tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77194542766793628352024-03-13T10:50:45.359-07:00The Redwoods/Surfing LifeLiving in the natural worldElliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-63785271256307338282020-06-22T12:59:00.000-07:002020-06-22T12:59:02.598-07:00Venturing Into the Carsen-Iceberg Wilderness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i style="font-family: Georgia; white-space: pre-wrap;">Story and photos by Elliott Almond</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">CLARK FORK, Calif. -- Laurelin Lewis was in good spirits for the launch of summer at her Dardanelle Resort that lies 14 miles west of spectacular 9,624-foot Sonora Pass, the second-highest Sierra crossing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">“I love hiking,” she told me. “I love sharing where to go.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">I still had time for a half-day trek into the Sierra after spending the weekend camping with Mammoth Lakes friends. They took their camper and headed east while I pointed west. But why rush home on a blue-sky day in the Sierra? Laurelin agreed. She suggested Clark Fork three miles down the road from Dardanelle, which in 2018 burned to a crisp in the Donnell Fire that scorched 36,000-plus acres and destroyed 136 structures, including the resort. For the time being, Dardanelle is cemented in a forest graveyard with charcoal trees rising out of the hard dirt like a Tim Burton animation. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">I followed Laurelin’s precise description of the road to the Clark Fork trailhead. She even warned me about the rutted road near the end.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">“It’s higher up than here,” she told me. “We hiked it a few weeks ago on a warm day and it started snowing. It felt good.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Only a few cars were parked at the trailhead where a lush meadow welcomes visitors.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Clark Fork trail is an entree into the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, a beautiful and rugged swath of the Sierra. Laurelin knew I didn’t have time for a major climb so she had picked a trail that went about five miles to a beautiful meadow. Ten miles round trip was enough to take on with a drive to the Bay Area still part of the day’s program.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">The trail sits from 6,475 feet to 7,000 feet or so below Iceberg peak. It’s not a path of spectacular views although there are different angles of the Iceberg as I climbed. Nor does it lead to a drop-dead vista to reward the effort. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">But I love this hike. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">It provides a huff-and-puff uphill out the meadow and follows the Clark Fork of the Stanislaus River into the wilderness. It is difficult to imagine seeing no one on the trail on a summer Sunday. But I had the rocky passage eerily to myself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">The ascent out of the meadow gave way to forestland with the creek below or parallel to me. I hurdled a couple of fallen trees and had to fjord the creek a few times, most of them a simple long jump across the cool water. I found plenty of rock or limb bridges for the more intricate crossings. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">About an hour into the wilderness is a rock bed beach by the river. I could imagine hiking to this spot for a beach day. It’s where I poured icy water on my head and face for a cool down. After the beach, the trail goes up again before leveling off. It leads to a trail junction. To the left is Boulder Lake. Straight ahead to the meadow. I saved the lake for another day because I want to return here.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">The famous Pacific Crest Trail, or PCT, is just north of the area. After the PCT crosses Sonora Pass it continues its way north through the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. This is part of the High Sierra that Cheryl Strayed bypassed in her 1995 PCT trek that became the best-selling memoir “Wild.” That year the Sierra enjoyed heavy snowpack so Strayed and another hiker she had met along the way decided to skirt much of the John Muir Trail after Kennedy Meadows to resume hiking just north of Tahoe. It proved to be a smart move for Strayed because despite incredible resolve she might have been too inexperienced to try to cross six passes above 11,000 feet -- particularly when blanketed by deep snow. She did have to traverse snow-covered Sierra Buttes at 8,800 feet. The Buttes lie between Grass Valley and Truckee and I hiked along the PCT north of Donner Pass last summer. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">It’s another place to explore. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">But the Stanislaus River along CA 108 has so much to offer too. At this point, I just need time and strong enough legs to wander.</span></span></div>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-76481544735394157282020-05-01T12:39:00.001-07:002020-05-02T09:38:59.809-07:00Nature's answer to coronavirus pandemic is a Spring bloom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Story and photos by Elliott Almond</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">L</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">ocked down but not locked out. Every moment outside recently has unveiled nature’s extraordinary annual blossoming even as humanity finds itself on its knees against a pernicious submicroscopic agent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The more death and despair lassoes us the more the natural world provides spiritual healing. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Everything this spring seems more intense as if we’re on a psychedelic trip. Golden poppies are velvety orange with their fan-shaped petals flopping in the wind like happy little greeters to their land. </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Tidy Tips, lupine, blue-eyed grass, meadowfoam, California Astor and baby blue eyes are the grassland's Glitter Gulch. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">They form an intoxicating pastiche that makes me pause to soak it all in as welcomed ultraviolet light bathes not only my exposed extremities but my soul. Go away 19. This is not your domain. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">T</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">he rules of staying in place to help control the spread of the novel coronavirus are complicated. Social scientists will study this moment for years in assessing the way people behaved. My old hometown Newport Beach became the billboard for bad practices when thousands of beachgoers descended on the sandy shoreline as temperatures swelled. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">The questionable behavior has led to hand-wringing, snide posts on social media and pushback in what has been a continuing politicization of science.</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-41f6010c-7fff-dc33-654f-dd42c02553b5"><span style="font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Few, however, are acknowledging an unwelcomed truth: It’s all but impossible to remain six feet apart from other humans unless one lives on an uninhabited rock island in Patagonia’s coastal wilderness. Canadian Bob Kull actually did this for a year in 2001. He lived with a cat named “Cat” and wrote a painfully honest book about the experience called “Solitude: Seeking Wisdom in Extremes.” Kull, a professor at Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, might have some valuable knowledge to help people navigate the shifting axis of their wheels.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">If anyone cares to listen, that is. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Historic Woodside museum is closed by still provides a nice roadside attraction.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">B</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">ack in urbanized America, shopping for supplies has been a joyless, cutthroat experience if not also a study of human nature. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Maintaining a safe distance is fine in theory. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">But try it when walking down the aisle of the local grocery store, or for the incredibly brave, entering into a cavernous Costco where a young employee recklessly closes within six inches to place items on the shelves. This is not a fabrication. The man seemingly followed me around the store when barging into my six-foot radius five separate times. No warning. No thought. He was as carefree as a maskless songbird.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">I recently ventured into an almost empty Trader Joe’s near closing time. My mission, which I had accepted, was to secure pie crusts. The crusts were in a refrigerated shelf that contained bags of frozen fruit. A man in his 30s hovered over the shelf as if staring into oblivion. I kept my distance but made my presence known. The man remained as still as a frightened doe. I waited. And waited. I spoke up when it was clear he either was a robot who had run out of juice or just another clueless man. “I know exactly what I want. Do you mind stepping aside so I can grab it and be out of your hair?” He obliged. Then he started talking to me. I noticed that he moved closer the more he talked. My internal radar started beeping as he violated my airspace. “It’s hard to know what to get,” the man said. “I don’t know how to shop for food.” I smiled. “It’s not that hard,” I said. “Just buy the food that you need to either cook or can eat right away.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">I quickly retreated as the man returned to his comatose state in front of frozen fruit bags. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">A couple of weeks later, I repeated my Trader Joe’s strategy of arriving 15 minutes before closing time. My sad encounter occurred as I left through a narrow one-lane entrance/exit store managers had arranged. A maskless XXL man in his 30s blocked my exit. He was whining about not being allowed inside the store although it was past the 7 p.m. closing time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">H</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">e told the TJ employee guarding the entrance that he just needed one item. A customer walking by asked him what he needed as she would gladly give it to him. “A bottle of tequila,” he announced. Neither the woman nor I had bought alcohol. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">T</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">he man kept arguing with the store attendant. Finally, I asked if he wouldn’t mind moving so I could get through the exit line without having to brush against him. He did not move back to open the lane. He moved into the lane so I had to pass within inches. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mindego Hill, Russian Ridge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">S</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">ome of the trails I have sampled are not much better. A hiker cannot avoid a rule-breaking encounter on a single-track trail, particularly when a runner suddenly appears around a corner. In one hasty retreat, I told the runner, who was not going to slow down or stop, that I was trying to step aside but the area was blanketed in poison oak. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So, it’s hit or miss out there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">The so-called experts add to the confusion as exemplified in NPR’s national conversation segment held each night to discuss the pandemic. In a recent show, host Ari Shapiro interviewed renowned sports cardiologist Benjamin Levine about best exercise practices. Levine is director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. He started with some easy-to-digest advice for outdoor activities: follow the four Ds -- double your distance and don’t draft.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Levine told Shapiro that people need to stay at least 12 feet away from each other when exercising. Runners and cyclists need to be even farther apart, the doctor said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Clearly, neither Levine nor Shapiro have even a remote understanding of the reality when it comes to almost any wilderness trail I’ve trampled across. As already related, it’s all but impossible to comply with the six-foot rule because of the narrow footpaths shared by hikers, runners and mountain bikers. I wished Shapiro, as the host, would have addressed this instead of letting it stand as fact that the 12-foot formula was viable. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">At least Levine promoted exercising outside. </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">Early on physicians stressed the importance of physical exercise as an important ally in combating the virus. In simple terms, the better we take care of our bodies the better equipped our bodies are to fight off parasitic invaders. COVID-19 prays on the elderly and those with underlying conditions such as a compromised immune system. Eating nourishing food, exercise and sleeping well are the three pillars of good health. But overcrowding has made exercising safely more confounding than ever.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have received calls and texts from friends seeking advice on where they can hike because they know that I have been exploring Northern California trails for decades. Most of the time I slip into the wilderness alone. In the past year, a few friends have insisted that I send a text telling them where I am headed in case of an unforeseen emergency. All it would take is one angry mountain lion to change the equation if you’re alone in an 8,000-acre remote watershed. That happened in late 2018. I was well equipped with hiking poles as defense tools and a shrill whistle, which eventually encouraged the cougar to leave the scene.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now I could use the whistle to discourage potential virus carriers from coming too close. But I’m not about to become Ranger Ric. Everyone needs to get outside. It should be something to promote.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">It’s why I’m seeking new experiences, such as walking the country roads of Woodside, California, a horsey enclave that has served as home to some of the Bay Area’s Tech Titans like Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Kenneth Fischer and John Doerr. Charles R. Schwab resides here. So does Neil Young, who has a 1,500-acre ranch above the town’s village. Actor Michelle Pfeiffer and producer husband David E. Kelley once lived here too. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">None of the aforementioned has invited me to drop in for a chat and a safe walk. It takes some doing to find parking in the publicity-shy town that rises out of grassy meadows dotted with varieties of oaks, bay laurel and eventually forests of coast redwood and Douglas fir. Enjoying these scenes even if walking along a paved country road is good enough for the time being.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fellow horse town Portola Valley just to the south offers similar experiences. With a little patience, the natural surroundings await us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were right: Walk this way.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wildflowers in peak bloom</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa Cruz Harbor walk</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Redwood forest in Woodside</td></tr>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-63795285518881814982019-08-02T10:34:00.000-07:002019-08-02T11:00:29.268-07:00High Sierra high on a summer day near Donner Pass<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back at Castle Peak and the Desolation Wilderness in the distance.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Story and photos by Elliott Almond</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">BASIN PEAK, California -- “Good morning.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“Is it morning?” asked the hiker with a sand-colored Cathcart cap and canvas work shorts.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I checked the clock on my mobile phone. It read 10:30 am.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Whoa. I had just climbed 9,109-foot Castle Peak in about 90 minutes. Not bad, I thought.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I was on a High Sierra ridge heading toward snub-nosed Basin Peak (elevation 9,017 feet) when </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">encountering the young, lean hiker from Grass Valley, California. He kept talking.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“I’m lost and I don’t have water,” he announced.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“You’re on a heavily trafficked path,” I assured him.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“I know,” he said, then proceeded to complain about hiking with so many others all around.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I wasn’t sure how a hiker could get lost in lush Round Valley below us along the well-marked Pacific</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> Crest Trail. It was easy to see where the trails run from our vantage point on the narrow ridge linking </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">stately Castle and sandpapered Basin peaks. Unless caught in a blinding snowstorm or a deep fog this </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">was not a complex navigational issue.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The elements were not a factor on this heartachingly, beautiful weekend morning.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-50P8tm3bQOQ/XURuvvJuetI/AAAAAAAADyU/G7GYpGYoLdc192ug2pRTqQR8HEqTQ1X3wCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_3203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-50P8tm3bQOQ/XURuvvJuetI/AAAAAAAADyU/G7GYpGYoLdc192ug2pRTqQR8HEqTQ1X3wCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_3203.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Basin Peak in the distance</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CHK4gn29F7M/XURu3B9DwHI/AAAAAAAADyU/ZKQP9-8QruwVR4_hsfLwER_adSAjKv4NQCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_3204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CHK4gn29F7M/XURu3B9DwHI/AAAAAAAADyU/ZKQP9-8QruwVR4_hsfLwER_adSAjKv4NQCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_3204.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">The steep ascent to Castle Peak.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--A59b_KZa4w/XURu5xLoMfI/AAAAAAAADyc/D3zaPgPRLFApEBusHJ8JB3LI63XAzeKlwCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_3214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="1600" height="202" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--A59b_KZa4w/XURu5xLoMfI/AAAAAAAADyc/D3zaPgPRLFApEBusHJ8JB3LI63XAzeKlwCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_3214.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Castle Peak's rocky turrets.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“You’re not lost anymore?” I asked.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The hiker then explained his ordeal saying he had to bushwhack through the lavender-covered meadows </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">below to find the trail. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“You don’t have water?” I inquired, hoping I would not have to offer mine as I still had four hours of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">hiking to do on this excursion.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“I have a liter,” he said.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“So you’re on a well-paved trail and you have water,” I summarized his situation but he did not grasp</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> the </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; white-space: pre;">irony.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The hiker announced that people do not like talking to him because he is “slightly autistic” and some</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> other</span><span style="white-space: pre;"> psychological condition that he said so fast I do not recall what it was.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">But he seemed jovial and a worthy conversationalist to me. I told him as much as I finally bid the hiker</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">adieu to continue my journey on the accessible High Sierra trek. The turreted summit of Castle Peak is </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">one of the range’s most popular destinations because of its close proximity to Donner Pass just off </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Interstate 80. It rises from the Donner Lake trail network just to the east of the Pacific Crest Trail.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Although cars were parked everywhere along Castle Peak Road near the trailhead, it was not </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">exasperatingly jammed on the trodden pathway to the vistas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I arrived in peak season for wildflowers, whose colorful petals danced in the cool wind like eager debutantes celebrating their glowing youthful beauty. Some of the offerings in Castle Valley included monkeyflower, little elephant’s head, alpine shooting star, corn lily and steer’s head. All those hues of yellow, green, white and purple provided a dazzling distraction as my feet propelled me upward toward Castle Pass. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The prized volcanic summit peeked through the forest every so often. It showcased a rocky facade</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> reminiscent of the fortified medieval city of Carcassonne, France, whose brave souls held off </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Charlemange’s marauders at their stone-walled gates. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wLxjj-cemsc/XURuurglmlI/AAAAAAAADyM/XvkRpckSrDM0QgHrX--UJwRCXavFUudlQCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_3194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wLxjj-cemsc/XURuurglmlI/AAAAAAAADyM/XvkRpckSrDM0QgHrX--UJwRCXavFUudlQCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_3194.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Castle Peak rises out of Castle Valley.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lxg8cK1H0lA/XURvdvSETfI/AAAAAAAADzA/c1htzAXaq7csDdMtD_4Hh4sZFC5GkwqEwCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_3234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lxg8cK1H0lA/XURvdvSETfI/AAAAAAAADzA/c1htzAXaq7csDdMtD_4Hh4sZFC5GkwqEwCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_3234.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">The lush Round Valley along the PCT.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5E9ne9umcqM/XURvJsAclYI/AAAAAAAADy0/rypOdehaQyonwLMqVas01nCmQMMWwsUNgCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_3230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5E9ne9umcqM/XURvJsAclYI/AAAAAAAADy0/rypOdehaQyonwLMqVas01nCmQMMWwsUNgCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_3230.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Lunch spot in Round Valley.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jagged peaks. Colorful flowers. A serene forest. What could go wrong?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Like a Hollywood B horror film, the setting foreshadowed something ominous around the next bend. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Following the script, the surroundings tranquilized me into a blissful state where all defenses </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">(ie, bug juice left buried in the rucksack) were stripped bare.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">— — —</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">They attacked with a bloodthirsty vengeance. My body had no way to repulse the droning air raid </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">of merciless mosquitoes that covered the skin as if I were walking into a shower of death.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Normally, mosquitoes -- Spanish for “little gnat,” in case anyone cares -- do not seem to bother with </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">me when I’m hiking with companions. But these bloodsuckers were indiscriminate when it came to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">feasting on mammal flesh. I kept a steady pace even while swatting dozens of stormtroopers that </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">perished on my arms and legs, leaving me to wipe away their mushy remains. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">By the time I reached the pass, the attack had subsided to an occasional sortie. Deep breaths. Survival.
