Wow, 6 bucks for a chap stick? I just restocked my favorite Chap Stick Ultra, bought a 30-pack from Amazon, 'bout a buck fifty each. I have a chap stick addiction, and i'm not afraid to admit it.by cthenn - General Discussion
Wow, nice housewarming gift...I got a drill.by cthenn - General Discussion
21 bucks a night to camp? That's ridiculous. You get a sometimes flat, relatively bare spot to pitch a tent and a fire ring. I love how this insignificant, miniscule amount of savings to the state puts yet more burden on the taxpayer out to enjoy the wilderness. This governor is worse than Gray Davis.by cthenn - General Discussion
Oh, I thought this was in Yosemite...by cthenn - General Discussion
We'll see. Farkin forecasters can't even get 2 days in a row right, so I'm not holding my breath.by cthenn - General Discussion
mmmmmmm, gall bladder.by cthenn - General Discussion
I didn't want to be the first to be flamed, but yes, people are dumb. Summit fever. "I came all this way to Yosemite with my friends/family, and we've been planning Half Dome forever, so I'm doing it, dammit!" Meh...glad she didn't die, but not once in that article did anyone interviewed say "gee, we made a huge mistake trying to do this".by cthenn - General Discussion
Seems early...we get hundreds of them on Mt. Diablo every year, but usually starts late Aug/early Sept.by cthenn - General Discussion
Quoteeeek She doesn't sound too bright: "relying on directions from a GPS device" Look, it appears they did a lot of things wrong, but don't take one snippet from the article about the GPS and assign blame. I rely on GPS' all the time. But then again, I know how to use them, their limitations, and I always supplement with a map/compass when needed. Handheld GPS' are an invaluablby cthenn - General Discussion
You can pick. They assigned us a site last year which was terrible, so we drove around and found a much better one, and asked if we could have it instead. The kid at the kiosk looked annoyed (probably because he had to do something other than just sit there and veg out), but he let us have it. I've done the same at Hodgdon Meadow. Just be nice and they'll probably let you have what you wantby cthenn - General Discussion
I swear this question comes up more than any other on this site! I'm not complaining though, I think it was my first question on this board. BTW, there's no "tongue sticking out" smiley...by cthenn - General Discussion
Quotedqniel Quoteabenebbish Every year millions of people visit the valley floor. Only a few do this egocentric type of activity. I guess I'm egocentric because I did the Half Dome hike? Give me a break... Some people do it for the view, some people do it for the personal accomplishment, some do it because they've been dragged along by friends/family, etc. You're speaking out of ignorby cthenn - General Discussion
I'm planning on hitting Gibbs and Conness this summer, and I've looked into these. Gibbs is a rubble pile...an easy class 1 walk-up. Conness supposedly has some interesting sections, including the scramble above Alpine Lake to the ridge, and the summit block itself has a few sphincter-clenching drop-offs, and a scramble. But I'll find out this summer. BTW, Mt. Lewis is another one on the agby cthenn - General Discussion
Yeah, I learned about this after my initial post. I could not bear to live where I do if Mt. Diablo was sold to some stinkin developer who put subdivisions all over the side of the mountain. I think the state will figure out a way to keep these parks open. It's only like 10 or so parks out of the hundreds... Heck, even all the parks in the state take 0.1% of the state's total budget to operby cthenn - General Discussion
I just read that! I'm stoked because I live right by Mt. Diablo, and I don't want it to close. Camping trips to Tahoe, oh well...but I'll have my local playground open, that's cool. Edit: Here's another link with more parks that could be seized. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/01/california-parks-could-be_n_224141.htmlby cthenn - General Discussion
No cyborg, but it's more common than you think. I visit several different GPS track sharing sites, and it's not uncommon for me to find GPS tracks that are 1 day, 20+ miles, 6000-8000 feet of climbing. Some people out there are just super hardcore. I can't do that, but I think there are a lot of people who can.by cthenn - General Discussion
