Quotey_p_w QuoteszalkowskiThe Pinnacles NM half has weathered approx. 5k from its original height. The eastern (Neenach Formation) half has undergone much more severe weathering, ostensibly because it was not partially protected by the tilting and folding of the earth around it: http://msu.everything2.com/?node_id=1849821 The one time I visited I saw the rock. It was rather odd compared to thby bpnjensen - General Discussion
I knew the USGS was good for something! Those guys are getitng a nice shot in the arm with this announcement.by bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quoteeeek Quotey_p_w Pinnacles is a nice enough place to visit, but to slap on the label "National Park" seems a bit much to me. The reason why it's a National Monument right now is that it can be designated as such solely by the US President - without an act of Congress Park status does come with stronger protections. So why not? Curious, eeek - Under the NPS, how is a NP more sby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quoteeeek Lassen Volcanic National Park (CA) Boy Killed, Girl Seriously Injured In Rock Slide Park dispatch received a 911 call reporting a person with head injuries about a mile from the summit on the Lassen Peak trail just after noon on July 29th. NPS units began responding along with an ambulance crew from the town of Chester. While they were en route, follow-up reports indicated there werby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quotey_p_w QuotebpnjensenBeing a veg, I don't do run-of-the-mill marshmallows, but Cadbury Chocolate is creamy, melts well and tastes like heaven. You could scarcely do better at three times the very modest price. Highly recommended. Bruce I take it you know where to find marshmallows without gelatin? Perhaps something using a plant based gelatin substitute? Or maybe with real marshmalloby bpnjensen - General Discussion
QuoteVince I'm a Huell fan...I have about 50 DVDs full of his shows I cap'd off KPBS and KNPB. Many of my side trips are taken because he found an out-of-the-way spot I didn't know about...Like This in Lee Vining: Vince, did you put this gem on Panoramio? Also recommend a post to roadsideamerica.com - they record funny wierd stuff everywhere... :-) Bruceby bpnjensen - General Discussion
QuoteFrank Furter http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/guest/article_70add892-7f08-11de-a5eb-001cc4c03286.html Yellowstone bear lawsuits going to federal court StoryDiscussionBy DAVID KNIBB | Posted: Sunday, August 2, 2009 12:00 am Now that mediation has failed, the government's decision to take Yellowstone's grizzly bears off the list of threatened species will be decided in federal cby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quotey_p_w So last week I found myself at the campsite looking to start up a campfire and make some s'mores. So we went to the Curry Village store and got a box of firewood, toaster forks, and one of the packaged s'mores kits with a tray filled with marshmallows, one pack of graham crackers, and three Hershey milk chocolate bars. Well - I had fits and starts getting the fire up and running.by bpnjensen - General Discussion
QuoteLVRAY Vince - You are an idiot. Now, now - there is room for debate here. If we are going to have 100% cheap energy (note that I did not say either green or renewable, because ultimately cheap is what we as a society want to end up with), we are going to need nuclear, sad to say. As a staunch environmentalist who strongly believes in solar and waves/wind (when it can be done without haby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quoteeeek http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-08-02-press-tour-burns_N.htm Heh! These are all wonderful stories - but I believe Burns has nothing to defend. He clearly loves and is fascinated by his country and the world in which he lives, and his films speak eloquently for themselves. I would not mind if TV were wall-to-wall Florentine Films - at least one channel. I never tiby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quoteeeek Then there were those who strongly suggested the laddered cable system should come down, or argued that the cables should remain in place. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/06/in-wake-of-half-dome-tragedy-should-cables-come-down-.html The answer is simple. NO. Teach people the risks and let them decide for themselves. If 55,000 people a year climb the monolith andby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quotemrcondron "Not trying to start a fight" "My, you are a curmudgeon." ???? Oh, heck - I readily admit to being a curmudgeon sometimes. Hardly a loaded word in this day and age, right?by bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quotecthenn I just read that! I'm stoked because I live right by Mt. Diablo, and I don't want it to close. Camping trips to Tahoe, oh well...but I'll have my local playground open, that's cool. Edit: Here's another link with more parks that could be seized. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/01/california-parks-could-be_n_224141.html Let's be careful - if the Feds "take over&quby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quoteszalkowski QuoteBee Was there any disagreement as to re-build the hotel or not, or was it in general consensus that an era had ended? See the last couple paragraphs of this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_Firefall My, you are a curmudgeon! Why is it such a big problem for you that Half Dome is accessible to people who are hale and hearty, but otherwise not mountaineby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Two weeks back, Nick and I (admittedly wearing hiking boots), did North Dome & Indian Arch (~9.5 miles) Monday, Eagle Peak (14 mi) Tuesday, Waterwheel Falls (16 mi) Wed, Half Dome (17 mi) Th and Cloud's Rest (14 mi) Friday. Not that hard, really, all you really need is some gumption (mental). A big dish of ice cream at the end of each hike helped a bunch We met a couple of guys wearing quby bpnjensen - General Discussion
