Creek Fire Burn Scar info?

[CalMntHkr]

I'm looking for information on how the Creek Fire affected the Fernandez Pass Trail and Post Creek Trail in the Ansel Adams Wilderness. Has anyone hiked this? Are there good burn scar maps anywhere? I have found some scar maps online but the definition renders them useless.

Help is very appreciated,

-Ken
-CalMntHiker

[kpeter]

CalTopo has a "Fire History" tab you can check on the right and you can see the outline of every fire, by date. What those maps do not show is how severe the fire was in the area. It could have mineralized the soil, or it could have merely pruned the shrubbery, or anything in between. But at least you can see the exact outline of the Creek Fire's footprint imposed on the map.

[CalMntHkr]

Thanks kpeter. I forgot of the burn scar feature in Caltopo.

The burn scar appears to run about 2.75 miles / +1000ft from the Frenandez Trailhead. Much of the Post Creek Trail is burned but using the Post Peak Trail avoids the burn. It joins up with the Fernandez Trail not far from the scar. As you mentioned the severity of the burn cannot be determined from a map. I am hoping a call to the Sierra Ranger Station can shed more light. If I get anything useful, I'll post it.

As a back door to the Merced Headwaters this still appears to be a viable entry point. The Illilouette Canyon had a good fire last year. It is all but impossible to get wilderness permits out of Toulumne Meadows and hiking up from Yosemite Valley is not appealing. All of the trail heads coming out of the Clover Meadow area have plenty of available permits and show no signs of filling up. The whole lake area above Clove Meadow appears to empty of travelers. Makes sense with a huge burn scar .

It appears about 8 miles of Beasore Rd is burned. This is actually less than I expected. I first drove this road in the mid 70's when it was a dirt road (my age is showing). It was a sad day when the road was paved. Back then this area was ripe for a major burn as fire prevention didn't allow for healthy burns. Further logging had left plenty of fuel on the forest floor. So much for forest management of the past. Well Mama Nature decided to clean up and apparently did a complete job.

I have yet to commit to hiking out of this area but am leaning that direction. If anyone has been in this area please let us know what you fund.

-Ken
-CalMntHiker

[dbargaehr1]

*DELETED* double post

[dbargaehr1]

Hilariously i was going to post a similar question regarding access of the Isberg TH further up.

Hard to piece together, but I believe that the Creek Fire damaged some bridges and roads on the way up along Beasore Road.

Someone named "Collin Neuhauser" has posted a similar review to this on AllTrails and Google Maps:

"In spring of 2023 be aware that there may be road damage from the January floods. Also watch out for the trees that regularly fall into the road.

Trailhead access in 2023 depends on how damaged local roads are during the winter. The 5s30 from its crossing of Granite Creek to the trailhead is in danger of being washed out in a storm. There is also a timber sale starting in the area to remove roadside hazard trees from the Creek Fire.

The trail was heavily damaged by the 2020 Creek Fire and subsequent flooding. The damage is the worst from the trailhead to the niche. Many sections in that portion are heavily eroded and could be overgrown with brush in 2023.

The Norris Creek bridge is gone so accessing this trailhead from Beasore road requires a detour. The best official detours are via the 5S02 and 5S05 (not shown on visitor map but on MVUM). You can also get from Beasore Rd to Mammoth Pool road via Grizzly Rd. Please call the Bass Lake Ranger station to check if the Norris Bridge has been repaired or if there are any road closures.

The scenic byway between Chiquito bridge and Minarets pack station is in very rough condition so expect to drive 15-20mph dodging potholes. Repairs have been funded through GAOA for FY 2023-2025.

In 2023 all 50 or so miles of the minarets road will have repairs done and will be chipsealed. There are also several timber sales both along this road and beyond it. Watch out for construction and logging traffic.

I would not recommend driving a motorhome or large fifth-wheel on this road due to its windy narrow nature and the increased traffic in 2023."

Link to this review/info: https://g.co/kgs/LTosCk

I know they were working on restoring/replacing the Upper Chiquito Bridge in 2020 but from what i've seen that got delayed from the Creek Fire.

[CalMntHkr]

I talked with the Sierra VF Rangers. The rangers descriptions were from memory and slightly fuzzy.

