February 3-5, 25- 28, 2025

Three weeks after our return from Oakland and Paso Robles we made plans to travel separately, Joanna to North Carolina to join her fellow book club members to celebrate the club’s 25^th anniversary with a couple of in the mountains of North Carolina outside of Charlotte.  In the meantime, I would join Kim, Marty, Brenda, Ken, Kris, Gemma, and James for three nights at the Yosemite Lodge.

This would be the third time we’ve taken advantage of their buy two nights get the third free promotion that brings the actual room cost down to around $170, a bargain for the Valley.  Best of all is that wintertime attendance is at its lowest point, meaning an uncrowded park often wrapped in the beauty cold weather can bring a region. 

But first I would drive to Kernville for one night, meeting Kim, Marty, Brenda, and Ken there so that we could visit Kern River Brewing Company, known for their enjoyable IPA’s.   We’d be staying at the Kern Riverfront Lodge, a small and quaint choice in the middle of this equally small town.  Marty took care of the booking, which ended up running me about $75 and I found my room, with two queen sized beds and a full kitchen to be a complete bargain.

Kernville is located 42 miles northeast of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 2,667 feet and has a population of1,549.  The Kern River was named after artist and topographer Edward Kern, who accompanied John C. Fremont on his 1845 expedition.  They camped at what was a fork of two rivers, now the middle of Lake Isabella, created when the Isabella Dam opened in 1953.

I’ve lived in California my entire life and yet have never been here, so the drive up was quite familiar until I left Bakersfield and navigated a section of narrow, twisty road that followed the river up the canyon to town.  We all arrived around the same time and after checking in made a beeline for the brewery to enjoy an afternoon round or two to prepare for the night ahead, sitting on a porch in the warm winter sun.

We returned later for dinner where I enjoyed a small dinner salad and delicious bowl of chili along with a pint of the Sequoia Red Amber Ale, a perfect way to complete my meal.  We returned to Kim and Marty’s room for another round or so and then off to bed looking forward to the drive to Yosemite.

On the way out of town we stopped at Sequoia Mountain Bakery, where I picked up a very good scone to go with the thermos of coffee I’d made back in the room, preparing for the nearly six hour drive in front of me.  Marty would join me for the ride, making the time fly by as we again navigated that narrow canyon back down to Bakersfield, and the drove north on Highway 99 to Fresno where we jumped on Highway 41 through Oakhurst and into the park. 

On the way we stopped in Fresno for lunch at 99 Craft Pizza, reputed to be the best in town, where Ken (with some help from Brenda) did justice to a good sized Detroit style pie while Kim, Marty and I split a round sausage and mushroom that while good, had a crust that didn’t stand up to the ingredients as we worked our way through it. 

Back on the road the drive went smoothly as I recalled the countless number of times (how many? Thirty or more?) that I’ve traversed this road into this valley I love so much and has meant so much to me throughout my life.  We arrived at the Lodge and checked in, needing to wait awhile as our rooms weren’t ready yet.  Which would be a blessing in disguise as the one I was assigned to, while on the ground floor with easy access to the parking lot, was likely the smallest in the property and piling more on top, was located under a stairwell and adjacent to a busy sidewalk. 

Obviously, my room wouldn’t be the gathering spot for the group but all in all it would suffice.  That night we walked around the corner to the Base Camp Eatery, the Lodge’s main dining facility, where we’ve had many a meal and I would order the Teriyaki Chicken Bowl (teriyaki chicken, jasmine rice, and stir-fried vegetables) for $17, a reasonable price to pay for park food and tasty enough to eat it all. 

We repaired to Kim and Marty’s room for a few more hours before bed and the next morning met at Basecamp for breakfast, where I drank coffee and after once trying the Greek Yoghurt Parfait, which was disappointing, figured I’d stick with coffee for the rest of the duration.  Finished, we all hopped on the free shuttle that took us out to the Mirror Lake stop where we began our hike. 

In times past we’d hike up the paved road once used for auto traffic to the lake, but this time someone found a dirt path off to the side and this we took.  It turned out to be more challenging than the road, with some rough terrain, steep ascents and descents, and navigating a large tree that had fallen across the trail.  Also, it was quite chilly, making one long for the nice gloves they’d left at home in a drawer.  

In what would end up being a three-mile round trip, we hit Mirror Lak, which is a small, seasonal lake located on Tenaya Creek.  Situated in Tenaya Canyon directly between North Dome and Half Dome, it is the last remnant of a large glacial lake that once filled most of Yosemite Valley at the end of the last Ice Age and is close to disappearing due to sediment accumulation. 

Gemma took a photo of the group before we turned around and made our way back to the bus stop for a ride to the Village for lunch at Degnan’s Kitchen which serves sandwiches, salads, and soup.  I’d enjoy a green chili chicken soup two days running while others in the group powered through some good-looking sandwiches.  We’ll finish up our visit to Yosemite in the next post. 

Links

Kernville: https://www.gotokernville.com/

Kern River Brewing: https://www.kernriverbrewing.com/

Kern Riverfront Lodge: https://kernriverfrontlodge.com/

Sequoia Mountain Bakery: https://www.facebook.com/p/Sequoia-Mountain-Bakery-61567371458462/

99a Craft Pizza: https://www.99craftpizza.com/