Thanks. It was good to get back to Yosemite after a long absence. Since my wife died and the kids and grandkids are firmly located on the East Coast, I don't have as many excuses to get to Yosemite as I used to. My regular hiking buddy is around, but tied up in a lot of golf commitments. My other hiking friends are based in Tahoe. There is plenty to do there, too, but Yosemite is still the bby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
It's been a long time since I posted on this forum. I've been mostly grounded by the pandemic, of course, but also have focused my attentions elsewhere. I did manage to get in a brief trip to Yosemite last October, and a couple more just recently. This post is just to update info about a few of the previously mentioned hikes. Much of this stuff has been previously been discussed in my abandonby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
They do it in Iceland, too. The difference, compared to Yellowstone, is that the vents are on firm solidified lava. In Yellowstone the vents can be on very unsafe terrain.by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Well, it's been 8 years, but here is an important update: https://www.npr.org/2020/10/15/923411578/a-disturbing-twinkie-that-has-so-far-defied-scienceby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
from the Merc: https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/05/30/half-dome-deaths-hikers-fell-from-cables/by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Bah! Humbug. Those links worked last night. Apparently you can get temporary links from Google Photos. See if they work now....by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The photo links should work now.by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The photo links are fixed. I think.by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Right. A login screen is intercepting the links. Doesn't happen on my computers or cell phone. Google photos has changed the rules. I hope to figure it out by tomorrow.by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Sigh. This is the first time that I have posted photos since Picasa was changed to Google Photos. All the links work fine on my computer and laptop, but apparently on no one else's. I will fix it soon, I hope. More about looking for the famous Split Rock. Here is that quote from "the Big Oak Flat Road to Yosemite" by Margaret Schlichtmann (1959): A generous two-tenths of aby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Sigh. This is the first time that I have posted photos since Picasa was changed to Google Photos. All my links work fine on my computer and laptop, but apparently on no one else's. I will fix it soon, I hope. Update about the best route from Tamarack Flat Campground to the Twin Falls. See the beginning of this thread to understand what we are talking about. We were in Yosemite for theby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I just noticed a bunch of Tuolumne Meadows Lodge tent cabin reservations becoming available starting July 1. I also watched them melt away as other people quickly noticed this. Since I have some reservations carried over from last year starting on July 15th, I am very interested in whether TML will open in early July. markstor: Any news from your friend?by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I suspect that you have a mistaken impression about what the likely falling event is while on the cables. This is not like a via ferrata or vertical rock climb, where you literally fall free until caught short by your protection. This will be where your feet start slipping and your grip on the cable is inadequate, so you slither down to the next post, while holding on for dear life. In that caby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I'm very familiar with Prussik knots and their use. I have used a pair of manila Prussik slings to free ascend 150 feet out of Hellhole Cave. But using such slings to go up the Half Dome cables, which would involve tying and untying them at every support post, will drive you and everyone behind you nuts. Clip onto the cables, or don't, but do not tie yourself to them with knots. By the waby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
OK. Let me rephrase that. Aramark does run both concessions, but they handle Tuolumne Lodge and White Wolf as part of their regular holdings, and the (other) High Sierra Camps from a separate part of their reservation site. The High Sierra camps are away from the road, and have special supply and septic problems. White Wolf and Tuolumne Meadows are on the road. The High Sierra Camp reservaby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Tuolumne Lodge is not part of the High Sierra Camp system any longer. Different vendor. They have not yet cancelled their reservations.by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Wow! Many thanks for the photos. I haven't been up there for a while (7 weeks of downhill skiing got in the way), but I know and love that part of the old Wawona Road. The abandoned phone cable going from Turtle Dome to the Valley gives away the location, plus that view of Ribbon Falls. But there has clearly been some serious new avalanche activity this year...by wherever - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Boy, what a strange title. I was expecting a report about climbing the most famous passes in Yosemite....by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The New York Times article is a bit longer: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/sports/royal-robbins-dead-mountain-climber.html?emc=edit_ca_20170316&nl=california-today&nlid=69325518&te=1by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
A lift station is a sewage pump that raises the sewage to a higher level, so as to maintain an adequate downhill gradient for flow. If all power, including backup power, to a lift station is lost, the sewage line will back up in a big way. Housekeeping Camp is at the river, so it wouldn't be surprising for it to have a lift station to connect its sewage to the main pipe up by the road.by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Many thanks for the post. This might explain why there is so little trace of the old trail from Snow's Hotel to Little Yosemite Valley, before the Mist Trail was built. It ran between Liberty Cap and Mt. Broderick.by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I stayed at White Wolf Lodge last Monday, and at Tuolumne Meadows Lodge after that. Both were operating normally, except maybe that the restrooms were a lot cleaner than in previous years. However, the landline to both was messed up. White Wolf has installed a tiny satellite dish for backup, but it was more than swamped trying to handle credit card transactions. One such would take more thaby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotemrcondron Quotebasilbop Perhaps mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus parvifolius), which probably won't be found around 8500' near Yosemite, but in the Golden Trout closer to the eastern side, chaparral plants may range that high. Pinyon Pine would be consistent with a drier setting. (fact check this guy) I did. Probably not C. parvifolius, but there are other bushy relatives within Cercocby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteeeek ... The fire is burning is a mixture of mahogany, pinyon pine, and Jeffrey pine at 8,500 ft. The fire is burning in steep, rugged, and inaccessible terrain.... Mahogany?by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Grump. That thread occurred while I was preoccupied with the start of ski season. I forgot to corral you and get some coordinates or locations for those two examples before we went up there last week. Is there any place in Yosemite that doesn't have Chick-on tracks on it? By the way, those of us who have been using Picassa for photo links are in for trouble when Picassa goes away entirelyby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Yes, that looks like the start of the climb up. There are some photos here: http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,64970 But it's not trivial, and even less so with a lot of camera gear. In that case, a rope belay seems appropriate....by wherever - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
See: http://www.eastbaytimes.com/california/ci_30014559/woman-sentenced-defacing-yosemite-other-national-park-rock?source=rss excerpts from this copyrighted article: Over a 26-day period in September and October 2014, Nocket vandalized Yosemite National Park, Death Valley National Park at the summit of Telescope Peak Canyon Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park and Colorado National Monumeby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechick-on What, no split rock? It remains elusive. Maybe the split healed itself shut. This does give me a chance to go back and for it look some more....by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The king snake was about four hundred feet upstream. So their paths weren't about to cross immediately. Anyway, the rattler was much bigger...by wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I snagged a couple of nights at the Lodge, and bent my calendar until it yielded a full day and two half days in the Valley. We arrived Monday at mid-afternoon and had time to dash up the Four Mile Trail to Union Point and on to the old water works (see link). My buddy and I wanted to see if it had fallen into ruin over the last two years, and whether the trail to it through otherwise impenetraby wherever - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion