Posts of OUR BLOG

Annular Eclipse

2012-05-21T04:33:15.589Z

P writes:

Since I am an enthusiastic amateur astronomer, I drove up to a wide spot in the road between Red Bluff and Lassen so that I could watch the moon eat the sun...and have a little sun left over.

There were a few other hardy souls who braved the 96 degree heat, some with telescopes, others with welding glasses. I used a couple of solar filters from my telescope making days to cut down on the intense light.

As the eclipse began, it looked like a lot of other eclipses I've seen. But then the moon covered more and more of the sun...until a ring of sun slowly began to encircle the black ball of the moon. And even then, with 95% of the sun obscured, it was still far to bright to look at with your naked eye. The landscape around grew rather darker and shadowy.

And then the ring of light closed around the moon made a full circle...a perfect circle. It held that shape for a few minutes, and then you could see the moon beginning to drift off center...and break through the ring of light. The spheres of the universe slowly continued on their way.

And then it was over. Handshakes and smiles all around, and then back in the car to drive home again.

Our new pied a Sierra

2012-05-20T13:38:02.161Z

Normally by this time of year, we would have done at least one or two backpacking trips into the Sierra. And this year, with the lower snow levels, we had plans to really hit the mountains early and often.

But those plans have been put on hold.

About two months ago we were idly scanning the real estate ads for Tuolumne County...and the next thing you know, we found ourselves buying a cabin up by Twain Harte. It's a nice location, with easy access to both Yosemite some of our favorite wilderness areas, like Emigrant, Hoover, and Carson-Iceberg. The price was right, even if the cabin needed a lot of work.

And what the heck, it was just a cabin, so how complicated could it be, right?

Well, it was a lot more complicated than we would have guesses. And after working through some ridiculous details with the fine public servants at Freddie Mac, we finally closed escrow about a week ago.

Of course, that meant that we couldn't leave town until we closed escrow, which was supposed to happen "any day" for over two weeks. And now there are a million things that we want to do up there...and so our last two weekends have been spent tearing off old plywood, ripping out old carpet, cleaning, connecting the water, electricity, septic and gas, and refinishing the woodwork.

You can see some of the woodwork in the photos here...including the floor of the living room, which is beautiful old fir underneath a deep coating of dust and dirt.

And we aren't even really getting started. sigh. That's P at right, admiring the view now that we have taken off the rotting and very definitely not OEM roof over the rear deck.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We've found a great contractor to take over some of the larger projects, and we're making good progress on some of the others. Unfortunately, we're also going to be out of town for much of the month of June, so we still won't be doing much backpacking.

But we have a new schedule of dates and our old list of destinations...and we have new hope of finally getting out on the trail this summer!

Why nobody ever makes a mistake on the Internet

2012-05-10T15:49:37.018Z

Have you ever noticed this? The minute a story comes out about someone who needs rescuing in the mountains, the internet message boards are filled with people who never, ever make that mistake, and here’s why. These posters are quick to point out all the things they do right, and how smart they really are about all this.

OK, fine.

We’re not so sure. In our experience, most disasters in the mountains aren’t caused by a single bad decision, but a combination of decisions that slowly lead to a really bad situation. And if you read the accounts carefully, you can usually find about three or four points in every story where a different decision would have led to a different result. Of course, not always for the better—but still. There were options. There are almost always options.

We’ve been on lots of trips where we took stock of where we were and decided that it was time to back off, back out, or back down. No, we weren’t facing certain death. But we just decided that we had gone far enough, pushed our luck with the elements far enough, or simply didn’t like the way things looked.

Or we’ve been slightly off trail, confused about the map, separated from our hiking partners, running out of water, getting cold, or worried about how late it was getting. None of those are very dangerous situations in and of themselves. We just didn't like the odds.

So we bailed. We turned around. That’s not very adventurous or determined, but it always seemed like the right decision at the time. You might read this and think that we are just like everyone else on the internet—that we’ve never made a mistake and we can’t imagine finding ourselves in a situation that requires rescue. You'd be wrong. In fact, we’d suggest just the opposite.

We CAN imagine ourselves in that situation, and that’s why we turn around (or chicken out.) We never like being in a situation where there is only one possible option to get out. The first option is always that you can turn around and go home. That’s a pretty good option in many cases, even if it doesn’t lead to epic or heroic adventures. Epic is over-rated.

The single best piece of survival equipment is your brain. And the best way to use it is to avoid situations with few potentially good outcomes. (You might explain that to the idiots who star in those outdoor survival shows on TV. They are clueless about this.)

The most famous example of all might be the Donner Party. They started a bit late, took an ill-advised cut-off, lost more time in the desert, and started up into the mountains when they were weak, low on food, low on energy and out of time. And that’s when the snows hit. Lots of people made similar mistakes, but not all on the same trip, and not in a year when the snows were massive. They left themselves with only one option, and it wasn't a good one.

Of course, if the Donner Party happened today, we would hear lots of explanations about how stupid they were, and how the various posters on the internet never find themselves in any trouble whatsoever when they travel, because they always make sure that …yadda yadda yadda.

How many is too many?

2012-05-04T01:32:08.394Z

There is some discussion these days among backpackers about the number of people that are allowed into the wilderness. The concern, of course, is that if there are hordes at every lake and stream, we quickly lose the sense of wilderness that we love. And we agree with that.

But that doesn't mean that we would EVER discourage anyone from taking a backpacking trip. Quite the opposite. When it comes to getting people out of their houses and cars, and into our National Parks and Forests, the more the merrier. Because once someone has experienced the joys and beauty of backpacking, they will become fans for life.

And that means voters.

Let's face it. If we could depend on our elected politicians to do the right thing every time, life would be a lot easier. But we can't. Politics is a dirty, ugly game, and politicians make all sorts of deals every year. One offer we never want to see on the table is giving up our parks and forests. As Ken Burns noted, those are in many ways our greatest American idea.

So take someone backpacking today. Introduce them to the charms of the trail by day and the stars at night. Help them find their way around in the woods, and invite them to come back again with their friends.

We do, and are we convinced that it will encourage more people to protect these wonderful places.

True, we often find ourselves hiking to distant locations these days, off the beaten path and often off-trail completely. And when we do that, we find the solitude and wonder that is always there.

There are a lot of mountains up there. We need to protect them all. And we need all the help we can get.

Archer Taylor Preserve

2012-05-01T15:27:58.371Z

The Napa Valley Land Trust has a wonderful assembly of lands around the Napa Valley that they are protecting from further development. On Sunday we joined a hike organized by NVLT through the wildest and most remote parts of Napa County, in the Mayacamas Mountains, organized and led by members of the NVLT.

The hike was a revelation.

What a wonderful collection of magnificent views,

Intimate landscapes,

and stunning waterfalls!

You can bet that we'll be joining many more of these hikes in the future!

(For more photos of the hike--click on one of these and you will be transported to our Picasa pages.)

Over the Hill...

2012-04-30T04:03:09.233Z

More thoughts on the rock climbing course with REI.

P writes: Since I am pushing sixty, I was worried that I might not be able to keep up with the rest of the group--most of whom were half my age and had some good experience in climbing gyms. They were so full of energy and confidence, and I was well aware of the fact that I was certainly among the weakest climbers in the group.

No worries--everyone was really helpful, and in the end, I didn't do too badly, but I was surprised about two things:

1. I seemed to focus more on finding an easier route, rather than powering up things. Which isn't to say that I kept up with them...but I was surprised at how willing they were to simply power up over a stretch. Impressive! At the same time, our guide mentioned that the routes we were climbing were 5.7 to 5.10. While I did NOT finish the climb on the toughest routes, even the 5.7 seemed pretty easy to me. I am convinced that I found ways up that rock that were simply easier. Slow but sure, always looking for the easy way up--or out!

That's me on the right, looking for an easy way up. And Peter on the left, working a different route that required a clever and difficult move through that overhang.

2. I didn't feel as if I lacked the strength to do any of the moves ( although arthritis in my hands made me think about a few things) but I was surprised that sometimes a lack of flexibility hindered my options. I knew where I wanted to put my leg at times, I just couldn't get it up there!

Maybe I should do more yoga, and less cycling...

nah!

Climbing Rocks

2012-04-29T04:53:35.954Z

Six of us stood in front the vertical wall of rock on the side of Mt. St. Helena, staring sraight up. That morning we'd been tutored and outfitted, trained in all the techniques and commands of rock climbing. There was only one thing left for us to do.

Somebody was going to have to start climbing.

The first ten or fifteen feet looked easy, but then things got more complicated. Elijah, our charmingly calm and competent guide from REI, explained that sometimes you just have to get up there to see what to do. But then, he was an expert, and had climbed this same face many times.

That's Eijah in the orange shirt, left and below right, getting us ready to climb.

None of us had ever really climbed much outside of a gym. The younger four people on the climb all had experience in a rock climbing gym, and some of them looked very comfortable with all of this. That would pay off on the rock, too.

I hadn't ever climbed in a gym, and hadn't been on a rock wall in forty years. I generously volunteered to belay the first climber in our group, allowing one of the younger guys to climb first. It was the least I could do. Really.

