Sometimes you just to need to get outside in winter and take a brisk walk on a dirt road through rolling green foothills with cows.
Where: Near Raymond and Coarsegold, following a dirt road.
Distance: 9.89 Miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation Range: 1,171′ – 1,752′
Date: December 19, 2016
Maps: Ben Hur and Daulton Topographic Quad Maps
Dog Hike? Yes, depending on your dog
I headed out to hike an area that I hadn’t hiked before with the Sierra Hiking Seniors. We met up at the intersection of Road 415 and Road 612 (Hartman Cutoff), kind of between Coarsegold and Raymond, then started our walk up the road.
Photo by Debra Kincaid
There was a bit of frost when we started out.
Photo by Debra Kincaid
We met some cows.
The view of the open and winding road was beautiful all by itself.
Photo by Debra Kincaid
Photo by Debra Kincaid
When we reached our lunch spot, we all found a spot to sit. We didn’t spend too much time here, then headed back the same way that we had come in and back to our cars.
Lunch Spot (Photo by Debra Kincaid)
We had spotted a chute and old wooden posts on the way up and checked them out on the way back.
We looked closer at the fenceposts and they were chock full of acorns. Those woodpeckers had created an artful display.
Photo by Debra Kincaid
If we would have walked another 2.3 miles or so before turning around, we would have made it to Road 600/Grub Gulch Road. Another option for this hike could be to stage a car at either end and do a through hike which would give you a little over 7 miles total. Or you could walk to Road 600/Grub Gulch Road and turn around, which would have made it about a 14 mile hike. Of course, you also don’t need to go as far as we did and make it a shorter hike.
I have gone with the Sierra Hiking Seniors on a few hikes over the years and they are a fun group of hikers of all speeds. They hike on Monday and Friday, putting out a calendar and weekly emails on their hikes. If you are interested in joining, you can contact Fran Goss at sierrahikers@sti.net.
This could be a good dog hike if your dog is a good fit. The road is lightly traveled by vehicles so you would need to keep an eye open for a vehicle coming around one of the curves. There are cattle and you don’t want your dog to go off and chase them. We didn’t see any dogs on our hikes but we did hear some barking. Just a heads up that you could encounter some in your travels. I would imagine in the summer that you could run into a rattlesnake out here also. I didn’t see good running water on our hike, so you would probably need to pack dog water.
Doarama: Hartman Cutoff Hike Doarama
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