Stanislaus River Hike

In my opinion, there is not other place on earth that compares to the Stanislaus River that flows behind our cabin in the high Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Beau and I dream of this place all year and every summer, when we make the hike in, this sacred place never fails to take my breath away. It is pristine. Here is a taste of what it is to hike down the canyon and to the river. DOWN the canyon is key. Which means, UP the canyon is how we get back to the cabin. Strenuous yes, but worth every aching muscle and drop of sweat!

Our group ready to set out on the trail.

Just as we leave the cabin, we say goodbye to (BIG) Little Falls.

Due to the high level of water this year in the creek, we had a more interesting creek crossing this year. Here are Bella and Lily contemplating their leaps across.

Kirby gets the royal treatment.

This photo cracks me up, it looks like Beau is prodding Jill along the crossing. Easy now Beau! Just because your legs are a mile long, doesn't mean we can all scamper across the rocks so effortlessly.

Beau calls this Harry Potter Rock.

Kirby stops for a Vitamin Water break. :)

Our little tree hugger.

This is about 2/3 of the way down into the canyon. The granite is AMAZING, and this year the vegetation was remarkable. I have never seen so many varieties of wildflowers here before.

Hearty little pine trying to grow in the granite.

Such pretty flowers. The quartz in the granite sparkles. How can I get countertops made out of THIS granite? Would that be too heavy a load for my Beau to carry out on his back? :)

One more bend and we are at the river.

Nice job Kirb.

Chris and his charming smile. What a quality young man. We are so proud of you Chris.

I always love the short hike down the river to the place where the creek (that runs along behind the cabin and down the canyon) meets the river. The volume of water rushing down the granite face was amazing this year. This place always makes me catch my breath a bit. I always think of four summers ago, and our Gwen whose ashes made their way through the creek and to this beautiful place. Can you can see a special bump on the rock taking in the view?

This picture is taken from just about the same spot that "bump" in the previous picture was sitting. This is what he was looking at. My guy is on his way back up to join me.

Me and my guy. Every year when I see that Beau shares my love for this place, it reminds me that he truely is my soul mate. We would likely live here if we could. We dream big dreams when we are at the cabin.

Patient Papa with Richie.

The fish aren't biting, but the views are beautiful.

Beau taking it all in.

Our Bella who is the color of the granite. Without the orange collar, she would be easy to lose!

Click this one to zoom in. I thought I was just taking a picture of the deep burgundy moss, but look at the granite to the left for a special surprise. What is that?

Heading out, UP the canyon. This rare flat section was so lush with a carpet of fresh green grass. Stepping on the spongy grass was amazing. What a place!

We always get our pic at this tree. The mound of pine needles below this giant is about 6 feet off the ground. Can you hear the crunch as we walk up to the tree?

Jill and Tim take a breather and smile for me. It was Tim's first time down to the river. I hope he joins us again in the future!



This was my best attempt at a group shot. My remote couldn't trigger the shot from where we were all gathered. So, I had to move about 10 ft closer to the perched camera, click the remote, and literally JUMP back into the frame. I had two seconds. HA! I made it, and so did Bella...just in time!

We only made it to the river once this year. Beau will remember each step of that one trip throughout the next year. He literally has the hour long hike memorized and can close his eyes and take the trip time and again in his mind. I can't say my memory isn't that great, but these pictures will sustain me until we return next July.