Dan's Outside

More Right Than I Thought?

During the past week or so I have posted a few times about the prospective opening of Tioga Pass Road through Tuolumne Meadows between the Central Valley and Owens Valley. First I predicted that the road might open this past Thursday – based on historic opening dates and information could read about current road-clearing progress. Then when the road did not open this past week, I posted a mea culpa regarding my incorrect guess. (To be fair, I did not state with certainty that it would open on Thursday – I carefully hedge a lot… ;-)

Today I saw the following from Yosemite Blog, suggesting that my earlier prediction may not have been that far off the mark but for a bit of last minute weather in the high country.

Tioga Pass Still Closed.

I just checked and due to recent storm activity Tioga Pass is still closed though it was slated to open yesterday or today if conditions should allow.

It’s a beautiful day today so hopefully it’ll melt away some of the snow and ice so they can get the pass open. Stay tuned. I’ll let you know if anything should change.

[Yosemite Blog]

Stay tuned…
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May 5, 2007 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on More Right Than I Thought?

More on Tioga Pass Opening

Yosemite Explorer posts a story supporting my hope that Tioga Pass Road will open very soon:

Tioga Pass and Glacier Point Roads Opening Soon (May 4?); Sonora Pass Opens (27 April 2007).

Tioga Pass Road has opened to administrative traffic as of a couple of days ago (Friday, April 27, 2007). That basically means that they still might have a few things to do here and there, but they are planning to open next Friday, May 4, 2007. Glacier Point Road is set to open at the same time. These are tenative dates that, as always, depend on weather and staffing, but it basically looks good. The official word from NPS is that there is no set opening date yet, but they are telling the truck drivers and such to gear up to be ready to go for May 4.

read more

[Yosemite Explorer – Yosemite in pictures]

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April 29, 2007 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on More on Tioga Pass Opening

Monitor Pass, Clouds

Monitor Pass, Clouds. Alpine County, California. April 4, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

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April 17, 2007 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Monitor Pass, Clouds

Tioga Road Plowing – The Video

I just found a neat little video about the work of the road crew as they plow across the Olmsted Point area above Tenaya Lake: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/olmstedplowing.mov

(Meanwhile, my thoughts are turning towards Death Valley… :-)
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March 25, 2007 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Tioga Road Plowing – The Video

When Will Tioga Road Open?

Spring begins and many of us start to speculate on this years opening date for Tioga Pass Road. The Park Services maintains a web page (Tioga Road Opening and Closing Dates) that offers some guidance, but in the end it depends on a bunch of variables.

According to this record, the earliest date has been April 29 – on two occasions. The opening has also been as late as the beginning of July. I recall driving over the pass on July 8 in 1998, the year when it opened on July 1. It felt more like winter than spring up there. People were still trying to ski is spots, the creeks were running as high as I’ve ever seen, and Tuolumne Meadow was more accurately described as Tuolumne Lake.

Typical opening dates are in May or June. According to the Tioga and Glacier Point Roads Plowing Update page plowing will begin on April 16 this year. This being a drier than average year, I’m guessing that the road might open by mid-May, barring any unforeseen challenges like large rockslides.
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March 25, 2007 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on When Will Tioga Road Open?

Young Aspen Tree, Conway Summit

Young Aspen Tree. Near Conway Summit, California. October 8, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

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January 9, 2007 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Young Aspen Tree, Conway Summit

Rock, Aspens, Meadow

Rock, Meadow, Aspens. Near North Lake, California. October 1, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

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December 26, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Rock, Aspens, Meadow

A Tioga Pass Webcam Sunset

Another beautiful almost-live image from the Tioga Pass webcam.
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December 18, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on A Tioga Pass Webcam Sunset

Tioga Lake, Mammoth Peak

Tioga Lake and Mammoth Peak. Tioga Pass, California. July 3, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

Now that December is here, it is nice to recall this warm July morning on one of last season’s first summer trips to the Sierra.
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December 12, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Tioga Lake, Mammoth Peak

Aspen Grove and Bird Feeders

Aspen Grove and Bird Houses. Lee Vining Canyon, California. July 3, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)

The story: Lee Vining Canyon is, not surprisingly, in the canyon above the eastern Sierra town of Lee Vining. The canyon contains extensive groves of aspen trees including this small stand near the Aspen campground. I had driven past it more than once without noticing that it is filled with many unique and colorful bird houses. There is no indication of who put them there or why.
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December 9, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Aspen Grove and Bird Feeders