Dan's Outside

Final pack trip of the season

I’ll join a few friends next week for our traditional (well, its been a few years now) final pack trip of the season. At the end of the week we’ll head up to the Tioga Pass area for a first-night car-camping stay. The next morning we hike up to Fletcher Lake at 10,300 – from which just about everyone else has now departed. We attempt a traverse of a high ridge between Fletcher Peak and Parsons Peak, and then return to Tuolumne Meadows on Sunday for a last lunch of the season at Tioga Pass Resort.

Of course, this time of year weather could change everything.

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October 2, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Final pack trip of the season

Sierra fall colors

Aspens in Lundy Canyon, Eastern Sierra Nevada. September 26, 2004.

On this weekend’s quick Sierra trip I came close to hitting the peak of the autumn aspen colors – I think that the real peak may be perhaps a week away still.

This photo was taken in Lundy Canyon, which is just north of Lee Vining and Mono Lake, and up a very narrow dirt road. But you can see these colors in many places on the east side of the Sierra right now.

One of the most spectacular stands of aspen trees is on top of Monitor Pass between Markleeville and Hiway 395.
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September 27, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Sierra fall colors

Two days in Tuolumne

I’m heading to the Sierra very early tomorrow morning for a quick fall day-hike and photgraphy trip. I’ll likely day hike in the Tuolumne/Tioga area on Saturday, camp nearby that night, and either hike in the same area on Sunday or possibly take the long way home via Lee Vining, Mono Lake and Sonora or Monitor/Carson passes.

Hike ideas currently include the trail out past Dog Lake, Mono Pass, something around Saddlebag Lake, or something else near Tioga Pass. Elizabeth Lake and beyond, the Fletcher Lake area, Mt. Hoffman, and Cathedral Lakes are other possibilities.

I’m hopeful that my Talusdancers buddies and I will be able to squeeze in one last pack trip to Fletcher Lake during the second weekend of October – hopefully before the weather turns.
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September 24, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Two days in Tuolumne

First weather front of the season

Mt. Hamilton from Almaden Quicksilver. September 18, 2004.

The first Pacific front of the season is approaching today, and it felt very much like Autumn.
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September 18, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on First weather front of the season

Site news

This site may be down for a little while at some point over the weekend while I add a hard drive and take care of some other server maintenance stuff.
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September 10, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Site news

Yesterday's weather forecast

The interesting long-range forecast I posted yesterday has already been retracted, and it doesn’t look like any rain is heading my way in the near future.
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September 6, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Yesterday's weather forecast

Weather

This is the kind of stuff I like to start watching for this time of year:

THE GFS REALLY GOES WILD NEXT WEEKEND…BRINGING SIGNIFICANT RAIN TO
THE N BAY SAT NIGHT/SUN AND OVER THE DISTRICT THE FOLLOWING MON AND
TUE. THIS IS ABOUT 4-6 WEEKS EARLIER THAN THE USUAL FIRST GOOD RAIN
FOR OUR DISTRICT. THE OTHER MODELS DONT GO OUT THAT FAR BUT SHOW NO
INCLINATION TO DEVELOP A SIMILAR PATTERN SO WILL DISREGARD THIS COOL
WET GFS FOR NOW. THIS MODEL FORECAST IS A BIG CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS
GFS RUNS.

(From the San Francisco Bay Area Forecast Discussion.)

Every September I start thinking that the rainy (and snowy!) season is just around the corner, when in reality it is still a good two months away. These tantalizing forecasts – which almost never pan out – just encourage me!
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September 5, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Weather

Randol Trail #2

Randol Trail #2. Almaden Quicksilver Park. September 3, 2004.

Another version of a shot I posted a few days ago. I think I like the previous one better on the web site, but the new one seems to work better as a print.
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September 4, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Randol Trail #2

Castle Rock fog

Fog and trees at Castle Rock State Park. May 22, 2004.
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September 1, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Castle Rock fog

Mt. Hamilton

Almaden Quicksilver Park with Mt. Hamilton in the distance. August 28, 2004.

This shot is something of an experiment. It consists of four 8-megapixel images stitched together – though the resulting higher resolution is not apparent in this reduced-size image.
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August 29, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Mt. Hamilton