Sonora Pass

I was so inspired by the Sonora Pass on my way to the Eastern Sierras that I chose to return to the Bay Area over the same route. Following no timetable, I could dawdle along the way.

A steep hairpin rounded an overlook where I found a forestry worker monitoring a distant fire near Yosemite. Bypassing the famous National Park had kept me clear of the crowds, and the smoke.

The next stop that caught my eye was Leavitt Falls. Given the current state of drought, my expectations were low. Happily, some water was flowing.

The summit beckoned, but ... what about that cooler on the front seat of my car? Signs in the parking area recommended the bear-proof lockers, explaining that the bears know what a cooler signifies. I was car hiking, not car camping; should I worry?

As I picked my way along the crumbly trail up the hill, I wondered why I hadn't taken a few moments to don my hiking boots and grab my walking stick. Climbing back down would be tricky.

At this pace, I reckoned it might take most of the day to complete the 80-mile scenic drive. And that was fine with me.

My last stop was the Donnell Vista. I'm not uncomfortable with heights, but here I met my match. Gazing up at the distant lava formations of the Dardenelles was much easier than gazing down [way, way down] at Donnell Lake and the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River. I must have never stood at the edge of such a precipice, till now.

Past this point, the road snaked through the forest and delivered me to the edge of the Central Valley by dusk, bringing my fall Sierra adventure to a close.