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What’s the best way to get to Kelly Lake in Henry Coe?


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Home Forums General Forums Philosophy & Technique What’s the best way to get to Kelly Lake in Henry Coe?

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  • #1254854
    michael huynh
    Member

    @radlations

    I'm planning on heading down to henry coe in Mid March or April. I will be entering from either the coyote creek entrance or the hunting hollow entrance.

    I plan on fishing, taking photographs of wildlife, and having a great time.

    But the thing is I've never been to kelly lake. I've only been to Henry Coe once and that was to camp at Frog Lake.

    So I would like a route to take. I'm trying to avoid long routes that involve continuous steep slopes. I know this is hard to do but I'm sure there are certain trails that are better than others.

    Which trails should I take. I want to get there as quick and easy as possible.

    #1569700
    Roger Caffin
    BPL Member

    @rcaffin

    Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

    > I want to get there as quick and easy as possible.
    Chopper.

    Cheers
    :-)

    #1569701
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    Roger is a bit removed from this park, so let me interpret for him.

    First of all, I have a color trail map overlay, but I don't have the actual topo map in front of me. So, what I give you for directions will get you directly to Kelly Lake, but it may not be the very best route. The lake is in the south central part of the park, so start from the Coyote Creek Entrance. You start on the Spike Jones Trail, and immediately turn off left onto the Grizzly Gulch Trail. It goes east and passes some side trails. Then turn left onto the short Dexter Trail. After 0.6 mile, you intersect the Wasno Road, and you turn left. Within a few tenths of a mile, you intersect the Kelly Lake Trail, turn right on it, and after about a mile or so on it, you should walk up on a lake on your right. That's Kelly Lake. I don't have any accurate mileages on this overlay, but it shouldn't be too much more than six miles. Somebody correct me if this is radically wrong, or if you know a better route. I've never been to that lake before, but I can read a map overlay.
    –B.G.–

    #1569706
    Robert Blean
    BPL Member

    @blean

    Locale: San Jose -- too far from Sierras

    There is a gotcha with starting from the Coyote Creek entrance — you cannot park there. The nearest approved parking is at Hunting Hollow entrance, 2 miles away. That is a boring road — blacktop, I think.

    I just added up the mileages from the park map for Bob's route — it adds to 4.3 miles (plus the 2 miles from parking your car).

    When a bunch of us BPL folks went last spring, we started at Hunting Hollow and went up the Lyman Willson Ridge Trail and the Wagon Road. It was about 9.5 miles in to Coit Lake that way. Kelly Lake would be a bit shorter.

    I have read that Kelly Lake is prettier than Coit Lake; some people in our group had been to both and preferred Coit Lake. If you are feeling energetic, it's not much of a hop over & down to Pacheco Falls from the Coit Lake area.

    — Bob

    P.S. note the recent forum postings about a trip there again this year, the third week of March.
    http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=28281

    #1569736
    michael huynh
    Member

    @radlations

    Thanks for your replies(except roger):)

    I happen to have a map with the topography. Took me a while to find one off the net.

    Photobucket

    Could you give me your color map?

    #1569805
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    Your b&w map shows everything clearly that I had described from my color overlay. The only problem is that you might want to see the Hunting Hollow area which is just south and off your map.
    I don't believe that any of the other entrances are relevant, or else you will be driving around a lot more and then hiking a lot more.

    –B.G.–

    #1569855
    michael huynh
    Member

    @radlations

    Right bob. I was planning on parking at the Hunting Hollow entrance and walking to the coyote creek entrance.

    I wanted your map because I wanted to see creeks/ponds better.

    #1569862
    michael huynh
    Member

    @radlations

    Sorry for the double post.

    But am I stupid for not bringing a tent?

    I'm planning on bringing a sleepingbag with a fleece bag as a liner. And a Tarp. All the trip reports Ive seen involve people with tents.

    I also don't plan on bringing a GPS device. Bringing a compass and a map. Along with my two good buddies. We won't be going off trail.

    #1569903
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    "I wanted your map because I wanted to see creeks/ponds better."

    My color map overlay does not show creeks. Your b&w topo map does show creeks/ponds, although not very clearly.

    –B.G.–

    #1572295
    Amy Lauterbach
    BPL Member

    @drongobird

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    Michael,
    You are lucky that there is a most excellent map of Coe Park.
    http://www.coepark.org/map-intro.html
    It's worth the $7 (paper) or $10.25 (plastic) investment to get the map.
    There are many minor variations you can take in your routing, but any way you slice it you will have a 1600+' gain in elevation.
    Also, if you are interested in fire ecology you might find this interesting: http://coefire2007.info/
    Winslow Briggs and a boat-load of volunteers are conducting a very interesting post-fire plant study in the park.
    Good luck, Amy

    #1572303
    JOHN ZENNER
    Spectator

    @johnz

    Locale: East Bay

    "But am I stupid for not bringing a tent"

    It's El Nino here in California this year. Even if it doesn't rain, the mosquito's will suck you dry by morning.

    #1572413
    michael huynh
    Member

    @radlations

    I don't plan on going until theres good weather in April.