First Beasore Road is open to Clover Meadow but not much further. Bridges to Clover have been replaced. It appears road travel beyond Clover Meadow is limited by roads, bridges and culverts being in an unknown state. It was suggested a vehicle capable of "rough road travel" be used. This seems to match the last posting. She mentioned that the burn scar along the road is intense. She described the burn scar around the Fernandez Trail as "light" . The best definition I could get is the trees are still there but the under story is burned out. I asked if this could be called "a healthy burn". This appeared to be a foreign idea to the ranger. I asked of this winter's impact on the roads. She was very noncommittal but mentioned the extreme deep snow pack protecting the roads for now but a fast melt would produce havoc.

Caltopo indicates that the Isberg Pass area to be in good shape. The fire burned just past Cora Lakes leaving Sadler and related lakes untouched. But the bulk of the trail is burned leading to a long walk through burned forest. I know this area well and it tended to get hot before the fire. Hiking these trails might be a bit tough without tree cover.

I have opted to loop out of Mono Meadow TH. This brings me through the tourist crowded Nevada Falls area, I will need an early start and a fast hike to get ahead of the hoards. Once I get past Merced HSC I think the crowds thin out. I will start with steep downhill and end with downhill through the Illilouette Canyon but with a an uphill for the last few miles. It is strange to start and end on basically down hill days. But I really want to hike the "High Trail" (Lewis Creek to Triple Peak Fork) with a stay in the Lyell Fork area so the loop makes sense. May I add that Lower Ottoway Lake is one of the Sierra gems. The west facing red rocks of the beyond belief lake are spectacular at sunset. I'll post the pictures.

-Ken
-CalMntHiker

[grampy]

well, at least the construction contract for replacing the missing bridge over Norris Creek (on Beasore Road) has been awarded as of Jan 23 of this year; I can’t find a target date for project completion but I’d be shocked if it gets finished before fall of 2024.

Link to news of the bridge contract:
https://www.constructionjournal.com/pro ... b6cdb.html#

[dbargaehr1]

I talked with the Sierra VF Rangers. The rangers descriptions were from memory and slightly fuzzy.

First Beasore Road is open to Clover Meadow but not much further. Bridges to Clover have been replaced. It appears road travel beyond Clover Meadow is limited by roads, bridges and culverts being in an unknown state. It was suggested a vehicle capable of "rough road travel" be used. This seems to match the last posting. She mentioned that the burn scar along the road is intense. She described the burn scar around the Fernandez Trail as "light" . The best definition I could get is the trees are still there but the under story is burned out. I asked if this could be called "a healthy burn". This appeared to be a foreign idea to the ranger. I asked of this winter's impact on the roads. She was very noncommittal but mentioned the extreme deep snow pack protecting the roads for now but a fast melt would produce havoc.

Caltopo indicates that the Isberg Pass area to be in good shape. The fire burned just past Cora Lakes leaving Sadler and related lakes untouched. But the bulk of the trail is burned leading to a long walk through burned forest. I know this area well and it tended to get hot before the fire. Hiking these trails might be a bit tough without tree cover.

Good to know that I can at least get to clover meadows, which isn’t too far from Isberg TH. Isberg is where my launch-off point is planned.

[Love the Sierra]

This time lat year i spoke with a ranger who had actually been there himself. He said that there was only one open TH off of Basore Road since the fire and that would be Isberg. He also said that the first day, you are hiking through a burn. There had been a post by a couple of girls on HST that confirmed the first day’s hiking was through a burn scar.
thanks for posting, I, too, am considering a hike there this coming year.

[David_Caruso]

I was in the area last August 2022. For various reasons I ended coming down from Bench Canyon and staying above Hemlock Crossing then hiking along the "Iron Creek Trail" east towards Mammoth.

It's not quite the same area...but definitely in the Creek Fire burn scar.

It's wasn't a fun from Hemlock Crossing to Iron Lake Trail, maybe 6 miles of blah. All the wood signs have been burned and can't be found. Since no one has been out there much, you can't tell the trail from animal use. Lots of of the completely burned over areas have filled in with weeds and grasses waist high, also making it really hard to navigate. Plus an obnoxious amount of downed trees.

There was 4 Cal Berkeley grad student setting up sample plots and had camped at the intersection of Iron Creek and Iron Lake (on caltopo), they had mule service from Red's bringing them supplies...so from there to Red's was open and clear.