... and don't forget Mother Earth - also do something for Her.by szalkowski - General Discussion
abm: The highest that I went was up to 7.7k on a day hike along Woods Creek from Upper Paradise toward Castle Domes Meadow, encountering occasional patches of snow in shaded areas. From what I could see throughout the trip, my guesstimate of the snowline was somewhere around 9k. Kings/Sequoia generally gets a bit less snow than Yosemite since the winter storms sweeping down from the Gulf oby szalkowski - General Discussion
I took some people up to Paradise Valley from Roads End in Kings Canyon last week and was pleasantly surprised at the dearth of little winged bloodsuckers encountered. We didn't even bother to break out the insect repellant. Post Edited (05-08-08 08:41)by szalkowski - General Discussion
The Sunrise High Sierra Camp is actually about a mile from the Sunrise Lakes cluster; so if you camp at one of the lakes, you will be sufficiently removed from the HSC to actually have a wilderness experience. The HSCs generally have a backpackers campground adjacent to the HSC proper and Sunrise is probably no exception (anyone know for sure?); no special permission/reservation is needed for theby szalkowski - General Discussion
Vince wrote: > Something to think about. Being a scientist by profession (Ph.D. in Chemistry from Berkeley, 1968-1972 – OhMyGodOneOfThose!) and, hopefully, by extension, a somewhat rational and logical person, I’m having a bit of a problem understanding exactly what it is that I should be thinking about here. I’m afraid that I’m going to have to contact the local chapter of the Johnby szalkowski - General Discussion
Several years ago, I came across an online version of a book with the title which appears in this subject heading. While you're waiting for the road to open, perhaps you would like to learn a bit about its history: http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/tioga_road/title.html P.S. You can see all of the titles in the Yosemite Online Library if you go to: http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/by szalkowski - General Discussion
The road down into Cedar Grove is open.by szalkowski - General Discussion
A couple non-Yosemite possibilities: (1) If the road down into Kings Canyon opens this weekend, Roads End to Paradise Valley. (2) The Ventana Wilderness area on the coast south of Big Sur (this is Banana Slug country, so beware - they are wily creatures). A good spot to go in is at the National Forest Guard Station just south of the campground turnoff at Pfeiffer State Park. Post Edited (04-by szalkowski - General Discussion
abm: (1) All of the snow at Pate will be of the liquid variety. (Watch out for the alligators: http://youtube.com/watch?v=RalwWz-TgxI&feature=related) (2) Ten Lakes is generally around 9-9.5k, so that is presently a toss-up depending on the weather during the next month. Suggest that you monitor the Tioga Pass webcam to see how the spring melt is progressing around that elevation and make yby szalkowski - General Discussion
There are lots of them. We call them lakes, rivers, streams, and creeks.by szalkowski - General Discussion
As I recall, the Rae Lakes loop trail essentially hits 12k elevation at its highest point - I don't see you getting through there at the end of May. Another loop to consider: Tuolummne Meadows to Glen Aulin to Pate Valley to Ten Lakes to Tuolumne Meadows. This is about 55 miles and should be possible at the end of May. However, you will probably have to contend with some flooded trail areas (wesby szalkowski - General Discussion
Andrez: Define “open.” May Lake is open right now - nothing is stopping one from going there if you want to ski, snowshoe, or (possibly - not sure about the NPS rules on this one) parachute in. All that you need to do is get your wilderness permit (self-registration should apply here) and follow the normal camping regulations. If you are asking if the Tioga Road will be open so that youby szalkowski - General Discussion
y_p_w: I missed that part in the original post about actually backpacking rather than day hiking. The kicker, of course, is where the snow line is going to be that early in the season. According to the last Tuolumne Meadows Winter Conditions Update (04-17-08), it was past the footbridge which is about 0.5 mi. above the Snow Creek Trail switchbacks; that would place it at about 7k as of that poby szalkowski - General Discussion
You really do not want to even consider trying Lucrativ’s proposed route in one day (21 June won’t be long enough either unless lat. 37.5°N has recently been relocated north of the Arctic Circle). Running that trip through TOPO! shows it to be almost 25 miles (Park Headquarters to El Capitan to Park Headquarters) even without the spur trips to Indian Rock (not mentioned, but you would waby szalkowski - General Discussion
The storage units in this area are properly called Bear boxes (note capitalization) since they are named for Yosemite’s first recipient of the Darwin Award, a Mr. Afraido D. Bear. Their proper use is described in the following, ideal scenario: (1) bear forages for food in woods behind cabins, (2) “camper” inside tent cabin freaks out(OhMyGod,I’mBeingAttackedByAKillerBear!!!), rushes outby szalkowski - General Discussion
