http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/12/27/3104861/california-driest-year/# California Gripped By Driest Year Ever — With No Relief In Sight The city of Los Angeles has received only 3.6 inches of rain this year — far below its average of 14.91 inches, USA Today reported. And San Francisco is experiencing its driest year since recordkeeping began in 1849. As of November, the city had oby Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Here is a weather site by an expert, which forecasts a very dry winter, with the science behind it: http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/by Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
What is confusing you is the y-axis. What is being measure is NOT snow, but percentage of april 1 average. That is why for an AVERAGE YEAR, the date april 1 MUST be 100%. It is a cumulative graph, not an occurrence graph, so the amount on, lets say, May 1st is the sum of all the snow/water that has fallen in this season. April 1 is generally considered the typical end of the snow/rainby Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
My interpretation is quite a bit less optomistic. I work with the water engineers at LADWP, and they are pretty gloomy at this point. Let's start with some history. This graph will give some perspective: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/products/PLOT_SWC.2011.pdf On that graph, there are two points of note: the average year at this date, and a huge snow year at this date. The graby Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I find it ironic that some of the same "Inyo Residents" who object to this, are the same folks that successfully fought Manzanar being a National Park/Monument. They really hated the plaque that at the entrance. "Bill Michael, a former director of the Eastern California Museum in Independence during the time Manzanar was being proposed as a park, said Owens Valley residentsby Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteMom Is there no place that just can't be left alone anymore? What's wrong with just open spaces? These solar and wind projects are bigger blights on the landscape than gas and oil wells. Sure. Those would be lands that are designated for that purpose. Are you saying that you advocate that a group of people could get together and take your property, or the use of your property, away frby Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteDave This has nothing to do with the Regressives in Congress. This is about the state the park is in funding the park until the Regressives stop their childish temper tantrum. Dave, anything that reduces the pressure by the electorate and business community pushes the end of all this farther away. That is how politics work. Make it less painful, so that only the people who are defenselesby Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I wouldn't agree to this. The Repug strategy is to "pick off" things that upset people, but leave unfunded those that raise less ire. It is a backdoor method of defunding things that they don't like. So that agree to fund medical care for children up to 4? what happens to the 5 year olds?by Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
So, Imagine that the company you work for held a poll, and asked everyone if they thought it would be a good idea to put a soda machine in the break room. The poll came back, and the majority of your colleagues said “Yes”, indicating that they would like a soda machine. Some said no, but the majority said yes. So, a week later, there’s a soda machine. Now imagine that Bill in accountingby Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
"Do what I want, or I kill the child"by Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
"They are not righteous rebels or principled provocateurs. They are not constitutionalists, using the ruling framework built by the founders. Just the opposite: they are a militant fringe of one party in one house of Congress in one branch of government trying to nullify an established law by extortion. This is not the design of the Constitution."by Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Lincoln quote, which applies now to the Republicans: A highwayman holds a pistol to my ear, and mutters through his teeth, ‘Stand and deliver, or I shall kill you, and then you will be a murderer!’by Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
County road, but running on Federal land, that is closed?by Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I'm not sure why I'd caution someone to be concerned about being attacked in Yosemite by a cougar, when so such attack has EVER happened? Agencies post signs for many reasons. One of the most common is so that no one can complain that they did not post a sign......not because there was ever a problem.by Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotetomdisco I know much has been said regarding the black bears of California but one thing that has always been a mystery to me is the wide variation of their appearance, and I'm not referring to color. It's their size and shape. The article attached to eeek's post shows a very large cinnamon colored sow with a wide face. She has the characteristic build and appearance of a small grizzly!by Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I'm thinking of the current search for Johnnie Jean Daniel, missing out of Mineral King. >11 ground search teams, 3 search dogs, 1 contract helicopter. What one plume of smoke would accomplish......... maybe she can't. Maybe she doesn't have the means. Maybe she is above timberline. ....and maybe she hasn't thought of it. Sort of like a person who dies of dehydration while aflby Ken M - General Discussion
I dunno, Gopher. Personally, I believe in the ten essentials, but you are apparently proud of not carrying that. To each their own. I've read about so many SAR operations, where the issue is FINDING the person, in forested areas. Of course, it won't always work. Nothing does. Sat phones don't work when they've been squashed by a boulder, probably when they've been immersed (OH! Didn'tby Ken M - General Discussion
Quotettilley QuoteKen M For example, one of the easiest things to do when you have been lost for a day or so to do, is to light a smokey fire. Fires are never considered normal in the backcountry, are easy to spot from a high spot or the air, and when seen, even if a SAR operation is not in progress, will usually be investigated. Thoughts? Years ago, I think it was in the late 1990s...I reaby Ken M - General Discussion
I am an obsessive reader of SAR operations, with both good and bad outcomes, and one thing that constantly sticks out at me is the work that has to be done to FIND lost people. I'm also a professional sailing instructor, and I've attended many safety talks. One that I attended a few years back was titled "take the Search out of Search and Rescue", which was taught be a decades-experby Ken M - General Discussion
Rules for hikers may not be the same rules for mountaineers. It is common for people who don't actually do something to think they expertly know how someone should do such an activity......they almost never do. For example, I would not use a "Boy Scout Guide" as the primer for mountaineering, inasmuch as they don't do that activity. In mountaineering, risk is often directly relatby Ken M - General Discussion
online fire permit that can be printed out: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sequoia/passes-permits/?cid=fsbdev3_059516 Note that as of July 1, it is basically illegal to have a campfire outside of established formal campgrounds, such as dispersed. You can use a stove, if you have a Ca Fire Permit.by Ken M - General Discussion
Good thinking on the issue of sunburn. The issue with sunscreen, other than UVA and B coverage, is proper application. Almost no one used them effectively, then wonder why they burn. You need to really slather it on. However, the first application is largely absorbed by the skin, so actually does not provide anywhere near the protection you might think. A good rule of thumb is to applyby Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Regarding Permethrin: I work for several months each summer as a volunteer ranger and trail crew leader. We have to be out in bad conditions. I have found permethrin to be a wonderful option. I don't know why some people have found the product to work less well in the last few years. HOWEVER, it has to be used correctly. A light spray DOES NOT WORK. You have to SATURATE the material foby Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteeeek QuoteKen MSo I guess you are saying that the Park service is also confused about their decision. Certainly possible! No, not saying that at all. It's was the crowding and what might happen in the future that forced the permit system. So you are saying that when the Park Service gives the specific reasons, they are confused about what they really mean, or what they are actually thinby Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
could be my memory is faulty. I recalled that amazingly, no one had died on HD, at all, except when the cables were down. Then about 8 years ago, we seemed to have them regularly. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/08/14th-death-in-yosemite-this-year-prompts-concerns-from-rangers.html "The park started requiring permits last summer because of concerns about overcrowding andby Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
when people started dying regularly.by Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
It is hard not to become emotional over this stuff. I personally find bears magical. However, there IS another side to this. Bears, like most animals, exist in a complex ecosystem, and they require predation of some sort to keep their numbers in check, so as to maintain a healthy population. Unfortunately, the bear population is exploding, having doubled in Ca in the last 20 years or so.by Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Also leaving us was the magical Yellow-Yellow. The only bear known to have defeated the Bear Vault (all versions) and Bear Keg. http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/533958.html Bear-human interactions almost always end badly for the bear.by Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteoakroscoe Thanks for the updates eeek. Any word on plowing the Sonora Pass? I believe it is opening todayby Ken M - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion