Yosemite Blog Reports High Water in Yosemite Valley This Weekend
According to a post at Yosemite blog, the weather service is forecasting that high levels of spring runoff water in the Merced River may cause some flooding in Yosemite Valley this weekend. Before you panic, a bit of flooding in wet years is a normal thing and is part of the natural life cycle of meadows there. And, if you are a photographer, this can provide some very special photographic opportunities.
Tioga Pass Road Opening This Weekend?
I’m just passing this along as an as-yet-unconfirmed rumor, but I’ve heard that Tioga Pass Road may open this weekend. Expect that many areas will still have a lot of snow and/or be quite wet, especially up high. Also, don’t expect any services or campgrounds to be open along the road in the park.
Old Priest Grade Temporary Closure
According to Yosemite 120 on Twitter, Old Priest Road on Route 120 into Yosemite National Park will be closed during most of July and August. This road provides a short, steep shortcut on 120 as the road begins to ascend from the lowlands. Many of us take it both to save a few minutes and to avoid being held up behind quite so many RVs and slow vehicles pulling trailers!
At the Risk of Becoming the Dancing Bear Blog…
Another crazy bear video from Youtube:
Come to think of it, “Dancing Bear Blog” isn’t a bad title.
Memorial Weekend – Ebbetts Pass and Sonora Pass? Maybe.
I just checked the California Mountain Hiways page at Caltrans and it looks like Ebbetts Pass and Sonora Pass may now be open – do check directly before driving up there, but I’m optimistic. The opening of these two passes is often an indication that the opening of Tioga Pass Road may be about a week away. Fingers crossed…
SFGate Update on California Camping for Holiday Weekend
SF Gate’s Tom Stienstra reports that it is still possible to find decent camping locations for the upcoming Memorial Day Holiday weekend. His article also includes updated information on a number or related topics – including more road opening information than I had before I read it. (He speculates that Caltrans is trying to get at least a couple of trans-Sierra passes open this weekend – though not Tioga.)
As for me, no camping this weekend. In previous years I’ve joined some friends for a “Goodbye Winter, Hello Summer” traditional visit to Mammoth for desert camping and late-season telemark skiing. However, this year I’m just a bit too busy with other things, and I’ll likely be staying closer to home.
Memorial Weekend – Glacier Point? Yes. Tioga Pass? No.
The most recent update at the Yosemite National Park web site confirms what many suspected, namely that Glacier Point Road will likely be available over the upcoming holiday weekend but that Tioga Pass will not open quite yet.
Glacier Point Road:
The Glacier Point Road will open on Friday, May 28 at noon, conditions permitting. Expect 30-minute delays between Chinquapin and Badger Pass Sunday night through Friday afternoon (except Memorial Day).Tioga Road:
The Tioga Road will not be open for Memorial Day weekend; there is no estimated opening date.Plows have reached Tioga Pass and will now be working on widening the road. Plowing continues Monday – Saturday. Average Snow Depth is 4 to 6 feet. Plowing operation will continue today.
As I have mentioned before, this has been an unusually cold and wet May. Just this morning I heard that chain requirements were up on Interstate 80 over Donner Summit. As of today, Ebbetts, Sonora, and Monitor Passes are reportedly still closed. You can be pretty certain that Tioga won’t open before them, though it frequently opens perhaps a week or so after they open.
Pole Dancing Bear Video! (OK. It is a bear. And a tree. In the forest…)
That is “B-E-A-R,” OK?
In case the embedded video doesn’t work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9og9YZu8gI&feature=player_embedded
OK, the embed doesn’t work. So you’ll just have to click the link to see this video of a “pole dancing bear.”
Wait, I think I figured out the embedding method – here it is:
They Call This Spring?
Coming in to work this morning, the radio station reported that snow chain requirements are up on highway 80 across Donner Summit, and that eastbound traffic is being held at Colfax! Wait a minute – this is supposed to be spring!
While reports say that the overall weather in much of the rest of the world is warmer than normal so far this year, here in northern and central California this has been anything but a warm May. One report on a Bay Area television station earlier this week suggested that by the end of the month one quarter or a third of the days of May will have seen some precipitation.
I’m not complaining though. I prefer cool and “interesting” weather to the boring and consistently beautiful and warm weather of summer in the part of the world, and I welcome the possibility of a very green and wildflower-filled summer in the Sierra this year!
2010 Update to My Backpacking Photography Article
For outdoor folks who drag photography equipment into the back-country, I’ve updated my description of the equipment that I use for backpacking photography: See “Backpacking Photography Equipment” at my photography blog.
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