He started up quickly enough, and before I knew it, he had hoisted himself over the lip and up to the top of the rope, sixty or seventy feet above us. While he had been climbing for some time indoors, this was a pretty good show for the first time on real rock. I eased the rope out to let him back down the cliff and let the next guy climb.

Sooner or later, I was going to have to start climbing like everybody else. I watched a couple more climbers, tried to learn from their mistakes, and finally stepped up to the wall. The first few feet were obvious. And then there was a tricky little section where I couldn’t really see any handholds. I made it two thirds of the way up the wall before I decided that it was far enough.

As I was being lowered away, Elijah pointed out that I didn't have to hang onto the rope with both hands. After all, if it broke, my hands weren't going to stop me from falling. And it wasn't going to break. Trust the rope, he advised.

I did, but it took a conscious decision on my part to do that.

Over the next couple of hours we took turns on different routes up the rock walls. My favorite route seemed complicated right at the start, and I eased over a bit to the left, to see if things were any better over there. A couple more feet up, and then I rested on my knee, easing over to another ledge. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, with each piece getting you just a bit closer to finishing. There was a nice crack going up to the right, and another that took me a bit left. And then as I stood up on that last foothold, I realized that I could touch the carabiner at the top of the climb.

I gave it a pat, took a nice long look around, and let my belayer know I was ready to get lowered back down to terra firma.

One thing I loved about this day was that our group was a wonderful combination of four young gym climbers from three different countries, and two of us “older” men who were just there for the ride. The chemistry of the group and the leadership of Elijah could not have been more supportive and fun. There were lots of handshakes, hugs, and plenty of reassurance to those who were climbing up the walls. It really does make a difference to know tha the person belaying you below is not only paying out rope, but also paying close attention.

I didn't fall during any of these climbs, nor did I try any complicated moves that struck me as being risky. I was more interested in seeing what felt comfortable up there, sometimes fifty feet high. And so I didn't make it to the top of a couple of the climbs.

But next time…

Rock Climbing

2012-04-28T15:10:48.186Z

Yvon Chouinard says it isn't an adventure until something goes wrong. If that's the case, then P's recent day in an REI Rock Climbing Class was no adventure at all. Because nothing at all went wrong.

We'll post lots of thoughts about the class and the rock climbing later, but let's just get things started by posting a photo and a link to our Picaca pages for the day.

P hadn't been rock climbing in forty years, and he didn't know what he was doing back then. He still doesn't, but that didn't keep him from thoroughly enjoying the day with five other climbers and Elijah, an REI instructor. Four of the five others were half his age and had been climbing in a gym, so P definitely felt a bit out of place. But the camaraderie was exceptional, and the group really supported everyone as they climbed and belayed.

Hope you enjoy the first couple of photos...

That's P above, getting ready to head back down the cliff.

And this is the Napa valley, with Mt. Diablo in the distance, from the slopes of Mt. St. Helena

Cost effective backpacking

2012-04-17T16:23:13.333Z

In which P gets really geeky!

Is there a mathematical solution to the challenge of ultralight backpacking? It seems that an engineer would be able to develop an equation that could be used to fine tune our equipment. It would have to address a number of variables. I am not an engineer, nor do I play one on TV, but I did have some fun working through this problem:

W = the weight of your pack when you leave the trailhead. The goal is to manipulate the other variables to achieve a very low value for W. Lighter is better

P = the price you have to pay for your equipment, in dollars. Please convert from Euros, Rubles, etc. if required.

And somehow our equation needs to reflect that as W is reduced, P usually increases. In fact, as W approaches zero, P probably arrives close to infinity—or at least beyond the reach of normal people. In other words: Priceless. Ouch.

Instead, let’s set up the equation to reward people who do this lightly and CHEAP.

So with all that in mind:

LET

W = Weight in number of pounds you carry. Note that this will NOT be what you WANT to carry which will always be N-1 (where N = # ounces you are carrying).

C = $800—the rough price we paid for our backpacking outfit. You will have to use your own numbers here to see how you compare.

P = the Price you must pay for the gear (in dollars, pesos, rubles, etc.) per pound

So the final equation reads like this:

P = C/W

Do you want to buy a new tent? What if the new tent weights three pounds?

P= 800/3 = $266.67.

Is that a good deal? Let’s compare that to staying with your old, four pound tent:

P= 800/4 = $200.00

Is paying $66.67 worth it? Maybe. Most of us would agree that paying $20 would be worth it, if we could save a pound on our pack weight. Many of us would pay a lot more for that!

What about a new 1.5 pound tent?

P= 800/1.5 = $533.33

That makes some lightweight gear seem like a screaming deal!

Now let’s look at my own list, bearing in mind that we are NOT ultralighters, and that my wife and I certainly believe in some creature comforts. So we carry about fourteen pounds each, not including water and food.

P = 775/14 = $57.26 cost per item per pound.

So I am presenting that as the BTS (Backpack the Sierra) constant. Let’s round it off to a nice round $60 per pound.

How does your pack stack up? The real goal here isn’t to get the pack weight to zero—it’s to see how cost effective your kit is. Do you get by with lower cost equipment, but stuff that might weigh a little more? Or do you go for the ultimate lightweight gear, even if it costs you more?

And how do those answers fit into the equation? I would assume that other regions, which require more or less equipment, have somewhat different answers. Our own answers for winter camping would be like this:

P = 1000/18 = 55.55. That’s pretty dang close to the BTS constant!

Hold your horses!

2012-04-06T14:28:51.807Z

This story in the Fresno Bee was brought to our attention:

http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/04/04/2788652_p2/national-parks-horse-packing-on.html

Here's the headline and first few sentences:

Judge suspends horse packing in national parks

Says packing in Kings Canyon, Sequoia violates federal law.

By Marek Warszawski - The Fresno Bee

By Marek Warszawski

Wednesday, Apr. 04, 2012 | 11:56 PM Modified Thu, Apr 05, 2012 10:02 AM

The High Sierra Hikers Association has an established history of suing to protect wilderness areas. The 600-member nonprofit successfully sued the Sierra and Inyo national forests in 2000.

That court ruling resulted in new mandates for commercial horse packers that effectively trimmed trailhead quotas by 20% in both the John Muir and Ansel Adams wilderness areas, which are managed by the Forest Service.

Our concern with horses in the backcountry has less to do with the droppings they leave on the trail, and more to do with other impacts. We have encountered many of the usual horsepacking camps in the parts of the SIerra we love. They are heavily used, with barren, compacted earth, no living vegetation, and often will idiotic "camp furniture" as well. The furniture is the fault of the people, but that compacted earth with no vegetation is pure horse damage.

In Emigrant WIlderness the whole north side of Grouse Lake has been turned into what looks like a parking lot for a car campgound by horse packers. They literally ride there every day, tether the horses there so people can "enjoy" the lake, and the ride home again. In no way is it wilderness. (Camp Lake in that same area is currently closed to camping to allow it to recover from habitat damage, and Grouse Lake should be closed as well! )

And if you do the math, a single horse on the trail with its heavy weight and small footprint does 20 or thirty times more damage than a human hiker. If we limit trail use to a certain number of hikers per day (which we do via quotas) then we should certainly limit horses in the same way. Currently, those quotas are left up to the discretion of the owner of the pack station.

Where hikers over use an area, that area gets closed and protected to allow it to recover. But because pack stations always operation out of the same location, this doesn't seem true for them. The damage that these animals do by repeated use on meadows and loose rock trails is huge, and that trail damage never seems to get repaired effectively.

We are not philosophically opposed to horses in the High Sierra. There is a long history of horse riding in the mountains, and these animals do allow access by people ( and voters! ) who might not be physically able to enjoy the wilderness. But they should be under the same regulations and restrictions that limit the activities and impacts of rest of us

Backwoods Adventures

2012-04-03T16:30:34.475Z

P is just back from a trip to Virginia, where he was lucky enough to be taken out into the woods for some fly fishing on the Jackson River and a couple of smaller streams.

It's lovely country, even in the early spring, when the trees are still pretty stark. It would be much more beautiful in summertime when it is all green.

And the fishing was fun. He managed to catch three different kinds of trout (Brown, Rainbow, and Brook) in two days, and see some nice country as well. And while P doesn't usually use a fishing guide, Blane Choklett of New Angle, was a real pleasure---low-key, fun, and thoroughly focused on making this a good day for everyone.

But as Yvon Chouinard says, it isn't an adventure until something goes wrong. And something did go wrong on the way home. His flight out of Charlottesville was first delayed, then cancelled. And instead of getting home at 1 pm on Sunday, he didn't get there until about 9:30, after many hours in one of his least favorite airports: Dulles.

Ah well.

The scenery was still grand, the weather cooperated, and there were enough fish to keep us interested all day long.

A great way to spend a couple of days in the spring!

A couple of places to eat on the way...

2012-03-26T15:31:23.959Z

We are always interested in finding new places to eat good food on the way to and from the Sierra. Admittedly, we only live a few hours away. But particularly after a long trip, we like to stop and wolf down some food on the way home. And we've found a few places that we really enjoy.

>> We recently stopped at the Cafe at the top of Old Priest Grade, and had a really nice meal. The menu is not extensive (we think that's a good thing---do a few things, and do them well!) but all of them show both talent and care in the kitchen. And the pies at the end of the meal are homemade and delicious. You'll hear conversation about everything from climbing Everest to Grand Opera here! We've added this one to our list of regular stops on our way to and from Yosemite on Highway 120!

>> Kelly's Mountain House in Sugar Pine on Highway 108 is another place we enjoy. Nothing fancy, but pretty honest food and a very reasonably priced wine list. And if their wines are not what you want, they charge a whopping $6 corkage to bring in something else. Burgers top the list here, but the pies are good, too! A perfect stop on your way to and from the Emigrant Wilderness.

We'd love to hear if you have other places that you enjoy on the way in and out of the mountains!

Clothing Optional

2012-03-14T23:41:32.085Z

Nope--sorry, it's not about nudity on the trail, although we are following the discussions of an international hike naked day that are working their way through some of the forums...and no, we won't post photos.

This is more about what you carry in your pack, and what you wear.

Every time we start a hike, we talk over what we are going to wear on the trail. M is someone who likes to stay warm and is usually cold, at least in the mornings. She layers on every available layer of warmth, and still gets cold hands and feet when she is hiking. She frequently wears warm clothes on the trail when the temp drops below 60. She will wear an undershirt, shirt, fleece, and jacket hiking uphill in 50 degree weather. And her hands are still cold. That's her, bundled up at left. complete with hat, scarf, and gloves. And freezing.

P, on the other hand, is someone who gets warm just walking on a level trail, and usually hikes with little more than a single shirt and pants, even when the temps are quite cold. On our last snowshoe adventure, he was hiking along in just his normal single layer shirt, and was feeling quite comfy. And his hands were warm--so warm that we stopped a couple of times so that he could wrap them around poor M's freezing fingers to get them to warm up. (She was in gloves, he was bare-handed.) If P wears any more clothes than this, he starts to sweat---and once his shirt gets damp, it's no fun at all in the snow!

But then we stopped for lunch. M sat down happily on a log and started to chew away. She was happy, warm, and hungry. P immediately threw on every piece of clothing, including both a fleece and a down jacket. And within minutes he was shivering--cold enough to get hypothermia. He bolted his lunch and started to move around, just trying to get warm.

M happily finished her lunch at a sedate pace and announced she was ready to start walking. And so we did.

Within a couple of minutes P was warm enough to throw off his down jacket...and the fleece came off a few minutes later. By the time we got back to the car, he was back down to his single shirt, and warm and comfy. Go figure.

That's us at right, above Dodge Ridge a few years ago, trying to find the perfect combination of sun, snow, clothes, and warmth.

Clearly body temperatures are just another area where your mileage may vary!

Spring Trails

2012-03-12T04:44:02.868Z

Yes, we are getting antsy about getting out on the trail. And that means that we are spending a lot of time with our maps, following trails, counting miles, and staring intently at those contour lines. We've already hiked at least two hundred miles in our minds...

But some of those trails are in the very high country, and those will have to wait until later in the season. We've got a list of those--far too many for this coming summer. And we also have a list of trails that might work earlier in the season, particularly if this low snow year holds into the summer. We are supposed to get some snow this week, and if we get a few more storms, it might even help us catch up to normal.

That's Jon at right, making the best of a bad creek crossing on a early season hike two years ago, in a normal year.

Icy. And it wasn't all that much fun slipping our boots on and off while sitting in the snow, either.

At any rate, unless it really starts snowing in the next month or so, we'll be on the trail this year earlier, and higher, than any year we can remember.

(You can find a list of early season hikes in the destination sections of this website, in case you are interested in a similar adventure.)

Speaking of remembering, we also remember what it's like to be the first person out on the trail each year. We run into downed trees, impassable creeks, and all sorts of adventures. That's avalanche damage above, and it was such a mess that we just decided to camp where we were, instead of forcing our way through the fallen trees.

Lovely place, with some nice fishing, too.

And then the trails are either hard to find because they are under snow, or muddy, or full of water, like the one at left, on the way down from Cinko Lake in the Hoover Wilderness.

We can hardly wait.

Lost and Found

2012-03-09T18:08:49.857Z

We’ve found a lot of things on the trail over the years, from little bits of trash to some pretty expensive equipment. And we don’t always know what to do about it.

The trash is easy. If it is small enough and not a bio-hazard, we’ll just pick up and pack it out. And swear a small curse on the person who left it there. We always get back to the trailhead with some extra trash.

Sometimes the trash is too big to carry, like the chunk of steel below.

But what if it isn’t trash?

We once found a perfectly packed and very expensive small tent on the side of the trail, half-way up Snow Creek in Yosemite. We were on a day hike, and we left it there on our way up. And it was still there on our way down. We discussed taking back down and turning it in to the lost and found department at the visitor center. That way it might have found its way back to its owners.

But we also considered that someone had left that tent on the trail intentionally, and were planning to come back for it later. There are a lot of climbers in this area, and rock climbers don’t like carrying tent up cliffs unless they have to. So we left it there.

(If it had been us, we would have left it in a more discreet location...so that others wouldn't see it or be confused.)

And last summer we found a very nice sandal on the trail up to second recess above Edison Lake. It was just one sandal, and we once again considered taking it back to the ferry, so that whoever lost it might find it again. In the end, we decided that it was more likely that a hiker would find it by backtracking and checking the trail, rather than the resort on the other side of the lake. So we left the sandal in the middle of the trail, where it was impossible to miss.

And a fellow passenger on the ferry commiserated with us about the fact that she had lost a sandal on that trail. We were able to tell her exactly where it was---but she wasn’t going to go back.

And on the first day of our hike on that same trail, M lost her hat.(It was P’s fault, because he had wedged it into the back of her pack, and it had fallen out.)So on the way back out, we looked everywhere for it.It was a big hat, and hard to miss.But someone had clearly found it, and picked it up.

You can see how that hat might have fallen off, given the kinds of fallen trees we had to negotiate on this trip, as in the photo at right.

Now M needs a new hat. So if you know anyone who found one in that area...

Condors

2012-03-05T04:12:22.308Z

I had to be in King City this weekend for work, and took the opportunity to run out to the Pinnacles on Saturday afternoon for a quick visit. We didn't really have time to do much hiking, but the weather was beautiful, and it felt great to just get outside and catch some fresh air.

We found a parking space (only because it was late in the day) and started walking up the trail through Condor Gulch. This trail has some nice views, and we were having great fun.

And then we saw the condors.

The conditions were perfect, with very still air, and enough sunshine to create some nice updrafts for them to ride. We spent about twenty minutes watching them, and then had to get back down the trail to our next event.

According to some of the hikers we met on the trail, some of these birds were perched within about twenty yards of the trail up at the top of the peaks, and people were pretty darn excited about it.

If you look carefully, you might be able to see a couple in the photo above, but you'll you have to zoom in to the max to do that.

Or you can zoom in on the photo at left, taken as one soared over our heads.

Our First Aid kit gets an update

2012-03-04T15:41:00.632Z

Everyone agrees that a hiker should have a first aid kit in his or her pack. But almost nobody agrees on what you should carry in it. We don't claim to be experts in first aid, but we have been hiking quite a while, and M's father is a physician--whose advice is aways sought and often taken. Over the past week we've taken the time to think this through again, and check on our first aid kit. Here's what we decided to take along.

And while this might not be the perfect first aid kit for you, it has served us well over the years. It's built on a very basic philosophy: it's aimed at making someone comfortable for a day or two, while someone else goes and gets real emergency help. So you won't find splints for setting broken legs, or surgical tools for emergency surgeries. (We do carry a pocket knife, for those McGyver moments!) If you are really in trouble, you'll need more than this kit to survive. But the things in this kit will help you recover from minor injuries and maladies. And they may just keep you alive long enough for someone else to come and get you!

Ibuprophen--for sore muscles etc.
Acetominophen--for headaches and pains
Chewable pepto bismol--for bilious bellies
Imodium--for more bilious bellies
Antiseptic wipes--to clean wounds and our hands
Antibiotic ointment--to put on those cuts and scrapes to prevent infection
Bandaids/bandages--we carry a large assortment of sizes and shapes. And lots of them.
Moleskin--the hiker's friend, for blisters and potential blisters
Ace bandage--to hold things together and give support
Pre-wrap--this stretchy stuff actually works better than an Ace bandage...and for more things
Space blanket--to keep you marginally warmer.
Sewing kit--to stitch up everything from the tent to your elbow
Ziploc bag--to keep everything dry and together.

How many of these items have we used? The first two get regular use, both by us and others whom we meet on the trail. Nothing like Tylenol for that altitude induced headache! And we've occasionally used the wipes and bandaids for minor cuts--and the antiseptic ointment. So far we've never used the rest of it, except the sewing kit to repair various parts of our kit.

And we are very grateful for that.

Multi-tools? How about a sewing kit?

2012-02-29T22:39:34.290Z

Those expensive multi-tools are beautiful little things, combining knife, saw, screwdrivers (both phillips and slot), pliers, and just about everything you could possibly want in a tiny little package, albeit a heavy one. We have one that our daughter gave us that is truly a work of art. But in a recent backpacking discussion, we started thinking about the things that had broken when we were out in the woods. Here's where and how we solved a few of those problems:

Broken zipper on tent door. Sewed and safety-pinned that door shut, then used the door on the other side for the rest of the trip. Good thing the tent had two doors.

M's pack tore open at the bottom. The problem was that there wasn't quite enough material in the seam. We re-sewed it with dental floss...and it has now carried us hundreds of miles.

P's Crocs split at the heel. We lived with this one through the end of the trip, then patched it up with duct tape. And we refresh that tape every year!

Water filter plugged. Yeah--this one was on a spring hike with very high, muddy water. And we didn't have a backup filter. We melted snow in our pots and bottles by putting them in a black bag and leaving that in the sun.

Bug netting on our tent got torn. Yep--another job for P and his trusty sewing kit. Tent is good as new, more or less.

Scariest of all: Almost ran out of matches! We each thought the other had packed them...we ended up with ten matches for five days. And we made every single one of them count!

So looking at this, the most valuable tool we had was a sewing kit...and now we carry two BIC lighters!

Snow is like a new coat of paint

2012-02-28T20:04:18.007Z

Hiking in the snow certainly has its challenges. Even with snowshoes, it's a lot harder to get around, trails are sometimes hard to follow, and on top of that; it's damn cold most of the time. It sure feels good to get warm after a hike in the snow!

But snow also has its charms on the trail. We often think of snow as being like a fresh coat of paint. It can change a less than attractive landscape into something both memorable and beautiful.

A recent hike in Yosemite was through an area that had extensive burn damage. It would have been really sad to hike through that on a hot summer's day But in the snow, the black trunks of the trees contrasted spectacularly with the white snow.

And the snow had left a layer of frosting on every downed tree and stump, creating some memorable cupcakes along the trail.

Snow also creates alll sorts of fun patterns and shapes as it falls and settles. We found this pinwheel at the bottom of a snowdrift. It had clearly rolled down the slope and turned into a wheel on the way.

And just like fresh paint, a fresh snowfall will also show every track of every animal that crosses your path. These are encounters that would go by completely unnoticed in the summer...but the snow lets you know just exactly how close you came to seeing a bear on the trail!

Crane Flat Snowshoes

2012-02-20T17:07:52.004Z

We're back from a quick almost day-trip to Yosemite to explore on snowshoes. We stayed at the Westgate Lodge in Bucks Meadows. This is a relatively nice, clean hotel that is twenty minutes from the Big Oak Flat entrance station of the park. It worked well for us on this trip--and allowed us to get into the park before 9 a.m.

We decided to just hike around the Crane Flat area on our snowshoes. The first trip took us through the campground out to the Clark Range Vista, which was an easy two miles out to the end of the old road. From here you could imagine seeing the Clark Range, but it was pretty much hidden by trees. So P climbed up the ridge until he could get a clear shot, which you can see at right.

It was a serous bushwhack to get there. But we were the only people on the trail that day. And the view WAS nice.

And then we went to the Crane Flat store to get a quick mug of hot chocolate.

From there we decided to hike out to the Rockefeller Grove of giant Sequoias. We'd seen this on the maps for years, and now it was time to check it out. Well, there is a reason that this doesn't get a lot of attention. In fact, we were the only people on the trail again. We know how to pick'em!

The trail is easy, but leads through more than two miles of forest that has pretty severe fire damage. And there are not a lot of views on the way. The first mile is also within easy earshot of the highway...

And then when you do get to the grove....it's not much of a grove. A few smaller redwoods sprinkled in among some much more impressive firs and cedars. We're just happy we did this one in the winter on snowshoes, because in the summer it would be a long hot hike through burnt forest, without much water, and without many views. hmmm.

But we did get to see the recent tracks of an ursine visitor. That's ALWAYS fun.

As it was, we enjoyed the hike, had a nice picnic in the forest, and wrapped up time to head home for dinner.

And this trip also allowed us to dine at the Priest Grade cafe...which was delightful. Well-made home style cooking at prices that are perfectly reasonable.

Restore Hetch-hetchy?

2012-02-18T15:29:25.985Z

We've been aware of a group that wants to take down the dam on the Tuolumne River at Hetch-hetchy and restore that valley to it's previous state. If you've ever seen some of the photos taken before the dam was built, we're sure you were charmed by how beautiful it really was.

But we also realize that taking down that dam is a huge undertaking. In fact, today you can still see all sorts of traces of the original project to BUILD the dam nearly 100 years later. So it's hard to imagine that process not making a real mess of things.

And once the dam comes down, of course, the valley is going to take a long time to recover. We were recently at Pinecrest Lake this year, when they had drained the lake for the winter. That's a small lake, and they drain it every year, but we can only imagine what the Hetch-hetchy Valley would look like if that reservoir were drained.

So how do we feel about the whole thing? We're undecided.

It sure would be lovely to have that valley back the way it was---if that were possible.

But it sure would take a lot of time and money to make that happen, and the process would NOT be pretty.

And in the meantime, San Francisco would lose its source of drinking water at a time when the state is looking more and more like the desert it is...

We'll certainly keep following the issue.

Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T16:44:26.600Z

Today we celebrate the day for lovers, and it's time to declare our love for the most wonderful woman in the world.

Through almost 35 years she has joined me on the journey through good times and lean times, always with a smile on her face, and always looking better than you can imagine.

Happy Valentine's Day, sweetie!

A bird's eye view

2012-02-09T04:42:38.043Z

P's been doing a lot of traveling these days, back and forth to the East Coast just about every week. He flies so much that he pretty much gets to sit wherever he wants on the plane.

Like many frequent fliers, he's usually partial to aisle seats, where there is just a bit more room, and it's easier to get in and out. But lately he's taken to requesting a window seat. When the skies are clear, there is just too much to see as the plane soars over the Sierra Nevada.

Today he flew back from JFK and the place flew directly over the John Muir Wilderness. First Mono Lake came into view, and then the whole panorama of this section of the Sierra: Banner and Ritter, the huge canyon of the San Joaquin, the Clark Range and Isberg and Post Peak Pass. Since we had just hiked this area a few months ago, the geography was all fresh in his mind. And there are other places to explore as well.

Further to the north you could see Half Dome and El Capitan, Tuolumne Meadows, and the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, Cherry Lake and Lake Eleanor.

Quite a view.

The snow level seems to be at about 7,000 feet or so, and there were plenty of nice destinations that were calling.

Unfortunately, there are airplanes and business trips that are calling as well. We won't get into the mountains this weekend.

sigh.

Making plans

2012-02-03T23:28:02.494Z

Yes, we're still in the middle of winter, but that hasn't kept us from thinking about the trips we'd like to take this summer. And we've even got a few ideas for this spring.

But spring hiking is always an adventure. The weather can be crazy, and we usually get out on the trails well before the trail crews do. That means lots of downed trees and obstacles to negotiate. In fact, last year there was so much snow that we had some of those problems on our trip over Fourth of July weekend!

At one point we just decided that we weren't going to fight our way through another huge section of avalanche damage. You can see some of the worst of it in the photo at right...about 200 yards of dead trees that covered up any semblance of a trail... and on one side was a steep icy slope of snow, and the other was massive blocks of talus.

But that didn't keep us from having a pretty good time on the trip, and seeing some awfully beautiful country. And we caught some nice fish.

Let's see. Where is that map again?

We've been published!

2012-01-31T20:26:43.232Z

A local magazine liked our story about the hike we took to the top of Mt. St. Helena that they asked us to write it up for publication. Which is what we did.

You can see the magazine here: http://www.hudsonprinting-digital.com/Publications/NapaValleyLife/NVLife_DecJan_2012/#/58/

And our article is on page 56!

Fishhook

2012-01-28T15:05:51.648Z

P has an old joke that he often told our kids when they were younger. He would announce that we were approaching Fishhook. "What's that?" they would ask. "It's the end of the line," he would announce.

And they would groan.

But there are times on the trail when it is important to recognize when you are at Fishhook. We once climbed up to the top of Chilnualna Falls in Yosemite in the winter. The trail was covered in snow, but we were fine until we got to with about 100 feet of seeing the top of the falls. Because at this point the trail had three feet of powdery snow on it, and followed a narrow ledge along a 500 foot drop. And we couldn't exactly see where the trail actually went. We poked our feet around in the snow for a minute or two and decided that we were at Fishhook. The benefits of seeing the top of the falls just didn't justify the risks of having one of us slip off that ledge.

(You can get an idea of the terrain in the photo at right. And yes, if we'd had hiking poles, or climbing ropes, the decision might have been different. We didn't.)

So we turned around.

What brings this to mind is our recent trip up Fairview Dome in Yosemite. It's steep, and the wind was howling. And because it was January, it was cold. And so we decided that it didn't really matter that we weren't going all the way to the top. As a friend told P many years ago: "Summits are all in the mind."

We've stopped our hike or changed our route many times because of swollen creeks, time of day, or icy or overhanging snow. And we have never once regretted it.

When we hear of people getting rescued off mountains, we usually don't admire their courage or their adventuring spirits. We dp find ourselves questioning their judgment, and wondering why they didn't turn around when it made sense to do so.