I always though desalinization would be a good candidate for wind power application but apparently it requires tremedous amounts of energy and is also poor in efficiency in that most of the original water is discharged back into the sea. Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
I think Frank has the best entry so far. Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
Dale, I would check the trails for free also. Of course, I would not object to a little stimulus relief for airfare/car rental. Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
Wind conditions at altitude can be really hairy for light aircraft. In the early 90's the pilot who taught me how to fly (out of Belfast, ME) was chartering a regular customer to Vermont in the winter and ran into a micro-burst downdraft in the Mt. Washington, NH area over Mt. Gillett in a Cessna 172. It forced them down into the pine trees where a Coast Guard helicopter rescued them by cable.by tomdisco - General Discussion
Jim, Never done anything like that but just want to check one thing: I presume you know you will be restricted to regular roadside campgrounds and their often sticky reservation system, especially in summer. Camping elsewhere is generally prohibited unless you get wilderness trail permits and backpack an average of at least a mile into the wilderness areas past the no camping zones. Not sureby tomdisco - General Discussion
O.K., would you buy the top of the high sierra otter slide? Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
It's a catamount, a combination of a cougar and a bobcat! We have them all over the place in western North Carolina. Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
Sounds like realistic practice for K2 but kripes! I can not relate to shear wall rock climbing in winter. Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
I went out last night about 10:30 EST with a tiny pair of 8 x24mm binoculars under light polluted Raleigh skies. This was just a quickie look but I soon realized even at 8x the binoculars require steadying by holding them against something that does not move. Saturn was plainly visible and a bit to the right and below was another object that looked fuzzy with a bright core to it, presumably Lulby tomdisco - General Discussion
Gary, If that's the case, you probably should be able to see it with the naked eye. Humans can usually see out to 6th magnitude stars under dark skies. The comet is supposedly going to be around 5th magnitude but that's a bit deceiving since its brightness is spread out over its entire surface, whatever that may be, so it's not like looking at a star. Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
For a star map of the area showing the comet path with dates for its progress go to http://media.skyandtelescope.com/documents/Comet_Lulin_Feb13.pdf Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
Gary, Bee & others, As an amateur astronomer I should offer help on finding comet Lulin. These directions apply for February 24th at 10:00 PM California time. This might be a bit difficult because everything I will refer to is going to be in the lower northest to southeast quadrants of the sky at that hour. It is very possible my reference points may not be visible from the valley until lby tomdisco - General Discussion
Dale, I will be on the trails from 7/11 through 7/21. Lowest point will be Glen Aulin; highest will be Vogelsang Pass. Day trip to Sunrise Lakes. 3-day, 2 nighter to Young Lakes, Glen Aulin, May Lake. 4-day, 3-nighter to Cathedral, Merced, Vogelsang, Rafferty Creek. Day trip to Ten Lakes Pass. If I don't have any gas left for the Ten Lakes 2,100' climb I may substitute Porcupine Creek to Noby tomdisco - General Discussion
Gary, I particularly liked your photo of Sunbeam & Snow Flakes. It just catches one of those silent and private moments in the forest that rarely get photographed. Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
y_p_w, Don't know if this is of any help but when we were in the area in mid-June we used Miner's Inn in Mariposa as our motel for several Yosemite day hikes and they never seemed more than half full except for one night when a bus load of Italians showed up. People tend to gravitate to the Best Western and forget about Miner's Inn. I do have to qualify this by saying our stay did not includeby tomdisco - General Discussion
Dale, The closest thing I have to a crystal ball is a large old boat compass and since I never take it anywhere it always says the same thing. Actually, I don't care that much about water flow in July other than how it may affect the mosquito population. I need to hear predictions of low mosquito presence this summer. It does not have to be true. I just need to hear it. Somebody, please lieby tomdisco - General Discussion
Rick, At this point of the year is it too early to predict much lower river flows for the summer? I realize the high country still has several months of snow weather remaining but one would think we are well into a diminished snowpack season. Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
Len, Congratulations. You are the 100th poster to the Global Warming thread. You get a free 1-year membership to http://yosemitenews.info . Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
Vince, Go get your truck stuck again. You need to get some fresh air. Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
The grizzley needs to be at the bottom of the cables lending a helping hand. Better yet, maybe at the bridge below Vernal Fall. The parking lot? Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
Bee, The two sectors still hiring are the health field and the US Government. There are jobs available as US Revenue Officers collecting taxes. Go for it, Bee. Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
Frank, This is an excerpt from the latest issue of Sky & Telescope magazine: "Climate models do take into account the slight increase of solar output in the early 20th century. Models indicate that solar forcing can explain about .1 to .2 degree C of the warming in that period. Since the net trend (for the entire century) is close to 1 degree C, solar output increase can probably onlby tomdisco - General Discussion
As any climatologist will admit, global climate change is both a normal function of our planet's evolution and extremely complicated. There is obviously much we still do not understand about this process. I also believe that the "warming" aspect of observed climate change has had a boost from human activity. By what percentage? Nobody truly knows the answer to that question. Howeveby tomdisco - General Discussion
bill-e-q This discussion is tame compared to a forever running forum on climate change at Astromart.com, a website for amatuer astronomers. On that one they routinely get downright nasty to the point where the administrator has to send them on "vacation" for awhile by freezing their access until they are willing to play nice. They also have forums on Politics and Religion which I steby tomdisco - General Discussion
Ranger resuer Ed Gill just tossed his cookies! Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
David, 1.5 hours is probably about right given the speeds one is limited to. You have mostly winding roads from Yosemite West to well past Crane Flat. Last year we approached TM from Mariposa, about a 76 mile drive and almost 2 hours. You don't have quite that far to go but your route into and out of the valley does eat up miles and time. Get going early and skip that big sit-down tourist brby tomdisco - General Discussion
Reservations for Yosemite are already open but the exact date for each person depends on your trailhead date. I just made a reservation today for July 13th. The maximum early reservation you can make is 168 days (24 weeks) prior to your trailhead date. Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
eeek, My profile was modified recently to include a signature but on my most recent posts I've "unchecked" the box that asks if you want to add your signature to this post. It's not working. The signature still appears, as you will note on this post. Jimby tomdisco - General Discussion
Bee, Thanks for the advice. Hydrating every 15 minutes seems a bit extreme but it obviously works for you so I will give it a try, particularly on the long climbs. Headaches from dehydration and altitude are not welcome. There's plenty of water to be found in July so there's no excuse for getting dehydrated.by tomdisco - General Discussion
Ron, You are right about seeking a balance between distance to travel-vs-taking photos and kicking back to take it all in. As much as I hate to admit it I'm prepared for the possibility that I'm laying out a more aggressive hiking plan than may be appropriate for me. For me the key to accomodating both trail miles and stopping to smell the flowers will be getting an early start each day. Therby tomdisco - General Discussion