Dan's Outside

I go, I see, I do, I walk, I think, I like…

Regarding Site Membership

Unfortunately, I was not able to retain the membership list from the former version of the site. I know it is an inconvenience, but I’d be grateful if you take a moment to sign up again by clicking the link in the Meta section of the sidebar.

May 22, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | Comments Off on Regarding Site Membership

You Found It!

This is the new location of Dan’s Outside, my blog about outdoor activities including backpacking, hiking, and photography in California. Now that you have found it – especially if you came from the old version of the site – take a moment to:

  1. bookmark this new URL in your web browser, and
  2. subscribe to the new feed for the site to get updates – either use the link on this page or use your favorite new reader.
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May 22, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Important Site Transition News

I’m in the process of rearranging and moving some web sites, including the Dan’s Outside site where I’ve posted on my outdoor adventures and related topics for quite a few years. The transition involves complexities of several types – moving to a different host and a different domain name, to name a couple. The plan goes sort of like this:

I know that some of you subscribe to the feed from this web site. Continue to do so as the transition takes place – but it would also be a very good idea to visit the temporary mirror (https://danmitchelloutside.wordpress.com/) and subscribe to that feed as well. This will ensure that you don’t miss any announcements about the transition.

I’m attempting to do this in a way that will not lose any of the current web site content and which will make the change as transparent as possible for users. But thanks in advance for your patience and understanding as the transition takes place.

Dan

May 22, 2010 Posted by | Uncategorized | Comments Off on Important Site Transition News

A Strange Sierra Spring

During a typical May we would be making our first drives over Tioga Pass and wondering if there might be enough snow left to keep Mammoth open until July 4th. The past two years were more typical and even drier/warmer than usual. However, this year is shaping up to be unusual. The overall precipitation for the season was (yes!) above normal – which is especially welcome after a few years of below normal precip. On top of that this has been a very cool and wet spring. During a typical May it usually feels more like early summer in the Sierra, but this year it has been more like an extended winter. The storm fronts have continued to pass through and even now in the latter part of May there is a string of cold, wet storms lined up to pass across the Sierra.

So, when will Tioga Pass Road open? I don’t have any inside information but I do know the history (average historical opening date is May 29) and I follow the current reports at the NPS and elsewhere. The road was reportedly plowed through recently, but this does not mean that it is yet ready to open. There is always a lot of additional work to take care of including clearing side roads and parking areas, patching road damage, and so forth. My hunch is that the NPS would like to get it open for Memorial Day Weekend in another week, but that this may be a challenge this year – especially if the forecast of another cold week with the possibility of snow pans out.

While the delay in “opening the high country” can frustrate some of us who want to get up there early, there are compensations. When the road does open, it is likely that we’ll see a lot of snow still in the high country – not like a few previous years when it seemed all too much like summer all too quickly. Even better, the heavy snow fall and late melt promises a long, green summer season and tons of wildflowers. (OK, and tons of mosquitoes, too – but let’s try not to think about that, OK?)

May 22, 2010 Posted by | Commentary, Sierra Nevada | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A Strange Sierra Spring

   

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