Dick Hagerty: Hike now or miss the Sierra’s spectacular falls, flowers

“Sonora Pass Now Open.”

That highway sign is displayed in bold flashing letters along the highway just a mile from my home, and this is the earliest I can remember seeing such news.

Springtime in the Sierra has come upon us in a hurry, and those who treasure the early season hikes and outings to see big waterfalls and green meadows need to hustle because all indications are that this will be a very brief season for waterfalls and rivers.

Last week we took my Mod Bee editors, past and present, up the steep Table Mountain trail near Jamestown, expecting to see a carpet of springtime flowers. Instead the ground was dry, the grasses shriveled and the flowers could be found in very tiny clusters.

Those who treasure the great waterfalls of Yosemite will need to get there soon. Already the flow of Yosemite Falls has begun to diminish. Even early summer visitors will likely see only great dry walls of granite where the seasonal water generally runs well into midyear. (But even a “dry” Yosemite is still a treat – just a reminder that waterfalls will be rare this season.)

Hetch Hetchy remains a great option for early season hiking with its relatively low elevation and lack of large crowds that swarm Yosemite Valley. Normally at this time of year there is abundant water coming over all the granite cliffs, but this year, as in the main valley, the two large waterfalls are rapidly shrinking.

None of this should discourage those of us who look forward to walking the mountain trails. In fact, it is actually an incentive to move up the season for mountain trekking.

This is an ideal time to enjoy the wonders of Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Whether taking the easy North Grove trail or the much longer South Grove trail, the dogwood trees are coming into early bloom, the snow is gone from the paths and conditions are ideal to see this magnificent array of Sequoia trees.

Another redwood tree hike is the Merced Grove trail, located just inside the Highway 120 gate at Yosemite. This is a 2-mile hike down into a small and intimate grove of giant redwoods, again available much earlier than normal this spring. While the trees are few, they are spectacular, and it is possible to take this hike and not see another soul on the trail. That is a real rarity for Yosemite hikes.

All the trails around the Pinecrest area are open, and again the rapidly diminishing Stanislaus River needs to be seen and enjoyed early. Cleo’s Bath, a really fun place on an extended trail beyond Pinecrest Lake, will be totally dry by midsummer and should be enjoyed right away.

Having such an early end to spring should in no way discourage visitors and hikers from these great places. Rather, this should serve as an early nudge to adjust schedules and plans to take advantage of these opportunities sooner than later.

One more benefit of an early season is dry trails and no muddy boots to clean. The trade-off for enjoying great waterfalls and rivers has always been to endure soggy trails. But already the dust is swirling on our favorite paths.

This story was originally published April 23, 2015 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Dick Hagerty: Hike now or miss the Sierra’s spectacular falls, flowers."