One needs to be north of the Sutter Buttes and Marysville/Yuba City and then it will just be a 94% occlusion so no total exclipse with a corona. Supposedly too bright to eye look at directly or to point a digital camera directly at without chancing burning out sensors pixels. Will peak at 6:30pm PDT so just 20 degrees altitude in the sky. We are planning to drive up to Lake Oroville reservoirby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteplawrence Even if leaving on a late Friday afternoon, if you can arrive at the Hetch-Hetchy gate by 9:00 PM on a Friday night, you should be fine, though. . So they've increased the Mather gate closing time too, good. 9pm is reasonable. Years following 9-11 it was rather restrictive. They used to shoo me off the road inconveniently before sunset. I can probably reach the gate if I leby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuotevitaminC You can always use the backpackers camp the night before you start your trip. Not of any use for most of us on this board who work Monday thru Friday each week a few highway hours away in the land of jobs and leave for Sierra weekends on Friday late afternoons after getting off of work.by DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Many of we backpackers tend to want to get onto trails soon after sunrise. So good to hear they reduced that from 8am.by DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteCalaveras ...Next I want to get a couple of 30" x 40" prints made of my best Yosemite shots to mount in the poster frames. Big is awesome! Big may be awesome but the wise new photographer interested in publicly displaying their work ought to print at conservative sizes and not what they are hearing as hyperventilating buzz on web boards. Especially the last decade as digital caby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteplawrence ...I do appreciate that a couple of years ago the Park Service did trim (or maybe removed) some of the taller pines that were obstructing the view of Half Dome from the Valley View pullout (though I don't know how many other visitors of this scenic vista appreciate that or even notice that one can now, again, view Half Dome from this wonderfully scenic pullout. . Actually twas rby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Seems ok from any of my puters. Try it again.by DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotetanngrisnir3 That first shot looks like you were standing in Cottonwood Canyon off the 166. Very good, I'm impressed !!! Seven years ago in 2005 when fewer people knew about it. Was a weekday and I think just a couple cars drove by the whole morning. The creek was flowing across the road in the hollow pretty good and I recall taking a refreshing dip at one point right there. 2005by DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
...where only billy goats roam Crudely flatbed scanned with my old Epson 2450, the first 4x5 transparency this year of 2012 that is good enough to break into my Gallery B web page. Exposed this sheet of Provia 100F a bit after 11am PDT Friday March 30, 2012 in the Merced River Canyon. My 90mm Nikor at EV14.6 1/15 second F41. Matched the hue and saturation of jpg reasonably closely to the slideby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
If you find any takers haha, I might have a job for them too in August if the sound of "Taboose Pass" is music in their ears. A few years ago my photo gear base weight was 28 pounds that is detailed here: http://www.davidsenesac.com/Backpacking/david_backpacking.html However I often toss extra clothing, food, and gear in the big daypack so my actual carrying weight may be oveby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Dave your absolutely right about some of those equestrian users. But then too there are some equestrians and horse packing clients just as considerate and environmentally friendly as any of us. Generally backpackers by enthusiast group are easily likely to have the largest percentage of both environmentally friendly and those generally considerate and pragmatic in their approach to using wildby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/22407/1 Agree with HSHA on their interest in banning livestock grazing in some Sierra Nevada areas. But creating a lawsuit then having a SF judge ban commercial horse packing in national parks will cause increased friction between the environmental community and more conservative groups. Some hikers and backpackers have always strongly diby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
A well crafted post riverkat. I won't bother researching studies to back up some of my statements as don't have any motivation to spend the time and effort to do so. On informal web boards like this people do not need to qualify casual statements with the credibility of professional studies nor ought their audience expect such unless someone makes a point of consideration at that level. I do oby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Ulyssses61 >>>"Over the years I have encountered at least 40-45 bears in the Yosemite backcountry. I have never met an aggressive bear. Without any exception, they were all very timid and ran away (FAST). Even when I have seen mommy bear with cubs they have been docile and got away as fast as they could or ignored me. ..." What you say about black bear tending to be timid anby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The Sky Islands are as the Yosemite film notes areas of the Sierra Nevada near the crest that during ancient glacial periods were above glaciers. Hence the landscapes do not have the usual glacial sculpting and erosion of those much more common areas. The area in the film is the Dana Plateau that is actually not in the park but rather Ansel Adams Wilderness and also atop Mount Dana. One can rby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
