What we should do is issue crossbows and bolts to every visitor entering the park and not possessing a gun; these people would be required to carry the loaded bow at all times. People possessing a gun would not be allowed to also carry a crossbow. This solution to the problem would allow normal people to protect themselves from the paranoid ones. It would also facilitate identification so that tby szalkowski - General Discussion
from_mars wrote: > Also, from looking at the map, and from personal accounts, the > snow creek trail from the valley is the toughest in the park. If you want to notch things up a bit, try the Copper Creek Trail in Kings: el. 5.1k at Roads End and 6.5 trail miles later the unnamed pass into Granite Basin crests at 10.4k. Post Edited (12-23-08 01:46)by szalkowski - General Discussion
Jim, Many years ago: followed it all the way down to the Glen Aulin HSC (High Sierra Camp) from the branch that issues from Roosevelt Lake. As I recall, the upper part was smooth going; we did it in early September and, for the most part, walked down the dry creekbed itself (large granite slabs in that area). Approaching the HSC, the last couple miles was HEAVY bushwacking; we had left theby szalkowski - General Discussion
15k (delta ~ 7k) hardly rates as buzzing. According to a friend that I worked with back in the '70s, it was not uncommon at that time for fighters, presumably from China Lake, to fly up the 395 corridor a couple hundred feet off the deck. (He didn't mention if they used their lane change blinkers while passing.) Post Edited (12-09-08 12:12)by szalkowski - General Discussion
There is an old saying that goes something like this: 'God watches over little children, animals, and fools.'by szalkowski - General Discussion
Looking at Rick's second photo: Not surprisingly, that free slope stabilization angle (~35°) is just about the maximum slope that one sees on Cinder Cone up in Lassen.by szalkowski - General Discussion
... and you were worried about squirrels. Bear: 1 Birdfeeder: 0 (I've seen those photos elsewhere, one comment being: What IS that line made of anyway?) Jim, Encase the URL in a left-facing angle bracket (< on the left side and a right-facing angle bracket (> on the right side. Post Edited (09-21-08 08:54)by szalkowski - General Discussion
tomdisco wrote: > Anybody else wish to chime > in on the subject of trailhead bear box experiences? Thoroughly agree with Frank. It is extremely unlikely that you would have any problem. In all the years that I have been leaving food in the trailhead bear boxes while backpacking, there was only one instance where it "evaporated." This was at the Dog Lake parking area, lateby szalkowski - General Discussion
"On A Clear Day You Can See Forever" Post Edited (09-17-08 19:46)by szalkowski - General Discussion
This guy seems to bring a whole new dimension to the term "moron." Paraphrasing his comments: I keep my ammunition separated, but I didn't know that I was using the steel-jacketed rounds. (Probably thought that it was the depleted-uranium stuff.) I recommend that the State of California attach any and all property of his, his family, and any of his apologists (the deep pockets of theby szalkowski - General Discussion
I almost never use Hwy. 140, but was intrigued by your question so did a quick websearch. If all else fails, you might want to consider the Mariposa County Fairgrounds as a "safe" option: http://www.mariposafair.com/camping.htm Also, if you do not mind driving a bit further in the morning, there is a CalTrans reststop on Hwy. 99 just S of Turlock. The CalTrans website says that you caby szalkowski - General Discussion
Upon reading the article, I just assumed that the newspaper was a subsidiary of Fox News.by szalkowski - General Discussion
Mixolydian wrote: > Strange...you'd think > we would have learned something from our history. Reminds me of an Albert Einstein quote that goes something like this: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.by szalkowski - General Discussion
The dome on the north side of Lembert (connected via a saddle) is called Dog Dome according to a 15' topo of Tuolumne Meadows published by Wilderness Press. Post Edited (09-04-08 09:13)by szalkowski - General Discussion
Point of Information: assuming that it hasn't been too adversely impacted by global warming, you should have about 600 vertical ft. of snow to glissade down once you crest the unnamed pass between Roosevelt and Upper McCabe. Be sure to carry a camera to take a photo looking back up toward the pass once you reach the shore of Upper McCabe. Post Edited (08-25-08 18:32)by szalkowski - General Discussion
bill-e-g wrote: > It is at this location that > the old > tioga road made a couple of switchbacks which have been wiped > out > by rock falls. Don't know what it is, but all routes of the Tioga Road never went near that area. See, e.g., the map in the following reference: http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/tioga_road/map.htmlby szalkowski - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
