the Johnsondale Bridge
off Mtn 99. This trail follows the Kern River,
proceeding north from the bridge eventually
intersecting with the Rincon Trail. The trail climbs at a
gentle to moderate grade over riverside bluffs, then
descends to interspersed riverside terraces. Grey
pine, live oak, incense cedar, manzanita and Jeffrey
pine dot the areas as well as high boulders creating
cave-like campsites. Parts of this trail may be
submerged at the height of spring run-off. Good
access for fishing on the North Fork of the Kern River.
Trail suitable for day hikes or overnight backpack trips
and is considerably easy to moderate in difficulty.

[walterfredo]

Thanks folks, appreciate the feedback.

Dave, while I appreciate the input I actually did state we're in visalia, and also we did homework. Per my original post our plan was Ladybug out of three rivers. Just far too much water in the south fork this year for safety purposes with inexperienced middle schoolers.

I'll be sure to post where we went and how it was. Really appreciate this site!

[SSSdave]

Gee embarrassingly poor reading effort on my part haha. Need to consistently read posts a second time before responding. Best of luck with your group and have some fun. David

[walterfredo]

Update:

We did the middle fork trail out buckeye flat/hospital rock, to Mehrten Creek and it was perfect, albeit a bit longer than we had intended (about 5-6 miles each way). The kids did fantastic, weather was great. A couple of challenging creek crossings but we safely forded. Lots of poison oak and multiple rattle snake sightings.

[rlown]

Nice..

Sooo, no rattlesnake harvesting? How deep was the creek at the fording point? What technique did you use to cross? Just a few questions..

And sounds like a nice trip. Pictures would be nice if you do that.

[walterfredo]

There were two main creek crossings, one right off the bat and then again at panther creek. Both were doable without getting wet on logs/rocks for those confident in their balance. But we had the kids remove their shoes and cross in the stream (with adult guidance), was at most knee deep. I'll try post some pics later, but most have the school kids in them and I shouldn't be posting other people's kids photos to a public forum.

I think for many kids it was a life changing event and I think a few future backpackers will come from it. All but one of the twelve kids had never done anything like it. Some had never so muched as car camped. Just an amazing experience to introduce all these kids to their first backcountry experience.