To find any trail distances as long as the physical trail and map trail are similar, one can simply measure distance with a ruler against a map. http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=37.68851,-119.11021&z=15&t=T I just measured that trail as 2.4 miles with a ruler against my monitor here at my workplace. I've measured that trail many times on a paper USGS topo to be 2.0 miles from the AM trby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The one issue one would expect with renting GPS units is that visitors because of cost would not just be able to rent units for $10 without say leaving their drivers license or enough cash to cover loss. Else some would provide phony ID then rip them off.by DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotehotrod4x5 If you stay on the trail, you can't really get lost. You're joking of course haha! Like driving out on some BLM 4WD areas where besides the labyrinth of roads actually shown on maps, there are other dirt roads not on the map, some just as used as ones on the map while others ranging down to increasingly faint. At each intersecting road the wise backroads driver stops, takesby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Should Yosemite, our other parks, and national forests put more emphasis for hikers to obtain topographic maps before setting out on at least some trails and to use them? The currently active thread "Stranded Hikers Rescued From Tenaya Canyon" is a strong example of how inexperienced hikers can get into serious trouble without using a reasonable topographic map. They supposedly had aby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Sobering account. They are of course very lucky the lightning only passed across their skin and not through their brain or core torse organs. http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=36.57036,-118.31370&z=15&t=T Refer to the above link. Although there are some taller ridges and peaks near Guitar Lake, 11.4k, if a thunderstorm is moving from the southwest up the Whitney Creek canyon as is the moby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
...and she eats squeeters tooby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Useful topic for discussion. Have I ever gone out backpacking without a permit? Indeed decades ago when lots of the backpacking community was very irritated at the often hassle of obtaining permits. It was during the 1970s backpacking became huge and some authorities were slow to accomodate that change. By the 80s most national parks and forests had revised their policies. In the 1970sby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechick-on I'm still waiting for one single dingle trip report from you David. Yeah I see you posted that Friday and then I finally loaded it Saturday. Took me 3 weeks on and off puter work to complete the single dingle report as I gave it a modest html treatment for my website. Just a lot of Photoshop stuff with over 100 image files edited and then crafted a marketable story behind iby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotehikerchick395...Ha, David, compared to you maybe, with your big camera! I carry about 25# when dayhiking by myself... That is a heavy load for day hiking, As much as some ultralight backpackers. You must be lugging an interesting list of stuff.by DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Above is one of the illegal fire rings bon fire wood piles I found at Anne Lake's outlet at 10,3000 feet on the recent 9-day trip we did into the Silver Divide. Obviously that group planned to sit around all night into the wee hours burning burning and then next morning rise at 10am. Nothing I haven't seen in the past. More on my dismantling of some of these fire rings on that feature onby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
July 22, 2012 Graveyard Lakes, John Muir Wilderness The below links to a just loaded homepage website feature story on my recent 9-day backpacking trip into the Silver Divide that has over 100 images on 9 pages. http://www.davidsenesac.com/MinnowCr/minnowcr_0.htmlby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Unfortunately the miscreant responsible apparently got off with a wrist slap ! Just do no understand the way some judges these days are so linient with sentences for a list of environmental crimes that make news. John Thomas Christiana http://www.wrightwoodcalif.com/forum/index.php/topic,13739.0.html Notice he has a Linkedin web page and has in the past been "mountaineering guidby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotehikerchick395 QuoteAlmostThere I got back from a nine day backpack trip that pretty much proved to me that 80% of everyone you find out there is clueless about hypothermia or decent footwear. Only 80%? (This coming from someone who got caught in a deluge Tuesday and discovered that the old raincoat brought along was no longer waterproof whatsoever! I couldn't have been more soakeby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Experienced climbers, hikers, and backpackers overwhelmingly dislike either cairns or ducks on trails including this person. Experienced hikers don't need rock piles to show them the way on trails. Neither do they on cross country routes want ducks piled by amateurs whatever their skill level as in any case they prefer to read routes on their own simply using maps and compass. Of course movinby DavidSenesac - General Discussion
The Pinnacles is a fascinating geological landcape. Obviously the primary reason it is being touted as our next national park per news reports has much to do with that region's business and commercial interests as well as California political clout to do so. That however ought not be primary factor in making it one our our national parks. Compared to our other national parks, the monument isby DavidSenesac - General Discussion
Thanks eeek. Good to read that forecast is continuing to strengthen.by DavidSenesac - General Discussion
