Nice shot! That's a really furry bobkitty. Is that its winter coat or something?by gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Re where to stay -- my friends rented a cabin near Jasper for a few nights. It worked out pretty cheap per person per night compared to, say, Yosemite Lodge. I don't know anything about Canadian hostels but the HI-Canada map shows that there are almost as many HI hostels (13) on the Alberta side of the Canadian Rockies alone as in all of California (15). How are you getting there? I don't knowby gophersnake - General Discussion
I usually drive straight through, take only one rest and/or gas stop, and snack on trailmix till I get to my destination. I've stopped at places like the Denny's in Oakdale (120, not 140) and the Pioneer Market in Mariposa (140) but usually I don't think it's worth the time or money. Dave's C132 suggestion in the other thread sounded interesting. When I'm going directly to the Valley I take 12by gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
There are some interesting features around Jasper that require very little hiking to see. I was traveling with (basically) non-hikers so we usually took the shortest route through each one, but we had the option of going farther if we'd wanted to. Athabasca Falls and Maligne Canyon come to mind. There's also an aerial tramway up one of the nearby mountains and you can look down on the town of Jasby gophersnake - General Discussion
National Weather Service 7-day forecast The past few days at 1NNW, CA (YYVC1), the weather station near Yosemite Village Snow depths are available here but you have to select a recent date, click on "Go", and find the information for Yosemite Valley.by gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteRobE The link to the article no longer works, so I have to ask... Regarding the ice rink, what is the plan to replace the ice rink? Will it be a meadow or a parking lot? What problem are they trying to solve? A number of things exist in the winter to increase visitation. The park tries to shift usage away from summer. The ice rink and events at the Ahwahnee fit in this category.by gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I'd like to go back and take more pics eventually. Meanwhile this is the best one I have, unfortunately, of that tree I saw in Strybing: The tree looks like it would have to be at least a few hundred years old and I doubt that it originally sprouted there, so I'm wondering what-all was involved in moving it.by gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteJRinGeorgiaCar rentals are expensive -- current rates given my itinerary from SFO would be well over $400 for the car (little one) for 10 days, plus gas, that's a lot for a car that's going to sit for over a week. Amtrak here I come! I've taken Amtrak twice (so far) from the Bay Area to the park. One of the things I liked least about it was the limited amount of carryon baggage I was allowby gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteparklover I also love sequoias of both kinds and like reading about them.... I know this is a bit off topic for a Yosemite discussion but you just might have some info about it. In the San Francisco Botanical Garden/Strybing Arboretum there's at least one Giant Sequoia. It looks on the smallish side for a Giant Sequoia but it's still a pretty big tree. Any idea where it came from and when,by gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechick-onMy guess is that it is the 2000 acres that were purchased in 1958. Guess I'll have to do the math and try to see if it fits. Thx My pleasure! I just found another map, on p. 8 of this pdf, that calls that area the "El Portal Administrative Site". It seems to include most of El Portal but not the Yosemite View Lodge. Sounds to me as if it's owned, leased or otheby gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechick-onHere's a forest service map: What's that thing marked "Entrance Station"? It's nowhere near Arch Rock. I just found another USFS map online. It's supposed to be of Stanislaus NF, shows more or less the same El Portal corridor in "park" color, and has the Arch Rock entrance station in its proper place: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5by gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteMom Is adding a stogie or hair to the Smiley Face rock near Twin Bridges okay? ha. I've done that a few times. Come to think of it the eyes and nose aren't natural either. That reminds me -- I don't know who did this one. I noticed it near the Pohono Trail last August.by gophersnake - General Discussion
Quoterpf123Most day-use visitors go to mirror lake, happy isles, visitor center area, yosemite falls, bridalveil falls, roadside parking to watch climbers on el capitan. In particular, most day-use visitors do not need to stop in curry village or ride through curry village. I don't know about most, but I end up there (Curry Village) quite a bit. When I come in by YARTS, It's the closest stopby gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
^ That's not supposed to be the answer. It's only my username. I don't know my snakes that well. I was looking at pics of various kinds of kingsnakes (Lampropeltis), bull snakes (Pituophis; they don't really eat bulls), water snakes (Natrix), etc., but I didn't come up with anything very promising. Two complicating factors are that we don't know if that pic was even taken in North America, andby gophersnake - General Discussion