SteveHall wrote: > I just learned something new today. Most of you probably have > already seen this. FYI, a great source for such information is the book "California Place Names; The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names" by Erwin G. Gudde, University of California Press. The ISBN is 0-520-21316-5. This is a standard reference that can be found in all California pby szalkowski - General Discussion
Richard, Thanks for the historical sidenote re. her demise - I don't think that I've ever come across that info. before. She is buried in the Pioneer Cemetery. Here is a link to a book dealing with the residents: http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/pioneer_cemetery/ P.S. Typo: 1864 Post Edited (07-17-08 17:42)by szalkowski - General Discussion
Wayne, Here is the NOAA forecast at 10k for the region where you will be hiking: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=REV&llon=-119.741247&rlon=-117.738747&tlat=39.077084&blat=37.077084&smap=1&mp=0&map.x=47&map.y=139by szalkowski - General Discussion
Mountain View, we have a problem. (Sorry, Jan, I noted your email address and couldn’t resist.) Mike’s comment about the outside right edge height (or coming down from 120 in the middle of the night) will probably solve your dilemma. If not (and assuming that you don’t want to run out and buy tires with a smaller sidewall-to-width aspect ratio), the ultimate backup plan is always theby szalkowski - General Discussion
Lest anyone becomes unduly alarmed, Royal Robbins was not on that plane with Galen and Barbara Rowell. Last known, Royal is alive & well and living in Modesto: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Robbins http://www.modbee.com/life/funstuff/v-print/story/65043.html Post Edited (07-12-08 03:45)by szalkowski - General Discussion
Let's not forget defense against being abducted by alien spacecraft or being attacked by hoards of marauding marmots. Having backpacked and mountaineered in the Sierras for forty years, quite possibly the greatest threat that I have perceived to my well-being in the backcountry has been the possibility of running into paranoid, self-proclaimed, law abiding citizens. Post Edited (07-12-08 04by szalkowski - General Discussion
Wayne, I hope that your backpacking experience has included a reasonable amount of mountain hiking with lots of switchbacks. I ran that loop from Tuolumne Mdws. - Cold Canyon - Rodgers Lake - Pate Valley - Tuolumne Mdws. through TOPO! and found that the elevation gain (and, of course, loss) over the 53+ miles is 17+k.by szalkowski - General Discussion
I noticed that the White Wolf gate was open last Wednesday afternoon while passing by on my way to the Porcupine Flat trailhead. Post Edited (06-10-08 06:50)by szalkowski - General Discussion
I would expect flooding at the western end of Glen Aulin and at Pate Valley.by szalkowski - General Discussion
Something to ponder while waiting for the new snow to melt along Tioga. (I came across this list while performing some computer file maintenance this morning - unfortunately I do not recall the website from which I copied it. I'm sure that the NPS has their own compilation that they haven't gotten around to publishing because they are too busy rolling around on the ground in hysterical laughter.by szalkowski - General Discussion
New selling point for the cave tour: IT'S A BLAST! Vince: you are right, the human eye does respond into the near infrared, but the photon flux needed for perception is many orders of magnitude greater than that emitted by room temperature (or human temperature) objects. What you were actually seeing was phosphorescence from a chemical introduced onto the shirt either during the manufacturingby szalkowski - General Discussion
Here is the NOAA forecast for the area around Wawona: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=HNX&llon=-119.986247&rlon=-118.246247&tlat=38.299584&blat=36.562084&smap=1&mp=0&map.x=47&map.y=110 Note to all the forum people: if you move your cursor to another spot on the website map and left-click, the red square will move to that area and modify theby szalkowski - General Discussion
Monitor the NOAA website for the forecast: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=HNX&llon=-119.986247&rlon=-118.246247&tlat=38.299584&blat=36.562084&smap=1&mp=0&map.x=91&map.y=61 The first item that should be on your list of essential equipment is a decent pair of hiking boots (not shoes) with reasonable ankle support - even for dayhikes in the backcoby szalkowski - General Discussion
mrcondron wrote: > Laundry bleach uses Sodium Hypochlorite generally at a 6% > solution and the bottle of bleach with the water filter is at > something like 3.5%. So five drops of the 3.5% does not > translate easily to the 6% solution. The five drops of 3.5% > per liter of water is the "optimized" dosage but 2.xx drops of > laundry bleach would work equally as welby szalkowski - General Discussion