Any of we older enthusiasts that have extensively backpacked in both timberline and alpine areas of Yosemite and the High Sierra are well aware that one of the continuing most widespread illegal behaviors of apparently many backcountry users is illegally building fire rings and making camp fires. In most areas illegal means building fire rings and making fires above policy elevations that in Yosby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Probably our lowest stream levels ever or close to 1976/1977. What this also means is there will be many smaller wild creatures that cannot migrate and depend on stream water sources that may die off by late summer unless we receive an unusual number of thunderstorms. Also many fish and amphibians that have spread into those streams since the last serious drought may also die. During normalby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Hello Janefish, Curious about what you are proposing. I looked at that and my reaction is you must be looking at a large scale topographic map like a 100K:1 that provides little resolution instead of a 7.5 minute USGS topo. OK so here is the topo: http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=37.69116,-119.31401&z=14&t=T From Harriet Lake, 10272, the most efficient choice is to follow the ouby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Even though backcountry rangers patrolling the lakes prefer to use it just like Medlicott area climbers, it will never be added to any maps because it can be dangerous for novices or others that habitually don't bother to look at topos while they are actually on routes. That route wiggles around way more than those lines indicate and splits in places to reach various climbing walls. In placesby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Your route makes sense for someone doing PCT trail sections in both directions. Essentially attractions of your trip reads of a focus about the central Ritter Range. Your iternary includes a long approach from Tuolumne Meadows where it just reads like a pass thru and later a long inefficient drop down into Devils Postpile to resupply and then climb back up reversing direction as a less interestby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
mbear >>>"..Does this idea sound rushed" Yes. Your itinerary includes several areas experienced backpackers would divide up into several trips. There has always been a mindset with some going way back to Sierra Club Outing days to create elaborate itineraries including as many publicly well known and highly regarded spots as they could. Resulting in a lot of long mileagby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Your images are too dim, half to full stop probably because of usual use of an uncalibrated monitor. A way to get to ballpark levels is to edit your images so luminance is comparable to other images on this or other webs boards.by DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Is there some special reason you are trying to be atop Half Dome at sunrise? The early morning view west-northwest down into the valley is best in the early morning about 8am with the sun shining down from the east, so that can be worthwhile. But otherwise because the much higher nearby 11k+ Cathedral Range blocks sunrise, the sky color is not likely to be interesting unless one is lucky toby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Have seen several in Yosemite Valley because I ramble in places few others do. Likely to find them on the north side of the valley above the trail at the foot of The Rockslides as well as bears and get a dose of poison oak. Outside of the valley in the park have seen them as high as Vernon Lake. Very predictable where and what time of day and season one is likely to come across them above theby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
May is too early for mosquitoes above 8k. And below that they can easily be wiped out when a cold storm comes down from the northwest like the one that just blew through on the holiday. One can predict there will be less than normal because there will be less snowmelt once June arrives and temps are not dropping down below freezing anymore. However there are many streams and rivers where thby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
There are a series of cascades most of the way down to GA, not just two. There are also two good sized waterfalls. None of that area is going to get direct sunset orange much less red light because other higher features to the west down canyon block the light. Very obvious with a quick look at an online topo at the 100k scale. However one can get relatively late afternoon light in the yellby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Was supposed to be on a road trip about 200 miles to the north to view the eclipse today, but the other person caught a head cold, didn't feel like spending the $90 on gas all by myself, and have a 6 day trip up to Del Norte County redwoods over the holiday to prepare for anyway. Since we are just a week away from the Memorial Day weekend, some members will likely be visiting the Sierra Nevadaby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
One will usually see some on the forested shady south side below dense pines in duff beside spring streams channels. Many more if one's timing is right upstream of where SR41 crosses Grouse Creek or in the deep forest beside the small seasonal streams on the north side of Big Oak Flat Road about 5800 feet.by DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotehotrod4x5 If it is going to be peaking at 6:30 pm, I don't see why it would be so bright as to burn out sensor pixels. I have shot into the FULL sun at that time of day without any damage to my camera. Indeed like I noted, I too am suspicious, but then every site speaking with authority on the issue recommends STRONG filters and not looking directly at it with eyes. I'd bet it is more aby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion