Trail of the Gargoyles (Tuolumne County, California)

My next stop on my exploration of some Sonora Pass sites is a hike along the Trail of the Gargoyles in Stanislaus National Forest. The route to the trailhead was easy to find. Following Herring Creek Road for nearly six miles, I encountered a locked service gate prior to where I had intended to park the jeep. Looking at the map, the trailhead is approximately 3/4 of a mile further up the closed road and so, I decide to simply hoof it.

Just beyond the gate though, I see a trail leading off to the left and knowing that the my intended trail follows the ridge of the canyon below, I wonder if this is the southern terminus of the trail. I decide to risk it and leave the road for this trail. It leads up a shallow grade to the crumbly cliff which I'm looking for. After a few yards along the ridge, I'm pretty much convinced that this is my trail. Although, the bowl canyon below me is not exactly what I was expecting, as the geology is not as interesting as what I had read about.

The trail diverges from the ridge slightly and as I am hiking in the middle of a hot summer day, I begin to take careful not of the area under nearby rocks and logs in the hope of spotting any rattlesnakes before they spot me. Luckily, I never see any on this trip.

As I continue up the trail, it begins to head back up to the ridge, but to a second bowl canyon. This one is much more of what I expected. Volcanic remnants and erosion has formed some strange rock formations. To the south, the upper canyon wall looks almost like a full bookshelf, with erosion carving the area between the books and the layers of geology forming the shelf.

Directly in front of me, a tall pillar of volcanic basalt has formed something that very much resembles a gargoyle. He sits in vigilant watch over the canyon below for all eternity, or at least until natural processes finally end his tour of duty. 

To north, the canyon wall is a mix of lush green grasses and trees with a few more "gargoyles" placed strategically to protect the lands below. The whole area is very scenic and definitely worth of a visit. 

Finally reaching the trail head that I was denied by the gate, I begin the trek back to the jeep. I decide to take the dirt road instead of returning the way I came. In total, I covered about 2.8 miles of easy trail/road and in the end, the closed gate didn't really have any impact as I would have had to loop back anyway.