Nice photo! I'm surprised it's not totally washed out with all that bright ice on a great sunny day.by cthenn - General Discussion
Here's another reason I like this website. I get vacation/camping ideas other than Yosemite from reading some of the posts. For example, while reading about the Fossett airplane crash, a link to the Minarets was put up. Little did I know about that area until reading that wikipedia link. Now I'm definintely going next year, incredible looking! Today, I was reading the "hikerhell"by cthenn - General Discussion
bill-e-g wrote: > > But as with a girl... I much prefer staying overnight. > I guess I should tell the wife Yosemite is my mistress. HAHAHAHA!!!! Good one!by cthenn - General Discussion
Ah yes, I read that trip report during my internet-scouring of Mt. Conness info. That's the route I plan to take, or perhaps deviate south to the White/Conness saddle out or back. Re-reading this, it brings up a point. Why do people drive 4.5 hours, over 200 miles to this part of Yosemite (or beyond) for a dayhike? And it seems like a lot of people do that. Hell, I drive 160 miles almost eveby cthenn - General Discussion
bill-e-g wrote: > How about a picture of your Dana hike? Little late, but some great views!by cthenn - General Discussion
mrcondron wrote: > I don't think the exposure on the last bit of Conness is as bad > as the narrow part of Clouds Rest from the east. The first > time I did Clouds Rest I was on my hands and knees for about 30 > feet. > Isn't it said that Cloud's Rest is one of the most exposed Class 1 hikes a person can do (at the summit, at least)? Post Edited (09-15-08 08:36)by cthenn - General Discussion
Well, I just did Castle Peak this weekend, so I figure if I can overcome my fear of heights and do 70' of near-vertical rock climbing, I should be able to handle Mt. Conness... I think *this* would qualify as Class 3! Post Edited (09-15-08 08:35)by cthenn - General Discussion
Yeah, it's the summit block that looks to have the most exposure. How are the couple of really exposed sections, in terms of footing and holds? I've pieced together from trip reports and photos that there are 2 really "bad" sections that require some bravery. And your pic looks like one of the sections I've seen described: a 1' walkway about 10' long with an inward sloping wall oppoby cthenn - General Discussion
Anyone here hike Mt. Conness? Specifically the east ridge approach? What's the scramble REALLY like above Alpine Lake? Is it very dangerous? How about the White Mtn/Conness saddle approach? Lastly, how scary is that summit block? From photos online, there are a few super-exposed sections that I may be uncomfortable with, but if there are good holds and footing, I woudn't have a problem.by cthenn - General Discussion
Those are surely class 3 rocks, yikes! I'm sure I embellish a little on calling that scree pile on Dana anything like real class 3 boulders, but it makes it sound more exciting! I'll post a few once I download my card, then upload them to my Flickr page. Where is Slide Canyon? Post Edited (09-09-08 14:40)by cthenn - General Discussion
Thanks to everyone on this site who gave me advice on my Tuolumne Meadows trip. We just got back from 4 days in TM. It was fantastic, SO much better than the valley, in almost every way. The scenery crushes what you get in the valley. The mountains up there are incredible, so much variety too! Cathedral Peak has to be one of the most beautiful mountains in all of Yosemite. We ended up doiby cthenn - General Discussion
I just got back from Tuolumne Meadows, and I did both. I must say, Dana is FAR more intimidating. Dana LOOMS over everything, over all the other huge mountains, over TM, over Lembert Dome. We did Dana on our 3rd day, and every time we'd see it, I'd get nervous. Not because I felt like I would die, but because of how GIGANTIC it is! We climbed Lembert Dome the first day we got there as a liby cthenn - General Discussion
mark2 wrote: > Sorry to hear of all the camping problems. I have to say, I > don't generally feel that car camping in the valley is so bad. > Most of the time it's a rare case when someones music or > barking dog makes me crazy. And, for some, they can't camp any > other way, so I'm for preserving it as much as we can. It's > all what you make of it. I've camped with peoplby cthenn - General Discussion
How about the morons I've seen throwing or kicking rocks off peaks, like Half Dome, etc. That's just what people below, or climbers need...large rocks hurtling at them at terminal velocity... I get annoyed when people encroach on my personal space when I'm in the wilderness. Like I'll be sitting or lounging around some alpine lake which has plenty of desserted shoreline, yet they'll set up shoby cthenn - General Discussion
One of the rangers who was working the Hodgdon Meadow kiosk a few weeks ago did not treat me great either. He asked if I knew all the bear regulations, and I told him I did. He then seemed to get annoyed with me and said "why don't you recite them then?!". I was sort of taken aback, as I was not at all giving him attitude, so I just started rambling off some of the rules. He stoppedby cthenn - General Discussion