A friend of mine recently did El Cap from Tamarack Flat (like 16 miles roundtrip), next day Dana, and 3rd day, Half Dome, in Teva sandals... Came back to work on Monday and said "yeah, my legs are only a little sore".by cthenn - General Discussion
Oh, if you want stunning views of wildlife, leave your bear locker open and then hide in the bushes...by cthenn - General Discussion
QuoteWanderingBear Great! If you had to guess... Yes/No to any water from Yosemite Falls on July 23rd, what would you say? I'm happy with a trickle. Also, I'm spending 3 full days at Yosemite... one of which will be spent doing Half Dome. I've been reading about all the hikes and stuff... from experience, though, what would you say are absolute MUST-Do's? Any hikes in the < 5 mile rangeby cthenn - General Discussion
Quoteeeek Quotecthennmost ski resorts in Tahoe are far ahead of Yosemite in this regard. Most ski resorts have an economic incentive to install cams. Not after some of these recent winters! I was seeing bare earth into January at some places Not exactly the enticement to spend a long day driving up the mountains!by cthenn - General Discussion
Wow, this is a really interesting question. I have no particular insight into the route, but I will say DON'T rely of Google Earth to tell you much. There have been more than a few times I thought something looked easy enough on GE, but in reality turned out to be a huge problem. There may be enough obstacles you will have to overcome, or bushwacking to be done that the energy you save by bypaby cthenn - General Discussion
I totally agree with you Bob. They would have to install a new one because all the others are too far west to shoot Yos Falls (why not one on top of the big building at GP??), but they really need a few more views. Heck, most ski resorts in Tahoe are far ahead of Yosemite in this regard. They have way better webcams, even user controllable live streaming cams...Yosemite could easily install onby cthenn - General Discussion
QuoteBee The most intriguing incident that occurred was hearing a pack of coyotes calling out to each other in the valley below. The sound was a sustained high pitch burst that sounded downright unearthly. There were other interesting sights to be had, such as this view of (I believe) Andesite Peak. That's Basin Peak. Did you check it out? It's pretty uneventful, just another peak to bag.by cthenn - General Discussion
I don't have a PLB or Spot, but from what I've heard, that Spot device is no better than a GPS. Thus, if you fall down a hill into some brush (or if you hurt yourself in some deep canyon (ie-Yosemite), you may not get signal. Really, if you feel you need a something like this, I would think a PLB would be the way to go, but then again, I could be talking out of my a$$by cthenn - General Discussion
Question to anyone who viewed my everytrail page for Castle Peak. When you click on stats, does the gps track show up? That site is very buggy, and it looks like the track is lost...by cthenn - General Discussion
QuoteFrank Furter Great report. I am still struggling with full competancy with Google Earth but the link you gave was great. I understand Castle Peak is volcanic and I noticed volcanic rock on Mt. Judah yesterday. "Andesite" is a term for a type of volcanic material. I wonder what the geology is here in the land 'o granite to have this volcanic material exposed. Actually, there arby cthenn - General Discussion
QuoteFrank Furter QuoteBee FF, Not too far away (across from Boreal Ridge ski area) is a gem of a summit, Castle Peak (9,000ft). It is a side trail off of the main PCT trail head found off of the Boreal/Castle Peak exit off of highway 80. It is approx. 6.75 out and back with backpack camping along the way. The trail up to the Castle Peak, itself, is about 1.75 miles and about a 1,200ft climbby cthenn - General Discussion
QuoteSierrafan Quotecthenn I did not at all enjoy the last stretch down the JMT due to the incredible number of people. I would not recommend going down the mist trail (wet 2-foot granite steps going down is not so fun!). I thought starting at the 4MT was the perfect place to begin. It'll take you at least a few hours to get up to GP, where you can enjoy your lunch, before heading back along tby cthenn - General Discussion
Quoteeeek Quotecthennwet 2-foot granite steps going down is not so fun!) I've always enjoyed it. The part I don't like is from the bridge down to Happy Isles. Too many people in the way. I've slipped going up, so I don't want to press my luck going down. Plus my knees prefer a regular trailby cthenn - General Discussion