While reading that explanation of a BAER Team, I couldn't help but to think of what is going on along Evergreen Road, and other places in the Rim Fire area. The loggers are tearing up the soil. Nothing is left but a few dead oaks, a few too small dead pines, and huge slash piles everywhere.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Looks like you own a chicken now.by Dave - General Discussion
Another update; Big Oak Flat Road is open from the 120/140 junction to Crane Flat. BOF Road is closed from Crane Flat to Big Oak Flat Entrance. Tioga Road is accessible. This was as of 5:30pm. Things may have changed since then.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
People with breathing issues should check out this web page before coming up. http://www.nps.gov/yose/naturescience/aqmonitoring.htmby Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I might be inclined to postpone your visit. Look at the webcams; http://www.yosemiteconservancy.org/webcams/el-capitan#.U9ZPEEDFrkc The smoke in the Valley is really thick. If anyone has any kind of breathing problems, they should stay away until the fire is out. You could also come up 140, after eating lunch in Mariposa, go south on 49 then east on 41. That would take you to the South Entrancby Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
It looks to me that it's heading towards the Big Meadow Fire area. That should slow it down a bit. Not good news for the Foresta residents though.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Not again...... Who started it this time?by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Now, if you took one of these rock stacks, and piled them on top of a duck, would you have....... pressed duck?by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteKen MThanks, Dave, for the rules. But make sure you read them all....I fail to understand why you would assume I had not read them all. If you have a problem with the rules, take it up with the superintendent. QuoteYou're gleeful advocacy of destroying everything, always, everywhere.....You must have me confused with someone else. I never said, or implied, any such thing.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
It is the park policy that rock stacks be dismantled when found. Here is the text from a park handout. If you don't like rock stacks being torn down; take it up with the superintendent. Yosemite National Park National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Rockpile Gardens Millions are drawn to Yosemite each year to enjoy stunning views of natural scenery. Some visitors create uby Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteKen M...Perhaps I'm learning from you.I doubt that.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteKen MYou have a mistaken understanding of the timeline of the widespread use of these terms.So what?by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteHitechI've never liked the term "Leave no trace" since you almost always leave a trace. The idea of minimizing your impact is what everyone in Yosemite should be striving for. It was a goal, an ideal, not a demand. Another saying started at about the same time was; "Leave only footprints. Take only pictures." QuoteThat said, I dismantle these things too and not justby Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteLVRAYFire rings, legal or illegal, are far worse. I would be very happy to see all fire rings made illegal. Aren't they in many areas? I haven't been out in awhile, but I've done quite a bit of hiking and have never seen the need to light a fire. But, then, I grew up on the "leave no trace" idea. These rock stacks and fire rings are a "trace" and spoil things for thoseby Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteKen MDave, you'll want to get your ass up to just below the summit of Mt. Langley....Apparently you're not able to have an adult style conversation on the topic. Grow up.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteKen MI'm not always so quick to make assumptions. Primitive people THE WORLD OVER used stacked stones for various purposes, sometimes religious, sometimes astronomical. Would we be so quick to condemn and dismantle the above, if we found out that it was constructed by a group of indians, recreating ancestral religious formations, on old ancestral grounds (which Yosemite WAS)? I don' tby Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I've been working on dismantling one larger than that. I find them occasionally along Tioga Road and gleefully knock them down.by Dave - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
The water at the very bottom appears to be round, as if coming out of a large pipe. Hetchy?by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuotechicagocwrightWait a sec...what about those near the Arctic Circle?I don't care. If the things aren't in Yosemite, not my problem. The Inuit can build them all they want. It's the copy cats that are the problem.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Earlier today there was a flash flood near Tenaya Lake which left some debris on the road and a slide at "Little Blue Slide" about 3+ miles west of Tioga Pass that closed the road completely. It happened about 10 minutes after I went past there headed west. If I was 10 minutes later, I might still be there.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuotemythumpaNever underestimate the arrogance of the uneducated. They are NOT ducks, they are inuksuit. ......We are not above the Arctic Circle so those damn things have no place here. Educate yourself about leave no trace.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
They are not ducks, cairns, or inuksuit. They are graffiti and are not to be erected in the Park. I shall continue to remove the blight whenever and where ever in the Park, I see them. We are not the ignorant ones; you are!by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
For your own consumption.by Dave - General Discussion
QuotePineConeWhat should we do if we're out hiking in the backcountry of Yosemite, and we come across a pink chicken with its head stuck inside a Hostess fruit pie bag?? Try to save the pie.by Dave - General Discussion
The one in the corn field did.... but it got away. They always fall off the claw before you get it over the hole.by Dave - General Discussion
Reminds me of one of those crane games at the pizza parlor.by Dave - General Discussion
Often those "steps" were water bars at one time. They were to guide water off the trail but over time created a waterfall on the downhill side of the bar and the erosion created a step. Water bars have gone out of favor and various kinds of trail armaments are being used. Puncheon, wood or rock, have been successful in slowing down erosion of the trail.by Dave - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I saw some rafts in the water today.... what water there was. Hurry.by Dave - General Discussion
QuotesnorkusDo I trust this guy? QuoteMount“Our predictive capacity for year-to-year weather is very, very low.” How does that 'predictive capacity' work with the predictions regarding man-mad climate change? No relationship. The facts of human caused climate change are not based on year-to-year weather predictions. There is a difference between weather and climate.by Dave - General Discussion
An El Nino COULD be of some help. It could also bring disaster. With the oceans warmer, you know... global warming and all that, it could bring on some atmospheric rivers such as a "Pineapple Express." These rivers can bring rains measured in feet per day.by Dave - General Discussion