Death Valley 2008
I began the month with a four day trip to Death Valley. Rather than copying and pasting, here is a link to a story I posted at my photography web site.
A Brand New State Park…
… to me anyway. This morning I visited Pacheco State Park at the summit of Pacheco Pass between Los Banos and Gilroy. I’ve driven past here for years on my way to/from the Sierra, Death Valley, Los Angeles, but only turned off the road here briefly once a few years ago. This past week I read a post about wildflowers at this park, and I decided to check it out.
I was on the road early enough this morning that I arrived at the park before the sun was up – so I decided to first take a quick trip down to the shoreline of San Luis Reservoir to check out a photo I’ve had in mind. Didn’t work, so I headed back up to the pass and turned off to the park. A short distance up the road from Hiway 152 I took the turn-off onto the short dirt road to the parking lot at the start of the trail to Spikes Peak and many other places. There was only one other car there when I arrived!. This trailhead is – at this time of year – in a beautiful green meadow area with wildflowers just coming up.
Because I was carrying my camera equipment my hike was rather slow since I needed to stop frequently to unload and set up my tripod and camera and various lenses. Before I topped the small saddle at the far end of the meadow I had already stopped two or three times to photograph oak trees catching the first morning light.
Two Oak Trees, Morning. Pacheco State Park, California. March 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Although the hills and grasslands of central California have been starting to turn green for a few weeks now, the impossibly green season is now underway, with grasses coming up like crazy along with all sorts of other vegetation and many wildflowers. I stopped frequently to check out loads of flowers, though it wasn’t easy to photograph them due to extreme winds.
Eventually I wound my way up onto a high ridge along the crest of this portion of the Diablo Range, with extensive views in all directions. To the south there was a bit of snow on somewhat higher peaks; to the west I could see a few clouds forming under the marine air influence; to the north the burned areas of Coe Park were visible with Mt. Hamilton beyond. But the real treat was to the east – green, folded, oak covered ridges in front of me, the San Luis Reservoir beyond them, and then across the wide Central Valley almost the whole Sierra Nevada range was visible on the horizon.
From Pacheco to the Sierra. Pacheco State Park, California. March 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
I continued on along the ridge – in astonishingly strong winds – until I finally reached the “summit” of Spikes Peak. It is the tallest spot on this ridge, and it affords quite a view – but there were higher peaks in several directions. After a quick jaunt back along the ridge and then down to the parking lot the way I had come, I was back at my car by noon.
If It Is Getting Warmer, How Come It Seems Colder?
The global warming skeptics will grab at almost any straw rather than see the what consensus now regards as the obvious. This includes misinterpreting some “cold” weather as “proof” that the planet couldn’t possibly be warming and that “all those silly scientists must be wrong.” Or maybe it is a global scientific conspiracy. (To what end is difficult to imagine… :-)
Here is an interesting discussion that sheds some light on what is likely going on.
If global warming is occurring, why was the winter of 2007-2008 so cold and snowy?. The planet was much snowier and warmer than usual during the winter of 2007-2008, according to statistics released today by the National Climatic Data Center. Snow cover extent over the Northern Hemisphere during the period December 2007 – February 2008 was the fourth greatest on record, and was the greatest on record for January. Satellite-derived snow cover records extend back to 1967. Some regions of the Middle East, such as Baghdad, Iraq saw their first snow in …
Read More [Dr. Jeff Masters’ WunderBlog]
A short story includes the following: Even in times of climate change there will be periods that are above “normal” (new normal or old normal) in terms of temperature, precipitation, and so forth. The weather never has been the same from year to year and global warming won’t change that. Counterintuitively warmer weather can lead to more snow in some places.
Read the link to find out more.
Please Make It Stop!
SFGate: Bush intervention led EPA to scale back ozone limits:
The Environmental Protection Agency weakened one part of its new limits on smog-forming ozone after an unusual, last-minute intervention by President Bush, according to documents released by the EPA.
EPA officials initially tried to set a lower seasonal limit on ozone to protect wildlife, parks and farmland, as required under federal law. While their proposal was less restrictive than what the EPA’s scientific advisers had proposed, Bush overruled EPA officials Tuesday and ordered the agency to raise the limit, according to the documents.
