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SJRT aka San Joaquin River Trail

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Mark Sasser
Outdoor Writer at FresYes.com
Having been born and raised in the Valley and spending his complete adult life exploring the outdoors gives Mark a unique look at what we all see each day. From cycling to backpacking, solo or with friends, Fresno proper to the mountains above can at any time be where Mark is found living his life outdoors.
Latest posts by Mark Sasser (see all)

Just a short drive north of town awaits one of the brightest gems FresYes has to offer in the San Joaquin River Trail known by those who love it as the SJRT.

With the investment of a 20 minute drive to Fine Gold Bay you receive the pay off of being rewarded with mile after mile of perfect trail conditions and postcard worthy views. Many times I’ve met friends from town to ride our mountain bikes from the trail head 16 miles east to Squaw Leap and back. This presents a challenge to even the most seasoned riders endurance with its elevation changes and trail obstacles yet easy enough for even a beginner to enjoy. The beauty for the MTBer is that you can at any point turn back and retrace your tracks for a ride distance that fits whatever your mood or time constraints for the day. Greeted with a sturdy 2 mile climb from the parking lot at the bottom it’s a quick wake up for sure but after completing the 20 minute climb up Pin Cushion though its a fun down hill almost all the way back to water level when the personality of the SJRT really shows itself.

mark and ruste

 

From the 4 mile point on it’s a mix of rolling hills, green meadows, wild flowers and the random cow pie to dodge here and there. Turn after turn, hill after hill its a world-class mountain bike ride. I give it a 9 out of 10 on the scale of awesomeness.

Now I love mountain biking and you may too but lets hold up on this story because the SJRT is so much more than a mountain biking destination.

SJRTYes the Big Sandy MTB race is going on 11 years this March but the trail also hosts the SJRT 50 mile running race. I have crazy respect for my running friends who pull this one-off but for me I’ve never made it more than 8 miles on this beast of a trail. I might pull of the San Joaquin Half Marathon, that’s it.

Runners from all over came out for the first time event and 2015 looks to be bigger and better. I hope to make it out just to witness the sheer joy on people’s faces as they run down the final miles back to Fine Gold Bay and the finish line. Its a feeling I doubt many of us will ever understand, but I think most of us can respect the dedication it must take to pull off such a feat.

I bet you are thinking about now what it is like to just go walking on the SJRT and not go all adrenaline junky. Well if you make the drive I promise it to be worth it. Every day of the week people can be found hiking the trail with friends, classmates or pets. I can’t think of anyone in FresYes who enjoys the outdoors who couldn’t have a fun filled day out on the SJRT.

IMG_8762

 

Remember water, snacks and a cell phone, not only for safety but you want that selfie at the top of the mountain to be Facebook or twitter worthy and being dehydrated or cracked from hunger just isn’t the look you should be going for.

Mountain biker

 

For more information look into the following links

www.sjrtc.org

www.sanjoaquinrunning.com

http://www.mtbproject.com/trail/4725173

Until next week or until we see each other, outside.

The San Joaquin River – Looking back to see the future

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Mark Sasser
Outdoor Writer at FresYes.com
Having been born and raised in the Valley and spending his complete adult life exploring the outdoors gives Mark a unique look at what we all see each day. From cycling to backpacking, solo or with friends, Fresno proper to the mountains above can at any time be where Mark is found living his life outdoors.
Latest posts by Mark Sasser (see all)

I’d like to invite you the FresYes reader to come with me on a year-long journey to explore the most precious of our outdoors locations the one and only, my personal favorite place in all of Fresno, the San Joaquin River.

So great is my love for The River that it was a crime to try to do a single post about our river. During 2015 expect a post every other month or so about the river itself, the micro spots that some know and some don’t, the recreation factor and the people who work hard day in and day out to keep it safe, exciting and protected.

As luck would have it I was introduced to Finn Telles of the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust over the holidays. Finn and I had a fun fireside chat about the vision and goals of the Trust, I learned about the purchasing of lands from willing sellers along the river from the Dam in Friant to Hwy 99. That was the most fun talk I’ve had about a topic since I started writing for FresYes. Finn has such an excitement for the river and its lands I couldn’t help but be infected by his enthusiasm. I look forward to this coming year exploring with him to bring you the river series and I think the end result will be amazing.

To really get started and to get a feel for what they are looking to build for us all I had to take a look back into our past to get an idea of what the river was 100 years ago before we can see what it could be again. From a once unhindered beast in the spring time to a meandering river of summer the San Joaquin was as changing as the people who have lived on its shores. From the Yokuts and the Monache peoples, the miners who preceded those trying to escape the dust bowl days in the 30’s to you and I today people have looked to the river for the basics of life.

The river has always provided water, food and shelter but it was its use as a waterway that in its early years separated it from the rest bringing small ships all the way from the San Francisco Bay. The building of the Friant Dam brought with it a whole new river, some say for the better others say it was the worst change possible. While I’m not here to debate that I can only imagine how cool it must have been to see salmon in the water less than a mile from my home.

STEAMBOATS

Today we are lucky that a few people in the early 80’s had a vision to stop the decay, repair the damage and restore the river to a modern usable version of its older self. The River Parkway and Conservancy Trust has no matter what side of the “conservation” fence you fall on has without a doubt become the saving grace of the once wild and mighty San Joaquin.

Stay tuned for a mini Lewis and Clark style expedition from Friant to 99 that I hope will open a whole new way of looking at OUR San Joaquin.

river map