I hiked a small part of that trail a decade or so ago. On the Beasore/Sierra Scenic Byway, turn towards the Granite Creek TH just south of Clover Meadows.
The year I hiked there was a 3' tree across the road about a mile from the TH.
The Theodore Solomons trail shares the pretty non-existent tread of the California riding and hiking trail (something like that). There's actually a book out that serves as a trail guide. Google the Theodore Solomon Trail Guide. The trail down and out of the canyon is unmaintained - probably for 20 to 40 years.
From Granite Creek trailhead down to the bridge over the middle fork of the San Joaquin is almost pure cross country, working your way down on benchs, with the abandoned, unmaintained trail appearing every once in a while. The flats at Lower Miller Crossing are beautiful. The trail up the south wall of the canyon is also pretty much cross country, with vestiges of the trail appearing periodically. I had a hard time finding the trail in the flats because I couldn't believe it would take me through a thick patch of poison oak.
I hiked a couple miles past Rattlesnake Lake before deciding to loop back. From Rattlesnake Lake there is a junction with the most weathered, decrepit sign I've seen. Barely readable it's so striated from decades of exposure.
The trail from that junction heads east through meadows, forest and manzanita. One meadow had hundreds of piles of bear scat.
The map trail has you traverse the ridge before dropping down to Miller Crossing. There is NO trail here, not even vestiges. You are way out there in untraveled country. It's a steep drop in many places, in forest on old leaves. And hot, even in June.
Miller Crossing itself has no bridge, just a cart on a cable you pull yourself across the river on. Again, the flats at Miller Crossing are gorgeous. Big maples and evergreens and sand. There's an old cowboy camp there with interesting garbage. The San Joaquin River is gorgeous through here. The year I was down there, it was mid-June and the high country was snowed in. The river was raging.
Once cross the river, the climb - 2500' or so - is on a faint tread that is easily followed. The trail reappears near the top of the ridge before dropping down to the bridged Crossing of Granite Creek and the trailhead.
Jeff...
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2019 11:40AM by Jeffrey Olson.