chick-on, now your split mirror reflection frame of Virginia from one of the tarns is indeed an image of higher aesthetics. Your snow pic of Ardeth shows one reason why it has more potential with the ability to isolate trees against sky. During fall when the sun sets more in that direction, with cirrus above in the sky, one might capture a strong image. As to shooting down from the rim of Arby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechick-on Sorry David, that's not Shepherd's Crest... I see, though you mentioned Shepherd and Shamrock, you didn't mean that was the image shown. Recall you mentioned having been up in that Richardson basin which is certainly one of the most remote basins. So you have been to Onion and even bothered to visit that lake east of Virginia. I expected the latter was an uninteresting talus iby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Thanks chick-on, that remote body is nicely scenic lake and one I expected would look fine given the cragginess of Shepherd Crest on the topo and considerable nearby metamorphic areas. Have been to Summit Lake a few times and have wanted to traverse around up to nearby Onion Lake also, but tend to wander off towards the more mesmerizing Virginia Peak instead.by DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The most scenic lakes tend to have complementing nearby impressive peak backdrops. That is why areas north of 120 in the park tend not to be known for exceptional photographic potentials though there are exceptions. Just outside the eastern borders just east of our magnificent crest that should have been part of the park as chick-on added is a different story. That is not to say many of thoseby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Have been to Kibbie several times over the decades. Last trip ( June 2008? ) we not only saw two bald eagles for several hours but saw one carrying a sizeable trout below two claw style. Any big lakes where fishing has been good for decades like those chick-on mentioned are likely to have visits from eagles. Northwest Yosemite lakes have some of the best rainbow trout waters in the range.by DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Thanks Plawrence, indeed my vague recollection on dates for that event(s) was way off, haha. The Yosemite Flood was December 31, 1996 and the Monterey County floods were a year before on March 13, 1995. These are wikipida snippets: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floods_in_California New Year's Day 1997: Northern California floodA series of subtropical storms, collectively called a pineapplby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I've always been fascinated by weather information. Sierra winter precipitation varies greatly: http://gator1314.hostgator.com/~bestsnow/ select; California "California's most distinguishing feature is the highest variability in snowfall of any region in the West. The late 80's to early 90's drought included two seasons, 1987 and 1991, when there was virtually no natural snow on thby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Chilly looking landscapes Cheryl. Alot of little Sierra rodents and critters have already died of cold this winter probably like what happened in droughty 1989 when we had almost no precip until January, Without the covering layer of insulating snow, ground temperatures gradually drop much lower day by day, the freezing down deeper and deeper. Down to Mr & Mrs Munks inner chamber. Liby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
So now I know how to pound acorns! Imagine hundreds of years ago in early October, an old smiling man sitting under the shade of a large black oak tree about the Merced River...little children laughing about as they would playing a game, in the sun flecked understory finding, reaching down picking up, and running back, tossing back their little treasure into a large weaved basket. Spent quiby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Superb image Gary! It is not easy to capture an exceptional image through the usual murky water vapory and dusty San Joaquin valley atmosphere that tends to dominate our summer sunsets in this era. Here the considerable warm hued light scattering even at closer distances is so dominant that it allows the icon HD to stand out much more prominantly against an undestracting smooth background versby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteOhnivy-Drak Beautiful shots with such vibrant colors. What is the largest print you've ordered, and are any of them framed? Thanks. I have an Epson R2880 that I occassionally print out such smaller images however my business has been in a dormant mode quite awhile because I need a lot of $$ to deal with the size of the body of my work. In the past as with my large format work, I would teby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
2011? Well my best work in Yosemite this year was in late spring and were G10 digital closeups instead of large format landscapes. A couple below: Sierra blazingstar, mentzelia crocea below Bolander's monkeyflower, mimulus bolanderi. El Portal area of Yosemite National Park, Mariposa County Canon G10, diffusion disk, 3800x3200 pixels June 2011 image code JH3593 Denizen of bedby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Gary, bring up Google Earth and in the Fly to field enter Clouds Rest. For any Sierra Nevada viewing it is best to switch from the default recent 2011 date that is too snowy to Dec 30, 2005. I immediately noted your two peaks easily as Mount McClure and Mount Lyle. Note I've never bothered to hike to either Clouds Rest or Half Dome so have not seen the actual view. Both those peaks as well aby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Gary, these days that is a question ready for a quick Google Earth answer. But of course one could also use a straight edge on the 100k topo. David Senesacby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I have no opinion on this particular case. However as an old guy using Yosemite roads over decades, I'm one that would like to see more tickets handed out on Yosemite roads because there are and have always been lots of drivers, (often impatient lowland urban tailgaters in large SUVs or new model sedans) that are speeding well above posted limits, even during dawn and dusk periods when wildlifeby DavidSenesac - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion