A bit off-topic, but I love this stuff. Remembrance of Things Future: The Mystery of Time in the New York Times:
When it comes to the nature of time, physicists are pretty much at as much of a loss as the rest of us who seem hopelessly swept along in its current. The mystery of time is connected with some of the thorniest questions in physics, as well as in philosophy, like why we remember the past but not the future, how causality works, why you can’t stir cream out of your coffee or put perfume back in a bottle.
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June 27, 2005
Posted by gdanmitchell |
News |
Comments Off on Remembrance of Things Future: The Mystery of Time
(From a message from Martha Claassen.)
Hello Mr. Mitchell,
I came upon your site surfing the Tioga Rd. situation. I was drawn into it to see your photos of the Sawtooth Ridge, an area that has a great deal of meaning to me. The photo of the irises in the Bridgeport Valley is indeed a postcard view.
I have copied into the body of this letter the text from a poster regarding my husband Fred, a serious non-professional photographer and environmental sound recordist, who’s been missing in the Hoover Wilderness since 2003. My hope is that an aware backpacker like yourself will someday find a clue that will help me, and the Mono Co. and YNP Search authorities, find him this year. I would deeply appreciate it if you could alert anyone you know that may be heading into the area to the news of a missing person out there. The deep snows are going to give us a short season to search, if the passes ever clear. I have the poster as a JPG with a good photo of Fred in full backpacking regalia, but I can’t see how to get it to you from this page. (I don’t have a website myself, I think I can only send it as an attachment.)
Fred and I were avid backpackers, though I started backpacking in 1969 in Lake Tahoe and he didn’t start until the 1990s. We were married in Yosemite Valley in 1999. We did many of the same trips I see on your site–Lamarck Col and the Darwin Bench, Evolution Valley, Onion Valley to Mt. Whitney (’01), 1000 Island lake, Ediza-Iceburg Lake and the Minarets, and the list goes on and on. In 2003 we did over 100 miles of trips in the desert and the Sierra. We had been home less than a week from a 10 day adventure in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, Fred had 2 days vacation left, so he decided to head for the Sawtooth Range (upon reading they were the northern extension of the Minarets, where we had just come from) to record the thunder storms that had been rolling through that week, and of course take photos. The rest of the story is contained in official reports, press releases and stories, and even a short TV news blurb on channel 5 News. Our home was/is in Livermore.
I’ll have this poster tacked up around Bridgeport and the eastern Sierra again this year. I’m heading that way next week. Again, I need all the help I can get letting people know tha a tripod or portable DAT recorder or walking stick lying around unattended in this area could be a valuable clue to his location, and should be reported. Thanks in advance for your help.
Happy trails,
Martha Claassen
| ***OVERDUE BACKPACKER STILL MISSING
Your help is needed! People hiking the High Sierra backcountry west
of Bridgeport in 2005 are asked to report any clues they find
to help locate a backpacker missing since August 1, 2003.
Fred Claassen, 46, entered the Hoover Wilderness from Twin Lakes on Thursday, July 31, 2003. His itinerary was to hike by trail to Crown Lake, over Mule and Burro passes, returning to Twin Lakes cross-country via Matterhorn Pass and the Horse Creek drainage. He was due back Monday, August 4, ?03.. Hikers reported seeing him on the afternoon of Friday, August 1, ?03 at Crown Lake. He has not been heard from since. The search area includes the Robinson Creek drainage (Barney, Peeler, Robinson, Crown, and Snow Lakes area), the Horse Creek Drainage, and the northern part of Yosemite National Park between Mule Pass, Burro Pass, and the Matterhorn.
Equipment you might find .
*Black, Dana Designs Astroplane pack w/Sierra Club Centennial Patch on lid
*Blue nylon GoLite daypack containing photo equipment; a tripod
*Portable Sony tape recorder in plastic bag, microphones and tapes in plastic box
*CD player, CD wallet, gold walking stick w/wood handle
*Sage green GoLite tent, teal-green down sleeping bag, blue Luxury Thermarest
*Black Garcia Bear-Resistant food container, MSR stove, red fuel bottle,
*Red down jacket; navy Marmot Precip rain jacket and pants; Teva leather sandals
The photo shows Claassen with typical backpacking gear.
Small clues can help–Please call
Please report stray articles of clothing, unattended equipment, unusual odors, or anything you believe might be useful to:
Mono Co. Sheriff’s Dept. at 760.932.7549
or
Yosemite National Park at 209.379.1992
Any clues, however small, can help us focus the search. Thank you. |
—–
June 27, 2005
Posted by gdanmitchell |
Commentary |
Comments Off on Missing Hiker: Fred Claassen
Dan's Outside 
Missing Hiker: Fred Claassen
(From a message from Martha Claassen.)
Hello Mr. Mitchell,
I came upon your site surfing the Tioga Rd. situation. I was drawn into it to see your photos of the Sawtooth Ridge, an area that has a great deal of meaning to me. The photo of the irises in the Bridgeport Valley is indeed a postcard view.
I have copied into the body of this letter the text from a poster regarding my husband Fred, a serious non-professional photographer and environmental sound recordist, who’s been missing in the Hoover Wilderness since 2003. My hope is that an aware backpacker like yourself will someday find a clue that will help me, and the Mono Co. and YNP Search authorities, find him this year. I would deeply appreciate it if you could alert anyone you know that may be heading into the area to the news of a missing person out there. The deep snows are going to give us a short season to search, if the passes ever clear. I have the poster as a JPG with a good photo of Fred in full backpacking regalia, but I can’t see how to get it to you from this page. (I don’t have a website myself, I think I can only send it as an attachment.)
Fred and I were avid backpackers, though I started backpacking in 1969 in Lake Tahoe and he didn’t start until the 1990s. We were married in Yosemite Valley in 1999. We did many of the same trips I see on your site–Lamarck Col and the Darwin Bench, Evolution Valley, Onion Valley to Mt. Whitney (’01), 1000 Island lake, Ediza-Iceburg Lake and the Minarets, and the list goes on and on. In 2003 we did over 100 miles of trips in the desert and the Sierra. We had been home less than a week from a 10 day adventure in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, Fred had 2 days vacation left, so he decided to head for the Sawtooth Range (upon reading they were the northern extension of the Minarets, where we had just come from) to record the thunder storms that had been rolling through that week, and of course take photos. The rest of the story is contained in official reports, press releases and stories, and even a short TV news blurb on channel 5 News. Our home was/is in Livermore.
I’ll have this poster tacked up around Bridgeport and the eastern Sierra again this year. I’m heading that way next week. Again, I need all the help I can get letting people know tha a tripod or portable DAT recorder or walking stick lying around unattended in this area could be a valuable clue to his location, and should be reported. Thanks in advance for your help.
Happy trails,
Martha Claassen
Your help is needed! People hiking the High Sierra backcountry west
of Bridgeport in 2005 are asked to report any clues they find
to help locate a backpacker missing since August 1, 2003.
Fred Claassen, 46, entered the Hoover Wilderness from Twin Lakes on Thursday, July 31, 2003. His itinerary was to hike by trail to Crown Lake, over Mule and Burro passes, returning to Twin Lakes cross-country via Matterhorn Pass and the Horse Creek drainage. He was due back Monday, August 4, ?03.. Hikers reported seeing him on the afternoon of Friday, August 1, ?03 at Crown Lake. He has not been heard from since. The search area includes the Robinson Creek drainage (Barney, Peeler, Robinson, Crown, and Snow Lakes area), the Horse Creek Drainage, and the northern part of Yosemite National Park between Mule Pass, Burro Pass, and the Matterhorn.
Equipment you might find .
*Black, Dana Designs Astroplane pack w/Sierra Club Centennial Patch on lid
*Blue nylon GoLite daypack containing photo equipment; a tripod
*Portable Sony tape recorder in plastic bag, microphones and tapes in plastic box
*CD player, CD wallet, gold walking stick w/wood handle
*Sage green GoLite tent, teal-green down sleeping bag, blue Luxury Thermarest
*Black Garcia Bear-Resistant food container, MSR stove, red fuel bottle,
*Red down jacket; navy Marmot Precip rain jacket and pants; Teva leather sandals
The photo shows Claassen with typical backpacking gear.
Small clues can help–Please call
Please report stray articles of clothing, unattended equipment, unusual odors, or anything you believe might be useful to:
Mono Co. Sheriff’s Dept. at 760.932.7549
or
Yosemite National Park at 209.379.1992
Any clues, however small, can help us focus the search. Thank you.
—–
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June 27, 2005 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Missing Hiker: Fred Claassen