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henness ridge drive

PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 2:58 pm
by beerforcat@comcast.net
Hi everone,

I was looking at Google earth for a possible backpacking trip in May an saw henness ridge drive. I have not seen any mention of this road in backpacking guides and online backpacking resources. The I was wondering if there is trail head parking on the road(if there is no snow)? Any one packed out from the road?
Thanks
Paul

Re: henness ridge drive

PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 11:40 pm
by dan
beerforcat@comcast.net wrote:I was looking at Google earth for a possible backpacking trip in May an saw henness ridge drive. I have not seen any mention of this road in backpacking guides and online backpacking resources. The I was wondering if there is trail head parking on the road(if there is no snow)?


I never backpacked on the road, but skied part of it in Winter. It's a closed dirt road (the part east of Highway 41). There's room for a few cars off the pavement, and there's a paved parking lot a quarter mile north or so at Chinquapin (junction with Glacier Point Road).

The part I skied in Winter was from the top of the ski area (Tempo Dome) down Strawberry Creek ski trail (unmarked, unmaintained), then skied out on the relatively-flat dirt road.

I know some people who backpacked to the end of the road at Deer Camp (Empire Meadow) and continued on to Chilnualna Fall then ended up at Wawona. Personally, I consider it kind of boring--lots of overgrown thick white fir forest. I understand there's some fine sugar pine stands back there, but I haven't seen them first-hand. There may be ruins of the old ranger station at Deer Camp (I'm not sure if it's well-preserved or just a pile of rotting logs).

Other low-country areas to consider are Chilnualna Fall (although it's a bear of a hike--lots of uphill from Wawona), Tuolumne Grove and beyond (may be too close for a backpack), the old, original Big Oak Flat Road staring at Tamarack Campground or Foresta Junction and head to El Capitan (and beyond to Yosemite Fall or return), and Hetch Hetchy area.

Re: henness ridge drive

PostPosted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 8:42 am
by beerforcat@comcast.net
dan wrote:
Other low-country areas to consider are Chilnualna Fall (although it's a bear of a hike--lots of uphill from Wawona),


Thats what i was hoping to avoid the climb up that way. I was hoping i could drive to the end of the road and hike out from there to the chilnualna lakes there by starting at 6600 ft instead of 4200 ft.