Wow, thanks for everyone's thoughtful and interesting responses. Too bad everyone here can't just all get together and "take over" a campground (at least a section), so we can all enjoy the peace and quiet of the outdoors. Seriously though, that's what some people I know do. They try to time their trips with friends/family, so they can at least have a few sites together where everby cthenn - General Discussion
sierranomad wrote: > My wife & I stayed in site e11 and it was pretty secluded. The > trade off was that we were far from the entrance, and from the > bathrooms. But for me it was worth it. Yeah, looking at the site map, looks like the D, E, F, and G loops are most spread out. This time of year, I don't need to be by the river, and I don't care about walking to the bathroom or waby cthenn - General Discussion
bill-e-g wrote: > Dana IMO is not intimidating at all. > > THIS is intimidating: > > > This is Harrison Pass in SEKI. Cannot believe their was a > "trail" on this. > It's >500 ft. of scree loving fun. > Kind of reminds me of the section between the east and west summits of Round Top, although it's hard to really get a sense of steepness inby cthenn - General Discussion
y_p_w wrote: > > Are they really "full time"? The last time I stayed at a FS > campground (Stony Creek in Sequoia NF) in California I was met > by my GF (now wife) in a separate car. There was an additional > $5/day parking fee for the second car, and we were trying to > dutifully pay for this. We asked the grandson of the camp > hosts as he was checking the sby cthenn - General Discussion
DavidS brings up a good point. Why isn't there a full-time host in the valley sites? They have an RV parked in the "host" site, so why are the hours something ridiculous like 10AM - 4PM? Seems like the majority of people arrive after 4PM anyway (at least Friday arrivals), so why is there no one there to make sure they get the right site, if they have questions, etc.? State parks andby cthenn - General Discussion
sierranomad wrote: > Usually they will allow you to select another site, if you ask. > In fact, when checking in let the ranger know your preferences > - they are usually very helpful in this regard. OK, I'll just probably ask if I can drive around and look. Like I said before, they initially assigned us a terrible spot in Hodgdon Meadow, but after looking around, I asked if we couldby cthenn - General Discussion
Hi, if you read my post about my bad experience last weekend in the valley, you'll know why I'm asking the following questions... We're going to TM the weekend after labor day, and would like to enjoy our stay more so than we did in the valley. So can someone kind of "break it down" in terms of how the TM campground works? Meaning, I know it's 50/50 reservable/FCFS, and we do haveby cthenn - General Discussion
eeek wrote: > Valley+summer+weekend=crowds+noise > That pretty much sums it up, and I should know that, and expect that. But at the time, it was still very annoying.by cthenn - General Discussion
I stayed in Curry Village of all places in January, and it was DEAD. Awesome time, and really fun. We were able to drive all over the place and get great photos, without getting stuck behind cars. Yosemite in winter is a great place, even the human sardine can, Curry Village.by cthenn - General Discussion
Yosemite is such a nice place to visit and explore, but after last weekend, I may have to confine my camping to places other than the valley. I could not believe the number of rude campers there were at North Pines. I understand that the sites are pretty crammed (but better than Lower or Upper), and there is not much privacy between sites, but the noise level and number of non-outdoor enthusiasby cthenn - General Discussion
> > Anyway, sorry it has digressed to this discussion... > No no, it's fine, I'm actually a surveyor by trade (not a PLS, just LSIT), so this is good reading. I always try to find the station monuments or the RM's on the summit when I get up there. Other than pictures of the surroundings, it's a nice photographic reminder of being at the top.by cthenn - General Discussion
What about Housekeeping? Do they charge there? I always shower there because of the zoo that is Camp Curry. I've never had a problem there, but then again I'm usually going late, so maybe the attendant (half the time he isn't there) doesn't care.by cthenn - General Discussion
bpnjensen wrote: > > FWIW, Both Hoffman and Dana have brass USGS markers at their > summits - Hoffman's is clean and readable, Dana's looks like it > has been through a scarp metal crusher...but hey, you can > still take a picture :-) Don't know if Lewis will have one or > not. Is there a summit register on Dana or Hoffmann? Do any of Yosemite's peaks have them? > &gby cthenn - General Discussion
mrcondron wrote: > If you go to "Share your Yosemite Photos" just below and look > for the "Mike Condron" album ( #20 on the list) ( > http://yosemitephotos.net/main.php?g2_page=3 )you will find > some pictures that Bill-e-g took earlier this year when Falls > Creek was flowing good. > > > Post Edited (08-19-08 21:13) Is that you crossby cthenn - General Discussion
> > Doing Hoffman first and then Dana a day or two later is a good > strategy. Hoffman gives you a taste of what climbing Dana is > like, except you multiply the difficulty by about a factor of 3 > (no doubt, Dana is a serious chug...). Yeah, 3000' in about 3 miles topping out at 13k, I'd agree > > Hoffman is not too crowded, considering the formal trail peters > ouby cthenn - General Discussion