Made a quick map of the viewshed from that point. As chick-on suspected, it was Smith and Conness, along with less notable peaks and hills. Just the tops of some hills are barely visible and this analysis presumes perfect conditions. Also, it doesn't take into account the trees on the foreground hills, but overall a neat map.by buster - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I was wondering what time the reservations open for Pinecrest Campground on rec.gov. Is it 7 am (PST) like it is for Yosemite Campgrounds or is it some other time? I did note that reservations are available 6 months in advance. It seems that it is a rolling window with each new day having a new day of availability open. Thanks for your help.by buster - General Discussion
Here is a link for the stream gauge just a few miles downstream. It is located just before the river turns into the reservoir (or at least when it is full) USGS 11274790 TUOLUMNE R A GRAND CYN OF TUOLUMNE AB HETCH HETCHY I would look at CFS (Cubic Feet per Second) as it looks like the gauge is located at a deeper section of the river, so the depth for that gauge is misleading. Currentlyby buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Looking around I found some closure notices for both fires. The Stanislaus is until Sept 30 and the Sierra is until the Ferguson Fire is declared out. The areas indicated are fairly large and are probably worst case scenarios with the growth of the fire and to get people out of the way. Both closures were written in July, so over a week ago. Presumably, they will be rescinded with a more specificby buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Happy belated! Hope you are feeling better and are out and hiking about.by buster - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Do you mean the trail that leaves from Indian Flat Campground (near Cedar Lodge) that is shown on the USGS topo? If so, that is an old road and has been accessible for a while, with some partially overgrown sections near Hite Cove. I believe the fire burned hot near Hite Cove so it will be interesting to see what it looks like there. Though most of the understory is likely gone, there could be doby buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
First the distinction between leaving extra scented items at the trailhead and caching food. Leaving extra scented items at the trailhead is fairly obvious. This is stuff you don't want to take on your hike but have so you want to store it securely to protect the bears. Caching food is stuff you want to take on your hike but don't for whatever reason. The first is a need if you want to protect beby buster - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteNot quite The Geezer, but getting there Absolutely you can cache food in the bear boxes by the trailheads - that's what they're there for. No, that's not what they are there for. The bear boxes where put there so that backpackers could store food and scented items they were not taking on their trip, so that bears don't become habituated. They were not put there to make it more convenienby buster - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteNot quite The Geezer, but getting there If they've rescinded the restriction, it would be nice if they'd update the web site accordingly. It hasn't been rescinded. As it has been such a mild winter and there is little to no snow on the ground, the bears typical hibernation patterns have been altered because there are still food sources available, ie not covered under snow.by buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quotemarkskor ... for that additional HD permit. These are free and are always available. That's wrong and has been for a number of years. They cost the same as day permits (now $10) and there is also a separate quota of 75 for wilderness permit holders. For more information: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdwildpermits.htmby buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quotechick-on In his defense... (I read his post before the "nevermind" ) Unfornuately, I didn't have the chance. Quotechick-on He seems to really care. Often times posts come off as combative. Or the way things are conveyed aren't clear. Very true. Easy to have misunderstandings online, either via forums, email, chats, etc. I debated for a while to add the part abouby buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
How do we reach people like Jeffrey? 1. He is doing something wrong 2. He almost certainly knows he is doing something wrong or at least can't argue against it. (Pretty much the same) 3. Pointing out why he is doing something wrong and the impacts of it don't change the behavior. Is it just impossible on a internet forum? Are there any other strategies that we could use that would be moreby buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quotejeffrey TP is..paper. Which is a wood product. It's returning to where it began By this logic, I assume you would be ok with people burying actual paper? How about similar paper products such as paper napkins, paper plates or paper towels? How about newspaper or cardboard? Really, all the items in this list: aper_products" target="_blank" >Paper Products (Wikipedia)? As the paper is notby buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