“It is unprecedented and an unlawful act of political interference for the president personally to override a decision that the Clean Air Act leaves exclusively to EPA’s expert scientific judgment,” said John Walke, clean air director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Another EPA 'Decision' Affected by Timidity or Meddling?
The same process that derailed the California greenhouse gas automotive regulations seems to be at work here.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced a modest tightening of the smog standard on Wednesday evening, overruling the unanimous advice of its scientific advisory council for a more protective standard.
The standard, stated in terms of average concentrations of ozone at ground level over an eight-hour period, is now 84 parts per billion. Mr. Johnson’s decision, if it survives court review, would lower that to 75, although implementation could be decades away. Late last year a scientific advisory panel recommended 60 to 70 parts per billion.
(From a New York Times article.)
Spring in Central California
Calero Trail, Spring. Calero Hills, California. March 8, 2008. Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
NOW is the time to head for the central California hills – the new grass is coming up, the trees are budding, and wildflowers are beginning to emerge. After last year’s drought, this season’s normal or near-normal rainfall has produced a spring show that you don’t want to miss!
I'm Back… I Hope
This site was off line for about 24 hours for what I’ll euphemistically refer to as “technical problems.” I think the issues have now been resolved.
Mel Cotton
Tom Mangan of Two-Heel Drive notes that Mel Cotton passed away recently. (“RIP, Mel Cotton“)
That won’t mean much to people from outside the Santa Clara Valley, or even to folks from the Valley who have come to think of REI as the One and Only Outdoor Store in the area. But the Mel Cotton’s store on San Carlos was one of the first (and perhaps the longest surviving?) outdoor stores in the San Jose area, having opened in the late 1950s or so.
I was brought up not too far from that store, and despite having shopped at the whole lineage of South Bay outdoor shops (Freemans, Western Mountaineering, Mountain Equipage, and more) Mel’s was the first place where I learned to lust after outdoor gear and dream of becoming a hiker, backpacker, skier and more. (No, Mel’s hunting section never did tempt me… :-)
The store lives on and retains a certain appealing funkiness lacking at the more modern and corporate outdoor stores.
Stalking Horsetail Falls
Although I’ve been going to Yosemite regularly since I was perhaps five years old (and I’m not going to say how long ago that was… ;-) I’ve never managed to see the February marvel of Horsetail Fall at sunset. Horsetail is a seasonal waterfall near the east end of the face of El Capitan. During early to mid February (and, according to some a bit earlier and later in the year as well) the light from the sun hits the waterfall just before sunset, creating an amazing light show for those who are a bit east of El Capitan where they can view the backlit waterfall. Galen Rowell made the sight famous with one of his photographs taken several decades ago, and it has since become of of the “must do” photographs in the Valley.
Partly inspired by Edie Howe’s information at The Little Red Tent web site, I made plans to get up there last weekend. The conditions were, indeed, right this time. Several things have to fall into place for this to work. There must have been good snowfall on the area just above the Valley. There must have a been a period of warmer weather that has melted some of the snow in order to get the creek feeding the fall running. The weather must be such that the sun can hit the wall at sunset – either clear weather or else clouds that permit the sunlight to shine through right at sunset.
I went to the Valley on Friday and got myself a campsite in the early afternoon, after which I spent a couple of hours scoping out shooting locations. I found several along Southside Drive on the opposite side of the Valley from the fall. However, the closest location is at the El Capitan picnic area on Northside Drive. Unfortunately (or maybe not so unfortunately…) Northside Drive has been closed by a combination of construction work and some rockfall farther east in the Valley. I finally decided to try for the picnic area. Since this requires a bit of a walk across the Valley, some time in the currently snowed-in picnic area, and a dark walk back across to Northside drive, I dressed warmly and got an early start.
In the end I was rewarded with some quite good photograph opportunities and I made a lot of exposures. However, I decided to go back and give it another try the next night – and that is when I got the image posted below.
Horsetail Fall, Sunset. Yosemite National Park, California. February 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
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Dan's Outside 
Wildflower Hike at Almaden Quicksilver
Knowing that the central California wildflower season is just about at its peak, I went out for a short hike this morning at Almaden Quicksilver County park and photographed wildflowers along a few of my old favorite trails.
Three Purple Wildflowers. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
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April 12, 2008 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary, Trails, Trips | Comments Off on Wildflower Hike at Almaden Quicksilver