Merced Wild News Today

The first spring poppies danced in the wind for me as I hiked up Briceburg's Burma Grade and beyond for 15 miles with a 2,340 gain, leading me to a view of El Capitan and Half Dome. Where: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Merced River Recreation Management AreaDistance: About 15 miles roundtrip but you can

It was a little early for Merced River Canyon’s wildflower show but the right time to get in a good winter conditioning hike with some miles and a climb along the Merced River at Briceburg. Where: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Merced River Recreation Management AreaDistance: 10.6 miles roundtrip but you can go shorter or ...

  The Burma Road is also known as the Briceburg or Bull Creek Road and immediately starts to climb along a steep road that is basically one lane wide with switchbacks that takes you up the hill. It is also called the Burma Grade. As you climb, you have incredible views of the Merced River, Briceburg, the suspension bridge, and Hwy 140. Besides hikers, high clearance 4 wheelers, motorcycles and mountain bikers also use this road. The road can have washouts, slides and deep ruts, closing it some...

  If I were to continue going straight, there is a bunch of country I could visit and I hope to explore more of this area some day. But I took the road to the right. I had been up this road a little ways a few years back and had seen a lot of dozer work on fuel breaks and old fire breaks. I wasn’t sure what shape the road would be in but if things worked perfectly I could follow this set of roads out and loop back to the top of Burma Grade. And if it wasn’t in the cards, I would turn aroun...