QuoteJustKeepWalking My two (twenty?) cents... Learn current best practices for LNT for your environment. There are some differences depending on where you are. Current LNT.org guideline says camp 200' from water. (Double official NPS guideline) We try for this whenever possible-or further. We like our privacy and figure others do too. Grrrr. I almost had a conniption fit first time seeinby buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quotechick-on I wonder how the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness has changed since 2001. Me too. Would be interesting to have a follow up study, but not a lot of studies into these questions. Lack of money Quotechick-on I'll add that I think that a large portion feel that if they are safer if they camp right next to the trail. At least this is one of my theories on what we call "PCT Drop n Ploby buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quotechick-on a bunch of logs in circles and trampled ground ... is just depressing. Who wants that? I guess most. I don't. The people I go with don't. There's places that have been thru many many times and to see camp "furniture" and new fire rings appear on a yearly basis recently... sigh.. really? Seems that your views are backed up by research, with you being the role oby buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quoteiivvgg "Choose a previously impacted campsite... I guess I don't really follow this rule. I agree that if you find a previously impacted site, it's better to camp on it than next to it. However, I prefer to steer clear of them altogether. The rule is written that way because of the lifecycle of campsites and it's best to use an existing one than create a new one. A ton of nuance herby buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Be advised that the Pate Valley bridge is out. The stringers are still there, but unsure of their stability. Would be like crossing a river on a long narrow log. Side creeks should be fine. Might be a few flooded sections in the lower canyon, but would be minor. Campsites in the canyon can be spread out. It is a canyon after all and is narrow and steep at times meaning you might not have aby buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quoteplawrence https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/historyculture/degnans.htm Why did you make link point to a different location than the text of the link? Actual Link: https://goo.gl/v42RwN Link Shown: https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/historyculture/degnans.htm Having the link be different than the link text is deceptive and one of the hallmarks of a phishing or security attack. Particulby buster - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteplawrence This is what happens when Yosemite had relatively low visitation the past three years due to the drought How do you figure that? Yosemite had record visitation in 2016 by nearly a million over the previous record year which was the year before it, 2015. Only 2014 was below the peak levels but that might be because of the fires that year. Either way, 2 record years out of 3 is haby buster - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotebasilbop One oddity: the top map has the North Mountain Trail, but the bottom one doesn't seem to. Given the current state of this "trail" I'd say the bottom one is more accurate. Good catch. I made the roads map first then the roads and trails. For the first one, as the trails weren't important, I just used the standard trails layer without any editing for display. For the traiby buster - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteplawrence I wonder if Tulare Lake in Kings County (near Kettleman City) is being recreated. Doesn't look like it: NASA Worldviewby buster - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Here are the maps. Made them for fun and to expand my capabilities. The way I think about the P vs NP is that P problems are polynomial and NP problems are exponential, so they get much more difficult to solve as you add more variables, but that is a very simplified version. The details are confusing even to people who should know. Distance from a Road: Distance from a Trail and Road:by buster - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
There are listings for cutting switchbacks in the CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) both for the NPS and USFS. However, there are stipulations on both regulations that it has be a separate order or otherwise posted. Those can be trickier to find, at least online, but can be a posted sign at the trailhead or at the Ranger Station. Could maybe even be in the management plan. Either way, there is aby buster - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Was up there the other day. The frazil ice was really thick, covering the viewing area ~3ft deep. It had previously covered the bridge and the creek was flowing over the bridge before melting out recently. Notice the top of the bench sticking through the snow. Looking down onto the bridge.by buster - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteJelf Speaking of GIS and Yosemite, I was curious to see if there are any public-facing ArcGIS servers with Yosemite data. This google search: yosemite "rest/services" quickly led me to this ArcGIS server web page: http://miscdata.fieldscope.org/arcgis/rest/services/yosemite You need to drill down to get to the data layers that be displayed. Here is a map that shows the trby buster - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoterecycling1991 Quotechick-on How about: - How many miles of trail in Yosemite "backcountry"? (USGS Trails on map are not correct in many places... but... that's ok) - What is the location in the park which is "most secluded" / farthest away from: * any trail * any road I like these two, especially the second one. I could do a ranking of the most secluded. Thisby buster - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Regarding bears: Yes, they have a great sense of smell but they can also see and are very intelligent. This might be stating the obvious, but focusing on their incredible olfactory qualities loses sight of their other abilities. For example, just like when we look at a can we know it contains food without smelling it, a bear can do the same. Also, focusing on a can of food and being able to smellby buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
All I have heard is about a fatality on the Four Mile trail (slipped on the section of trail that traverses the steep gullies, that fills with snow and makes a steep bank. Pretty much the reason the trail closes.) . Not sure if this is related to the news story, but that is my guess.by buster - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechick-on Check this out: Jan 8 (it's also posted above) Jan 16 dats a lot o wata Lake Kaweah Water Level Looks like if you were there a day earlier (Jan 7) it would have been a even bigger jump. 13 ft in a day and 40 ft in a week. The reservoirs have seen some huge water level jumps this year. Pretty impressive.by buster - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra