Deer Cove Trail to Wildman Meadow

7/4/19-7/5/19

Fourth of July weekend! Finally. It was time to head east to the mountains.

Greg and I woke up early to finish packing and head to Deer Cove Trailhead. We were taking the Deer Cove Trail to Wildman Meadow. This lovely trail is located in the Monarch Wilderness of Sequoia National Forest, USA. Around 1:30pm, we arrived at the small (but nearly empty) dirt lot and started hiking soon after.

Monarch Wilderness is cool. There are non-stop views, you don't need a permit to camp there, dispersed camping is allowed, and there aren't crowds. We actually only saw one other small group the entire hike. They were on their way out as we were heading in. We wanted to get outside for the Fourth, but we'd been having some bad experiences with the Great Californian Outdoors. I'm all for encouraging people to get outside, but the trails and crags are insanely overcrowded. Even the climbing gyms here are madhouses.

Camping is also difficult. It is often either illegal to camp in the parks here, or you need a permit months in advance. Alternatively, you can try for one of the walk-in permits, but those may not be available on a busy holiday weekend. Due to our other recent outdoor experiences, we weren't feeling too lucky. Dispersed camping (our favorite way to camp) is also not often allowed. After a lot of research, Monarch Wilderness seemed to be just the place! And it was.

Monarch Wilderness is unique. The area consists of land within the Sequoia National Forest and the Sierra National Forest. It really feels like good old Natural America. If you visit here, please be sure to leave it as wonderful (or better) than you found it. Pack out all your trash and honor LNT principles.

Balance is hard. But there are lots of good opportunities to practice your Tree Pose on Trees on this trail. The 2015 Rough Fire ravaged this area, resulting in a ton of dead and down trees.

You can see Mount Harrington in this photo! It's the rock fin to the left. Depending on conditions and time, we were interested in potentially climbing this peak. That climb didn't end up panning out, but I'd definitely be interested in returning for this mountain one day.

Pictured above is one of many fire-ravaged trees. This one just happens to look like it should fall soon (and also happens to be pretty close to the trail). Despite the dead trees, burns are actually good for the ecosystem. More on that later.

Giant pine cones!!! So fun. Greg totally accidentally licked it.

We hiked up the ridge to Wildman Meadow to camp for the night. We were tired and pretty done with hiking for the day by the time we approached the meadow. Greg  had developed a pretty massive blister, despite attempts to calm the hot spot with Moleskin. Additionally, my backpack is meant to be used as a day pack. I'm only in the Bay Area for a summer internship and only brought one pack. As a result, my back was pretty sore (and I was on my period so that wasn't exactly helping...).

Sooo, we were pretty relieved to finally reach the meadow. Until I heard something move in the forest. Something loud. It sounded big... like a moose or a bear. And I didn't think there were moose in California...

HMMMMMM....

Yeah, it was a bear. We had been talking and making noise, but still managed to round a big tree to a black bear in the meadow. She was staring at us, shock in her eyes, and closer to us than I would have liked her to be. I guess she hadn't heard us, too caught up in her own (pretty noisy) bear business.

A cub sprinted out from the meadow, taking off up the trail. In the direction we were supposed to be heading. Great.

Instantly I was 1000x more afraid. Were there more cubs? Please tell me I'm not between any cubs and the mother. Was I going to have to fight a bear today?

We backed away slowly in the direction we had come, raising our trekking pole high in the air and doing our best to appear bigger. Greg and I clutched each other's hands as we yelled out to the bear and left as quickly as we could. Luckily for us, black bears are pretty skittish and this one in particular wanted as little to do with us as we did with her. I could tell she was eager to ensure we weren't a threat and then reunite with her cub.

So it seemed like the meadow was taken for the night.

We hiked about a quarter mile away back up the trail. It was getting dark and we were exhausted at this point. The unexpected run in with a bear sent a surge of adrenaline through our bodies. Once it was gone, we were jittery and eager to lay down for the night. Unfortunately, the last mile or two that we had hiked didn't have any great camp sites.

There were a lot of steep, slanted switchbacks along the ridge and dead trees. John O. had instilled a strong fear of widowmakers into us so we were careful when choosing a site for the night.

We eventually settled on a patch of bare rock on a ridge that was far away from any dangerous trees.

It wasn't our best night's sleep.

We didn't want to cook dinner– we were still pretty close to the bears and now getting dark. Greg and I settled for eating granola and nuts until everything scented managed to fit inside our bear barrel. We were super mindful about all of our trash. This area is so natural and remote. We really didn't want to be the people who taught the local bears that campers == easy food.

After cleaning up camp, Greg and I chose the perfect location for our barrel. We chose to wedge the can between some boulders. If a bear tried to mess with our food, we weren't going to make it easy for them. You want to ensure that your barrel isn't in a location where a curious bear can send it rolling down a hill, knock it off of a cliff, or etc. It's also important to place the barrel far enough away from camp to avoid bringing any unwanted attention to your tent.

Still, we awoke to a loud crash.

At first, Greg and I thought a bear had found our can and managed to send one of the boulders tumbling. But then we realized a dead tree had fallen over. I was extra glad we took the time to find a camping site away from where any dead trees could fall on us.

We awoke again early the next morning and watched the sunrise begin to light up distant peaks. We survived the night! No vengeful mamma black bears tracked us down! No widowmakers!

We decided to hike out the next morning to explore some surrounding parks. There's so much to explore in this overlooked region. It wasn't even crowded on a summer holiday weekend!

Not too far into our hike for the day, we found some fresh bear scat right on the trail. To make up for it, Greg and I also saw three deer bouncing across the green, early morning landscape. It made me feel like I was in a Disney movie.

I really appreciated these wildflowers on the hike out.

The first stop after our hike was Grizzly Falls. These powerful falls give off a strong spray, even from a distance! It was very refreshing after a sweaty overnight in the woods. After, we took a tour of Boyden Cavern.

We also stopped to check out the sequoias. These trees were some big boys. When early explorers described these trees to those back home in the East, many people didn't believe them. Sequoias were labelled as the "California Hoax". People just didn't think trees could be so big. Even when some of the trees were cut and segments of them were sent back as proof, people still insisted it was fake.

I found it interesting that age doesn't have as huge of an impact on the size of a sequoia as you might think. Soil conditions such as moisture and sunlight have a much greater effect than age. Conditions here are obviously prime!

Most big sequoias have survived dozens of fires. Their tough and thick bark makes them resilient to the fires crucial to their ecosystems. The fires are important to soil health. Additionally, wildfires clear out competing trees and growth, allowing new sequoias a chance to prosper. The heat also opens up sequoia cones and drops their seeds into the soil.

Our last stop on this trip was Hume Lake. We hung out by the beautiful water for a bit to cool (and clean) off before making the drive home. There's so much to explore in this area, particularly in the Monarch Wilderness. I already have a few more trips in mind for this region.