Month: May 2005

  • Marty the Marmot

    Marty the Marmot Originally uploaded by Chuck Rogers. Here’s a great photo from Chuck Rogers of one of the Yosemite High Country’s more colorful residents, the yellow bellied marmot. This one seems to have the same expression that all of the marmots I’ve happened across have. They seem to be thinking, “big stupid humans”. Usually…

  • Yosemite Valley Open But Beware of High Water

    Just called into the Park and it looks like all roads are open into Yosemite at this time. If you’re headed up to the park today beware of the water. Every year the Merced River takes at least one life. Remember, it takes only 6 inches of fast flowing water to knock a person off…

  • Spend Eternity In Yosemite

    How much do you love Yosemite? Do you love it enough that you want it to be your final resting place? If you’ve ever thought about being cremated and having your ashes spread over the National Park then here’s some news, you can. The NPS regularly grants permission to those who wish to scatter cremated…

  • High Water On The Way For This Weekend

    National Park Service: “National Park officials, Department of Water Resource officials, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have predicted that water levels are likely to rise and remain above the normal high water mark from approximately late Friday night through Monday morning. Due to safety concerns, visitors are advised that facilities and/or roads in…

  • Unusually Large Snow Pack Hindering Opening Of Tioga Road

    National Park Service: “Yosemite National Park has experienced an unusually long, wet winter this year. Snow pack in the Merced River drainage is at 187% of an average year and the Tuolumne River drainage is at 179% of an average year. Snow densities are averaging about 50% water content. This wet weather has extended late…

  • Merced On The Rise Again

    I was planning a dawn photoshoot in the Valley but it looks like I’m going to be holding off as I may not be able to get in. The Merced is rising and is already at a little over 10′, flood stage, according to the CDEC. The flow-cycle appears to be topping out at about…

  • Current Water Level At Pohono Bridge

    Just checked over at the CDEC and here’s the current water level at Pohono Bridge.

  • Yosemite Valley Under Flood Advisory

    NOAA has issued a flood warning for the Yosemite Valley. The river is currently just below flood stage at 10′. If you’re planning on heading up to the park this weekend, you may not make it. NOAA: “Flood Warning CAC043-201500- FLOOD STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY – HANFORD CA 615 AM PDT FRI…

  • It’s All In How You Say It

    In college I took a “Biology of the Sierra Nevada” class with a very interesting professor. His mother was Mi-Wok and had lived with her family in Sequoia National Park a little way south of Yosemite. On the first day of class we walked in and sat down at our desks. The professor moved to…

  • A Story, A Moral, and Some Sage Words

    A few years ago my wife, son, and I took off on a weekend camping trip during late June to the Eastern Sierra. Temperatures where I live had been between 96-101 for the past week so escaping to the cooler mountains sounded like a pretty good idea. Breaking from the rules my dad had taught…