The bears in Yosemite are just further along the learning curve because of the greater absolute number of clueless (feel free to insert your adjective of choice - I'm just being generous here) visitors that they encounter each year.by szalkowski - General Discussion
Kings has long been known as "Fresno's Secret Yosemite" (a weekend car camping destination for the city's residents). The hikes aren't hard: (1) Try backpacking the Copper Creek Trail from Roads End (BM 5025) up to Granite Basin (BM 10350 at the unnamed pass into the basin) - one mile up in less than seven trail miles. Then over Granite Pass and on to the Lake of the Fallen Moon (mby szalkowski - General Discussion
Actually, I think that there are around a dozen or so bear boxes located there (or, at least, used to be as of May 2007). There is/was a cluster of them immediately to the left of the trailhead at the eastern end of the parking area and several more to the right of the trailhead strung along the periphery of the parking lot. Post Edited (03-22-08 04:33)by szalkowski - General Discussion
Just watch out for the alligators when going through Pate Valley: http://youtube.com/watch?v=RalwWz-TgxI&feature=relatedby szalkowski - General Discussion
Somehow I don't quite fathom the allure of "camping" in Downtown Yosemite (at least during the annual tourist flood). You might as well consider pitching a tent in any of the following locations: 1. Union Square (San Francisco) 2. People's Park (Berkeley) 3. MacArthur Park (Los Angeles) 4. Anywhere (Bakersfield) However, to each his own - this leaves more space in the backcountryby szalkowski - General Discussion
Its actually less than six miles back to Lower Young Lake. You should be able to easily make it there with plenty of daylight left even if you leave around noontime. (In the terrain that you will be going through, I typically expect to average 2 miles per hour with a full pack; that is actual hiking time and does not include rest periods. If any of your children are much less than ten years old,by szalkowski - General Discussion
Does anyone know of any compilation, archivial or otherwise, concerning the history of the bridges in the park? The question is prompted by a somewhat disappointing web search for information relating to the “Swinging Bridge” on the valley floor. A couple friends were on a first time visit to the park a few months ago and had stopped at the site. Noting that the bridge appeared rather sturby szalkowski - General Discussion
I've seen people in the meadow several times on the webcam, generally in the early morning or late afternoon. My theory is that the creatures that appear there are twilight feeders, drinking in the sights at what are generally the most beautiful times of the day.by szalkowski - General Discussion
Even in low snowfall years, I'm fairly certain that the NPS keeps the road closed until after the annual Road Crack Seal migration is over. Seriously, as I recall, the road closure gate is just past the Yosemite Institute facility (located where the Old Big Oak Flat Road intersects the Tioga Road). This is approximately 2/3 of a mile along the road from the Crane Flat gas station (the present dby szalkowski - General Discussion
Does anyone know what is the enforcement policy on the no overnight parking (official and/or unofficial) along the Tioga and Glacier Point roads? I know that I've come out of the backcountry several times a day or two after they have gone in effect with no disasterous consequences.by szalkowski - General Discussion
Wasn't the bear merely doing the ranger's job? I.e., enforcing the "No Parking Zone" between Roads End and Lower Paradise Valley. Post Edited (09-21-07 12:13)by szalkowski - General Discussion
Ted, since no one has replied to your question, I’ll give it a shot for you. I’ve never been to Starr King Lake and therefore can't comment on camping there, but it shouldn’t be a problem getting to the lake from Glacier Point. 1. Take the Panorama Trail from Glacier Point; this heads in a SSE direction. (Good memories here: my first hike in Yosemite was a day hike along this trail from Glby szalkowski - General Discussion
Cell phones work at frequencies (around 1 GHz) in the lower part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum. This means that, for all intents and purposes, you need a line-of-sight between your cell phone and the transmitting/receiving antenna of the carrier. Also, the typical signal powers involved with cell phones generally limits the usable signal to within a radius of a few (2-3) mby szalkowski - General Discussion
This website will give a seven day forcast for the Tioga Pass area: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=HNX&llon=-119.986247&rlon=-118.246247&tlat=38.299584&blat=36.562084&smap=1&mp=0&map.x=104&map.y=54 Clicking on the map will give forcasts for other areas.by szalkowski - General Discussion
FYI, history info on company's website: http://www.itsiticecream.com/history.cfmby szalkowski - General Discussion