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| Hiking | 6.56 Miles |
1,021 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.56 Miles | 2 Hrs 52 Mns | | 2.52 mph |
| 1,021 ft AEG | 16 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | After opting out of another hike nearby earlier, I decided to check out the Kanabownits trio of highlights: the historic cabin, fire lookout tower, and spring.
Most of the summer, this area is accessible via the W-4 road, but when I was there, the road was closed due to the Ikes Fire that was burning north of the area and being managed for resource benefit.
Though the road was closed to vehicles, there was no prohibition to hiking, so I set off cross country from the W-1/W-4 junction. The early part of the hike led me through the 2014 Galahad burn area. This is another one that was allowed to burn for "resource benefit". I have no education in fire or forest management, but five years later, I fail to see the benefit. Deadfall and remaining standing snags cover the ridges, while a dense carpet of 2-3 foot high ponderosa are growing at a density of 4-billion trees per acre (approximately). I'm not sure how this will result in a healthier forest allowing the reintroduction of more frequent, low-intensity fire. But what do I know?
So anyway, I continued along until I crossed the final draw and climbed up to the historic Kanabownits Cabin. It was built in 1925 and is a twin to the Muav Cabin a few miles away along the North Bass Trail. It appears to have fallen into disrepair after the fire. One would hope the park service gives it some attention and keeps it in good shape. Why put the effort into saving it from the fire, if it's not going to be taken care of afterward?
So from there, I headed uphill to the Kanabownits Fire Lookout, another historic structure which is no longer used. I climbed the tower but was unable to access the cab since it was locked. Built in 1940 at an elevation of 8,241 feet, the 82-foot high tower provided pretty good views from just below the small 7 x 7 cab anyway.
Next, I headed downhill in search of Kanabownits Spring. I hit an unexpected cliff band that I had to negotiate a downclimb before reaching the old roadbed that to this day Google suggests as a good driving route. It's definitely not.
There was some old fencing from a corral area and as I proceeded downstream I finally encountered some muddy ground and ultimately a few puddles of water. It was a bit of a surprise. From the spring, I opted to skip the off-trail BS on the way back and just hiked the W-4 road back to my truck. It was a pleasant few miles to finish up my main hikes for the day. |
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| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
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