Dan's Outside

2003.04.11

***Downward bound – Bay Area’s best hike an easy hike
– Tom Stienstra writes: “The trail runs 34.5 miles, starting at Castle Rock State Park on Skyline Ridge. From there it heads west through a diverse and eye-popping landscape — and downhill nearly the entire way — to the ocean at Waddell Beach and Rancho del Oso on the western outskirts of Big Basin State Park.” [SFGate]

Although I’ve hiked big sections of this trail (most of the upper part leading to Big Basin, and sections heading west from the park) I have never managed to put a backpack on and hike the whole thing – even though it is in my backyard.

***Advocates of Arctic Drilling Buoyed as House Passes Bill.
The House approved sweeping incentives on energy on Friday, including a green light for drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge. By Carl Hulse. [New York Times: Science]

Oh, man! Does Bush think that this is what the minority of Americans who voted for him wanted, much less the majority who didn’t?
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April 11, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.04.11

2003.04.08

***My new pack
– I used my new Mountainsmith Auspex pack for the first time this past weekend on my XC ski overnight in Yosemite, and I’m very pleased with the results.

The Auspex is a very lightwieght pack (about 3 1/2 lbs.) but with a relatively traditional design. It achieves its light weight by minimizing pockets (none, expect for the top pocket), zippers (one on the top pocket), padding (narrow straps and belts, and minimal back padding), and other traditional features – e.g., no collar around the top opening.)

It also is constructed of a lightweight laminate material that Mountainsmith claims is at least as strong as traditional pack material. The capacity is 4200 sq. in.

Although the pack is quite narrow I was able to strap tent and winter-weight pad on to the outside and it easily handled my largish winter load. The real surprise was the comfort of the pack. I have used a Gregory Gravity pack in the past and its minimal padding results in an uncomfortable carry with large loads. However, the Auspex was as comfortable as any other pack I’ve carried, including my older (and much heavier) Mountainsmith Crestone II.

I hoping to squeeze a 10-day load into this pack for a Sierra jaunt this August and I think it will probably work. Mountainsmith makes two similar packs: the Ghost is a smaller “ultralight” pack, and the Spector is a larger (5000 cu. in.) model that has more features than the Auspex.
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April 8, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.04.08

2003.04.07

***I posted a few pictures
from this weekend’s Glacier Point snow-camping trip on the Talusdancers web site.
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April 7, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.04.07

2003.04.06

***Back from Yosemite.
The trip was great, though it did not go quite as planned. When we arrived in Yosemite Valley on Friday, a cold late-season storm had closed the road to our trailhead at Badger Pass. We camped in the valley instead, and enjoyed about 6 inches of snowfall.

On Saturday the road to Badger Pass was opened to people heading to the backcountry – if they had 4-wheel-drive vehicles – so we made it to the trailhead and started skiing up the road to Glacier Point on about 15 inches of new powder. Things went pretty well until a point after the second turn-off to the Ostrander Hut, where we ran into deep, sticky powder that reduced our progress to a crawl. We finally gave up on our goal of making Glacier Point and instead found a scenic overlook of the Clark Range and set up camp.

We had a few snow flurries and fairly cold temperatures. Although I don’t have an official temperature for our location, Tuolumne Meadows (also in the park but at least 1000 feet higher) hit zero degrees!

Today was beautiful with warm temperatures and blue skies for the ski back to Badger Pass. I’ll try to post some pictures later.
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April 6, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.04.06

2003.04.04

***Off to the Sierra
as soon as I drop the kids off at school. We’ll see what the weather brings – it is raining right now, and snowing in Yosemite.
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April 4, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.04.04

2003.04.02

***The Glacier Point trip is on.
More information on the Talusdancers web site.
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April 2, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.04.02

Fletcher Peak October 2002

Fletcher Peak. October 2002
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March 31, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Fletcher Peak October 2002

California Poppy Spring 2003

California Poppy near the Randol Trail at Almaden Quicksilver County Park – March 30, 2002
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March 31, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on California Poppy Spring 2003

Almaden Trail Spring 2003

On the Randol Trail at Almaden Quicksilver County Park – March 30, 2002
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March 31, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Almaden Trail Spring 2003

2003.03.31

***More spring pictures
from my hikes at Almaden Quicksilver County Park.

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March 31, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.03.31