Nine out of ten bears surveyed preferred hospital food to garbage.by gophersnake - General Discussion
Quotehotrod4x5 That video fails to mention the alternate to the lower Mist Trail portion, taking the JMT. You really can avoid getting wet by going that way almost entirely. There is a small section next to Nevada, if it is roaring, where you could get a little wet, but otherwise, you don't need to worry so much about wet steps. I went up the lower Mist Trail only once, in a dry season when tby gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I've done the Four Mile Trail round trip but I emerged a bit footsore. I think I've found better footwear and innersoles since then, but I'd want to try it all out on the FMT again (roughtly 10miles) or the Panorama up, Four Mile down (roughly 13, I think) before tackling something like Half Dome. I'm not at all keen on getting stuck on top (or on the cables) with a thunderstorm blowing in.by gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteplawrenceAccording to this sign, on a clear day one can see 218 miles to the east of N. Chalone Peak. Wouldn't that be somewhere in the Sierra, maybe slightly south of Mt. Whitney? There seems to be something fishy about that statistic, or else I'm misunderstanding it. From North Challone, a 218-mile-long line at azimuth 090 (true) passes about 12 miles south of Mt. Whitney and ends overby gophersnake - General Discussion
heywhatsthat.com confirms that: (a.) You can't see any part of the Sierra Nevada from the peak (3200'+) in Pinnacles Nat. Mon./Park that I tried. (b.) You can't see any part of the Pinnacles from Half Dome. (c.) You can see many points in the SN, including parts of Half Dome and Sentinel Dome, from Mt. Hamilton. Click on the links above to go to the respective maps. Click the butby gophersnake - General Discussion
by gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Here's a time-lapse video from 2 days earlier. It occasionally shows the third view without snow in the way. What I mistook for the snowy roof of the hut is a big snow-covered boulder. I was wondering if there was one camera that panned, or three preset cameras that they could select the feed from. A few of the shots in the time-lapse series do seem to have caught the camera moving, though.by gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Is it true that Twinkies never spoil because nothing can live on them?by gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotequmqats That camera can pan around and regularly moves on some schedule. Any idea what for? I know I have a few saved shots where it's pointing 30 or 45 degrees from it's usual angle. At first I thought it had been knocked out of position but soon afterwards, it was back to its normal view. Picture, picture! I want to see how it moves and where that snow is, that sometimes blocks its viby gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteeeek QuotegophersnakeWould the next person through the Happy Isles area please find the camera and take a picture of it? And brush the snow away from the lens? If they can do so without damaging the camera (etc.) Sodden thought: if someone fell out of a tree while doing unauthorized snow-abatement on the camera, would they be charged for the rescue?by gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The current image does have snow blocking the lower 2/3 or so of the frame but also a few recognizable details in the background. The hut roof seems to have 6" to 8" of snow on it. There's probably some right in front of the camera, too. Would the next person through the Happy Isles area please find the camera and take a picture of it? Even if the snow is gone by then, I'd like to seby gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Here's the Canadian version of rock-stacking. When I was in the Jasper area a year or two ago, I was noticing "inukchuks" along roadsides and, yes, within the park. It's considerably nicer than spray-painting or carving initials into trees. I can see where park management in either country would want to discourage it. It's so easy to do, though, that increased enforcement would probaby gophersnake - General Discussion
QuoteeeekWhat does that equate to in 2012 dollars? $3.12, according to this CPI Inflation Calculator. The park entrance fee in the second episode ($2) translates to $32.89.by gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I don't actually know but I understood "closed" to mean that if you have to be rescued, they'll bill you for their services.by gophersnake - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteBeeAs far as the largesse of Half Dome, its interesting how it appears different even when viewed at relatively close distances, but different angles. It looks huge from Sentinal Dome, but it looks monstrous from Glacier Point -- much different even tho the two vistas are not THAT far apart (imo). From Sentinel Dome and the Glacier Point area respectively, taken about a month apart. I thinby gophersnake - General Discussion
Quotemrcondron Hall Road in Turlock About how far is that silo from the road? I figure it must look pretty tiny without zoom, for it to end up that size relative to Half Dome with zoom.by gophersnake - General Discussion