Dan's Outside

2003.04.26

***Back to New Almaden today
– as usual. I think I need to try some other trails… ;-) But really, it is nice to have a nearby place that I feel like I really know. Today was unusual for California spring. It is supposed to be getting drier and warmer now, but it rained most of the week and was unusually cold – so the trail to English Camp and beyond was very wet and muddy. Still keeping an eye on the White Lupine patch near the mine on the ridge – more flowers today but the peak is perhaps still a week away.
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April 26, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.04.26

2003.04.22

***Bogus logging debate
– “Bosworth said the fire threat from excessive fuel loads must be considered the paramount danger facing the nation’s forests. He also cited three other major threats: habitat fragmentation, unmanaged recreation and invasive species.” [SFGate]

The administration insists that those concerned about global warming are off-base because there is “no scientific proof” of this problem – but it wants to save the forests from forest fires by logging, despite plenty of evidence that the problems that do exist (overstated by the administration’s logging interests) are due to long-standing policies of overly-agressive fire prevention. This has led to an oversupply of combustible materials in the forest. The answer is to expand the policy of managing wild fires rather than just putting them out. It is obvious to anyone that fire has an important role in sustaining the health of forest ecosystems – and logging doesn’t.

To give him his due, the other three issue he cites (habitat fragmentation, unmanaged recreation, and invasive species) are definitely significant.
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April 22, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.04.22

Small Flowers April 2003

Small flowers at Almaden Quicksilver County Park. April, 2003.
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April 22, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Small Flowers April 2003

2003.04.21

***‘Slow Quakes’ May Lay Ground Work for Big Ones.
This spring, as people in the Pacific Northwest have gone about their usual drizzly business, an earthquake has been going on for weeks beneath their feet. By Carol Kaesuk Yoon. [New York Times: Science]
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April 21, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.04.21

Small Flowers April 2003

Small flowers at Almaden Quicksilver County Park. April 19, 2003.
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April 19, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Small Flowers April 2003

Blue Flower April 2003

Blue spring flower at Quicksilver Mines County Park. April 19, 2003
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April 19, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Blue Flower April 2003

2003.04.19

***Spring hike

I hiked the usual trail at Almaden Quicksilver Country Park this morning – out on the Randol trail and then up a lateral to reach the ridge trail to Bull Run, and back to New Almaden.

Today was the day that you wait for all winter. The hills are covered in green grass just starting to to to seed, wild flowers are everywhere, you hear the sound of running water from last week’s rain.

I would usually take about two hours to complete this hike but today I spent over 3 hours soaking it all in.

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April 19, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.04.19

2003.04.15

***Spice It Up
– Cuisine expert Emeril Lagasse shares eight tips on how to liven up your camp cooking. [Backpacker]
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April 15, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.04.15

2003.04.12

***Michael McClary.
“Irrigation of the land with seawater desalinated by fusion power is ancient. It’s called ‘rain’.” [Quotes of the Day]

***No weekend hikes today!
Not only is the weather conspiring against me but this is one of those days when I need to drive my kids to multiple school events. I guess I should be grateful that this coincides with a day of stormy weather, and not a beautiful spring day!

***Speaking of the weather
– this is starting to look like a pretty strange April in central California. This week is starting to look like a repeat of last weekend when I was snowed out of the first day of a cross-country ski trip in the Sierra: a series of cold storms of artic origin is lined to to hit us with significant rain and low-eleveation snow.
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April 12, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on 2003.04.12

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