Lovelady

Hike number 1 of 2 June 25, 2020. Joe Petkovich and I arrived at The Cabins at Strawberry late afternoon Wednesday June 24. Visited the lake, then bulked up on chicken, sausage and pasta for the Cleo’s Bath hike in the morning. Parked in the main lot at Pinecrest Lake and were on the trail just after 8am. I prefer the trail on the north side of the lake. So we started on that side. Spectacular morning with clear skies and in the mid-60’s. Once on the backside of the lake (east side - opposite the beach) we crossed the South Fork of the Stanislaus River on a bridge; soon after we turned left at the Cleo’s Bath trailhead. The trail roughly follows the river up its canyon repeatedly moving in and out of tree cover and exposed rock. Approximately 90 minutes up the Cleo’s Bath trail a rock wall presents itself. Look all you want for a way around (that might be easier than heading straight up the wall), but an alternative route up does not exist. Lean into the rock wall, find two hand and two foot holds, and push/pull yourself up. About a quarter mile up and you transition onto mostly flat steep rock where you can stand up again and finish the hike into the river canyon proper where the baths are found. Multiple smooth rock baths line this short yet accessible part of the canyon. The baths are perfect for swimming, cooling off, or lounging around. There is a good sized grove of trees offering plenty of sharable shade. Once down off the rock wall, and back at Pinecrest lake we returned to the car/beach/marina/snack shack via the south side trail. This was a perfect warm up to our Day 2 hike to Relief Reservoir. All images and videos captured on iPhone 11 Pro.

360 view just above Cleo’s Bath