Chiura Obata--xc from Lake Elizabeth

This one is not on our maps, but we learned about it from an excellent post on High Sierra Topix by BigTubs. And since we had a couple of days free, and we could get a campsite in Hodgdon Meadow, we decided to give it a try.

On Thursday we left home for Napa, and the timing was right for another excellent lunch at the Old Priest Grade Cafe--we ordered on bratwurst plate and it was enough for the two us. Good bratwurst, sour sauerkraut, nice red cabbage, and a delicious salad for a first course. This plasce consistently lives up to our expectations.

Set up camp in Hodgdon Meadow, then walked the old Big Oak Flat Road outside the campground. The paved part goes to down to Carlon, and we were sorry to hear the trail up to Tuolumne Grove is now abandoned. I rode that fifteen years ago on my bicycle, and it was quite an adventure. We ate a light dinner and were in bed early, since it was dark in the forest by 7 p.m.

The next day we got up and drove to Tuolumne Meadows through the on-going roadwork. The park will be changed once this is all done--far less parking along side the road, more defined parking areas. At least around Tenaya Lake, the whole situation is much improved over the wandering pedestrians, randomly parked cars, and speeding traffic of years past.

The trailhead to Elizabeth Lake was closed, but a cou-le of backpackers in front of us told us they were given permission to go around the barriers, so we followed them. Hope we don't get fined. We met up with them about a mile later, when he was massaging her cramping leg on the trail. Since he was Swedish, we assumed he knew what he was doing!

Once at Elizabeth Lake, we just turned and headed up the ridge towards Johnson Peak. At first we aimed too far north, which took us away from the route to Chiura Obata Lake, but did get us to a wonderful view of Tuolumne Meadows. We corrected course and hiked up a broad plateau that sloped up to the lake, and after negotiating a short, steep section we were rewarded.

What a wonderful alpine plateau, with three lakes, towering peaks, and magnificent views of the surrounding high country. We will certainly do this hike again.

On the way back we took the shorter and more direct shorter route down, basically following the outlet creek from the lakes. It was steep, but manageable. We still had only seen the one couple, but once we started back down the trail from Elizabeth Lake, we ran into a few hikers---including one who started at M for a few seconds, and then said; "I've got your earring."

And she did. It had fallen on the trail and M hadn't noticed. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. We wrapped up the hike, drove back down to Sonora to have pizza, and showered and slept in our own bed back at the cabin, feeling damned tired and very happy.

As usual, the photo log is here; https://photos.app.goo.gl/c3FTy1jAJigNDbxX7

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Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

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balzaccom
Set up camp in Hodgdon Meadow, then walked the old Big Oak Flat Road outside the campground. The paved part goes to down to Carlon, and we were sorry to hear the trail up to Tuolumne Grove is now abandoned.

Not to be contrary but, at least to a degree, I'm kind of glad to hear it's been abandoned...at least to the point that all the blacktop breaks up. Since this stretch of the road was used until relatively recently ("recently" in the sense of "living memory of some of the older folks on this board!" ), walking it always felt to me simply like walking on a closed road more than stepping back into history (although it gets a bit more "historical" once you get west of the actual TG). I would not want to see this deteriorate to the point of, say, the stretch of Old Coulterville Rd from the dumpsters down to the river (which, even ten years ago when I last hiked it, was "an adventure" to say the least) but to see the old dirt road held in place by that beautiful old mortar-free stonework (often in shockingly good shape after a century-and-a-half of Sierra winters and spring thaws) on other stretches of the old roads is like a step back in time. Again, the stretch from the TG down to Carlon was sufficiently modernized in the latter half of the 20th c. that even "natural recollection" probably won't completely capture the historic charm but as the blacktop starts to disintegrate, at least some of that sense of imagining a stagecoach riding up behind you will start to return.

Of course, eventually (probably well after I'm gone), the road will be lost to forest growth which is sad. Depending on what may or may not be left in my bank account when I shuffle off this mortal coil, I've thought of leaving a bequest to the park service to keep all the old roads reasonable passable...not driveable by any means, but clearing enough of the wild growth to make these passable to people who unlike me (and eeek, chick-on, balzaccom, and a few others) may not be willing to force through the 8-foot high weeds to explore the more thoroughly "reclaimed" parts of these old roads.

I'd love to see (at one time I thought I might actually write) a detailed "then-and-now" history of these old roads. Margaret Schlichtmann's old book on the Old Big Oak Flat Road was wonderful for its time (it's nearly 70 years old now) but lacked the then-and-now element and was written at a time when the road was much more driveable than it is today (both in and out of the park boundaries)). A book like that which also covered the Old Coulterville, Old Wawona (and Old GPR) and possibly the Old Tioga Road/Great Sierra Wagon Road would probably be a huge effort for the 5 or 6 of us who would actually buy it but I WOULD love to see it!

OK...just feeling nostalgic this morning...pining-for-the-past mode now off.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2023 10:27AM by DavidK42.

Nice report and lovely pictures! Obata Lake is high on my bucket list of Yosemite hiking destinations.

As is hike the old BOFR from Tuolumne Grove to Hodgdon Meadow. From the sound of it, that might not be a realistic or fun option. Hope they are able to get it back to maintained status sometime in the future.

What we were told by the ranger at Hodgdon was the there were at least 150 deadfall trees across the old road. That would certainly put a damper on our hiking! When I rode it on my bicycle 15-20 years ago, there were no trees across it, although there was one short section where I had to carry my bike over about 25 feet of loose cobbles. There was a ton of detritus though...

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Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

I confess that there's a stretch between Hodgdon and about a mile east of there that I've not yet hiked (I'd have to check old GPS tracks to figure out the exact stretch)...don't know how long those trees have been down but they could well have come down in the 5 or 6 years since I was last on that stretch of road. Still not as bad as the stretch of OGPR east of BVCG! (for those who don't know that stretch, it's almost like the road is paved with tree trunks!)