QuoteWanderingBear Thanks everybody for your input! It's not set in stone, but I think it'll spend the first day seeing all the touristy things, maybe do 4 Mile trail, definitely see Glacier Point (probably for sunset too), do Sentinel Dome and Taft Point, and Bridalveil Falls. If I'm really feeling one place I'll probably just soak it all in and if I'm out of time I can always skip something.by bpnjensen - General Discussion
QuoteWanderingBear Great! If you had to guess... Yes/No to any water from Yosemite Falls on July 23rd, what would you say? I'm happy with a trickle. Also, I'm spending 3 full days at Yosemite... one of which will be spent doing Half Dome. I've been reading about all the hikes and stuff... from experience, though, what would you say are absolute MUST-Do's? Any hikes in the < 5 mile rangeby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Great test. I got only about 10 unequivocally right, guessed correctly on about 5 more, and had no clue about the rest. Congratulations to anyone who scores a 67% or better - this is nitty-gritty stuff.by bpnjensen - General Discussion
QuoteVince More stuffed animals? What's up with the props? It's FUN Vince. My son takes a couple of small stuffed critters up summits with himself, too, just for FUN. These photos aren't for National Geographic - they're for happy memories. Don't stress over them.by bpnjensen - General Discussion
<sigh> well, they'll just have to take it up again when the last pika in California is identified and see if they have a change of heart. FWIW, The only place I have seen a pika in Yosemite is at Mt. Dana's summit. I suspect they are also up at Lyell, Conness, Matterhorn, Ritter and Banner Peak, as well as the more southerly Sierra peaks, maybe up at Shasta too, but overall the real estby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quoteeeek It's been a while but I remember it being mostly flat on the northeast side of Clouds Rest. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=37.769426,-119.485459&spn=0.029446,0.052056&t=p&z=15 Eeek is right - just east of the summit (maybe 3/4 mile?) is a large very flat "saddle" that would easily accommodate a campsite nearby but hidden. Dry yes, but wby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quotebill-e-g Perhaps... but regardless it still has to get to my doorstep. So in my brain nothing is carbon nuetral unless it is nothing... The only way it could be truly "carbon neutral" is if it were transmitted electronically via *machines* that are powered by non-fossil-fuel electric sources. One could argue whether the *machines* required FFs or wood combustion to be manufactby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quoteszalkowski Quotebill-e-g The latest backpacker magazine says "100% Carbon Neutral". Someone wanna explain that one to me. Made out of silicon, perhaps? (or germanium, gallium arsenide, indium phospide, etc.) 100% Recycled paper, produced purely by solar/wind/nuclear energy? Of course, this does not account for the fossil fuel required either mail the mag or place it onby bpnjensen - General Discussion
QuoteFrank Furter The following link is all old stuff that has probably been posted here before, but it is on topic: http://www.nps.gov/yell/photosmultimedia/safetyvideos.htm There are three homemade videos of bison and elk vs tourists in Yellowstone. The last bison video is the most ironic. Those are great, Frank - thanks for the "rememorandum" ;-)by bpnjensen - General Discussion
Speaking of bison calves, a calf fell into Doublet Pool yesterday on Geyser Hill as he tried to catch up with his mother. He tried to vault the hot spring, but did not make it. Therein he died, and his carcass was in the pool at least part of the day, although a reliable geyser gazer stated that the body had gone missing later on. Whether it was removed by human, animal, or just being boiled dby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quotebill-e-g No name for the spring. (from my map it's about 1 3/4 miles from the TH) Here's the view from the dome due east of Medlicott. Fairview is on the left. Cathedral on right. Lembert... Not high enough to see much meadow... Yeah, guess you're right - I guess I recall the trees looking more like hazy meadow in the early AM. Thanks for the reminder!by bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quoteeeek QuoteUZUMATI ^^ Thanks. So did you do it? Nope - at that sign, we turned back and got hot chocolate at Curry Village :-)by bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quoteshanthala Hi! My boyfriend and I looking to hike this trail. I am incredibly intrigued by it. The picture you posted is not accessible without access. Please could you repost it. Also, the part near the staircase falls is a little scary, seems like a part of the trail was affected by the rockfall. Not sure. Thanks! My son and I tried it a couple years ago. Going up past the existiby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Quotebpnjensen Thanks! I have a photo of it here - sorry about not being able to navigate the HTML just yet... Bruceby bpnjensen - General Discussion
Thanks! I have a photo of it here - sorry about not being able to navigate the HTML just yet... http://www.panoramio.com/photo/13530949 Bruceby bpnjensen - General Discussion