    So I shouldnt have to worry about rain(I will bring a tarp anyways)

    And the mosquitos won't get me because I'll be in my sleeping bag.

    #1572414
    michael huynh
    Member

    @radlations

    What is the map like?

    Is it colored with streams and watersources and is it a topographic map?

    #1572569
    Dale Wambaugh
    BPL Member

    @dwambaugh

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    Michael wrote: "And the mosquitos won't get me because I'll be in my sleeping bag."

    GOOD LUCK! If you are in the bag, it will at least give them something to hang onto while flying you back to the nest to feed the little ones :)

    #1572572
    Lori P
    BPL Member

    @lori999

    Locale: Central Valley

    The trail map at headquarters is what you need – all the topos I've seen from USGS have none of the trails on them. It's a good map, with the usual coloration of a topo – shows all the water features in blue.

    #1573682
    Bob Summers
    Member

    @sm498

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    I take my Scout troop to Henry Coe frequently.

    Easy at Henry Coe is hard to find once you get out of the Headquarters, Manzanita Point, Frog Lake triangle.

    For Coyote Creek to Kelly Lake, my usual route is:
    Coyote Creek->Grizzly Gulch Trail->Dexter Trail->Wasno Road->Kelly Lake Trail

    Though this route is a little bit flatter and a little longer.
    Coyote Creek->Grizzly Gulch Trail->Rock Tower->Jackson Road->Wasno Road->Kelly Lake Trail

    The Dexter or Tower trails (depending on the route you choose) are the steepest part of that hike. Both are memorably steep.

    There's an iron ranger at Hunting Hollow where you pay.

    You can park along the road between the Hunting Hollow entrance and the Coyote Creek Entrance … I know, the signs say no parking but that's misleading. You can park as long as all four wheels of your car are off of the pavement. You'll see people parking like that and I even asked a ranger about it.

    The other thing to remember about parking is that they really want enough space to get a fire trucks and heavy equipment into the Coyote Creek entrance, so don't park anywhere where you might be construed as blocking the entrance. People do park at the gate but I try to park along the road when I'm using the Coyote Creek entrance.

    Water management is an important skill at Coe but on that hike, it's not too hard – plenty of water at Kelly Lake but not much between the entrance and Kelly Lake.

    The trails and roads are virtually all well-marked and obvious.

    The roads at Henry Coe double as fire breaks, so they tend to ignore the topography go straight along the ridge lines.

    I don't think I've ever seen a mosquito at Henry Coe, irritating little flys yes, but mosquitoes have never been a problem for me. I use a hammock, so I don't have bug netting to protect me and don't worry about it.

    Sometimes it gets a little crowded at Coe during the spring. Flat spots are rare at Henry Coe, especially as you go north and west. At Kelly Lake there are several flat spots that you can set up on but you could also consider camping near one of the numerous ponds.

    April is a little early for sticker season, but some short gaiters, like REI desert gaiters can make life more comfortable in May.

    #1573868
    michael huynh
    Member

    @radlations

    I hear about people crossing streams and creeks on their way to henry coe.

    I'd like to see a few. Will the route you suggest lead me pass some streams?

    #1573931
    Robert Blean
    BPL Member

    @blean

    Locale: San Jose -- too far from Sierras

    Michael,

    You really ought to get the Henry Coe park map that was mentioned earlier in this thread. You will want it when you do go, and in the meantime it will answer a lot of your questions.

    — MV

    #1574216
    michael huynh
    Member

    @radlations

    Is that map the same one that you get for free at the henry coe headquarters?

    #1574217
    Bob Summers
    Member

    @sm498

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    You need to get the park map. Plastic is better.
    http://www.coepark.org/map-intro.html
    http://www.coepark.org/map-intro.html
    There aren't that many streams at Henry Coe. Most of the time they aren't flowing.

    You'll walk near Coyote Creek at the entrance and cross a creek bed at the beginning of the Grizzly Gulch Trail. Those may or may not be flowing – they probably won't be flowing – They clearly flow sometimes but I've never seen water in them.

    #1574225
    michael huynh
    Member

    @radlations

    Last time I was there, I picked up a map that looked alot like that map. But it was for free.

    These aren't the same?

    #1574779
    Amy Lauterbach
    BPL Member

    @drongobird

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    Michael,
    The map we're telling you to get
    (http://www.coepark.org/map-intro.html)
    is not free. It is a VERY excellent map that Bob Patrie and the Pine Ridge Association produced, and hikers at Coe owe Bob endless thanks for his herculean efforts on behalf of the park. It has all the water sources and all trails including mileage for each segment. It is a topo map. In 2004 the PRA received the award for the best association map from the League of Park Associations. It is a great map, and if you had it 90% of your questions would be answered already. It's only $10.25 delivered to your door and if you order it you'll receive it in just a couple days. There's no reason to delay, just take the plunge and place you order!

    For the curious amongst you, the firefighters who worked on the 2007 Coe Fire all received copies of this map. CalFire and the State Parks were super appreciative of the excellent map because it enabled them to fight the fire efficiently and with minimal damage to the landscape.

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