Story Ideas
YEAR-ROUND HIKES EXPOSE THE SIERRA’S FAMED “RANGE OF LIGHT”
Many visitors may have missed the light.
When summertime exhales its 100-degrees-in-the-shade breath on the Kern River Valley, the place is hopping with people lured by water. No one can think about anything but water, water, and more cool, refreshing water. It’s as if the river and lake have cast a spell upon folks, and when they go away from the valley . . . Poof! They don’t remember anything but heat and H2O.
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Copyright © Casey Christie |
The rest of the year, however, the heat and crowds subside. This is prime time to visit the Kern Valley’s other natural attractions up close and personal, and to get some healthy hiking in the bargain.
Borrowing naturalist John Muir’s name for the Sierra Nevada, Ansel Adams used “Range of Light” to describe the quality of light he captured in his famous photographs. Throughout the Southern Sierra, and depending on the season, that ranging light might reveal cascading falls, wildflower-carpeted meadows, giant trees, frolicking wildlife, Native American archaeological evidence, classic Western landscapes, and imagination-revving granite formations.
The US Forest Service Cannell Meadow and Greenhorn ranger stations can suggest hikes appropriate to the season, as well as safety advise, such as:
- Always have the proper clothing, because like its light, Sierra weather changes unexpectedly.
- Wear good, sturdy hiking shoes that you have broken in.
- Carry water, and drink at regular intervals, whether the weather is cool or warm.
- Make sure you have a first-aid kit, and don't forget a good map.
To choose your trails ahead of time, consider a local guidebook. Ruby Jenkins's "Exploring the Southern Sierra – East Side" and "Exploring the Southern Sierra – West Side," are both published by Wilderness Press, and are both available in Kernville at the Kern Valley Museum and Sierra South Mountain Sports, which is also the only place in the area that sells US Geological Survey topographic maps.
Some of the most spectacular hikes include the Cannell, Whiskey Flat, and Packsaddle trails. Spectacular in the spring and fall is Bird Springs to the Pacific Crest Trail.
- Kern Valley Museum, 49 Big Blue Road, Kernville; (760) 376-6683; kernvalley.com/museum
- Sierra South Mountain Sports, 11300 Kernville Road, PO Box 1909, Kernville, CA 93238, (760) 376-3745; sierrasouth.com
- U.S. Forest Service, Cannell Meadow Ranger District office, (760) 376-3781
- U.S. Forest Service, Greenhorn Ranger District office, (760) 379-5646