I looked up at nature’s medieval city residing above in the heavens. The junction with the PCT offered </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">a choice to go north through Round Valley. I kept walking toward the peak to the east.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Castle Peak is noted for its panoramic vistas that can extend for more than 100 miles on clear days. It is</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> possible to spy on Lassen Peak to the north or the Bay Area’s barren Diablo Range toward the Pacific. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Some trail notes describe the final ascent to the summit as “difficult.” It definitely is lung-gasping </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">vertical. But this is one 9,000-plus peak anyone in relatively good shape can do. If coming from sea</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> level, however, take extra time because the altitude will bite you in the butt on the ascent. Fortunately, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">the rocky path is lined with high-altitude flowers to keep one company.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Finally, vegetation disappeared on the harden rock playground. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The 360-degree views were mesmerizing. I wish I had a map to identify what was what. To the south </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">beyond Boreal ski resort stood Mt. Judah and Mt. Lincoln. In the background were various</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">snow-covered </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; white-space: pre;">peaks of the Desolation Wilderness but the framing from that angle offered little clues to</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; white-space: pre;">which familiar </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; white-space: pre;">peaks I saw.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The flat shimmering surface of Fordyce Lake appeared to the northwest while 9,147-foot Mt. Lola stood </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">out as the highest point in the Sierra north of I-80.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I climbed down off the rock to reach the ridge trail. From there, it’s possible to descend into the bowl </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">on the peak’s north side. It is not too difficult to imagine this place under snow. The north bowl is</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">popular with backcountry skiers for good reason. Down below in Round Valley, it’s a winter’s haven for </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">cross-country skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing. Sign me up next winter. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Reaching Basin’s summit is less memorable than Castle Peak but high country views are equally as </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">spectacular. Then it is a matter of zig-zagging down to the PCT that cuts through a watery meadow.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Peter Grubb Hut</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Hikers eventually find respite at the historic Peter Grubb Hut, erected in 1938-39 by friends as a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">memorial to the San Franciscan who had died at age 18 during a bicycle tour of Europe. Grubb was an</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> avid climber and Sierra Club member, according to his sister.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Sierra Club operates the hut with a wood-burning stove. Hikers and winter sports enthusiasts</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> reserve the hut throughout the year. But campsites also can be found north along the PCT for </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">backpackers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The loop trek also can include a fun extension -- a climb to 8,219-foot Andesite Peak. Look for the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Hole in the Ground Trail to the west after rejoining the Castle Peak trail from the PCT. The final ascent </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">is a scramble but not an extreme one.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Andesite is not as popular as Castle and Basin but offers the chance to climb three peaks in a day hike.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Not too many places so accessible can advertise that. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow lingers on the northeast side of Castle Peak.</td></tr>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-38798704014455018212019-07-07T15:58:00.001-07:002019-07-07T16:05:01.165-07:00Finding signs of hope while walking in Whiskeytown's scarred landscape <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whiskeytown Lake with South Fork Mountain in the background still is recovering from the Carr Fire one year ago.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Story and photos by Elliott Almond</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHISKEYTOWN, Calif. -- A fire began on July 23, 2018, near the Carr Powerhouse turnoff along Highway 299, in the heat of a sizzling Northern California summer.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The southern edge of the Trinity Alps had no defense for such a natural occurrence; the brittle and tinder landscape provided high octane fuel for hungry flames. Government agencies unsuccessfully employed modern-day firefighting tactics to stop the blaze as it smothered this rugged region 0f 42,000 acres known as Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. About 97 percent of the park burned, according to National Park Service officials. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most of the attention, however, focused on the devastation in Redding, about eight miles east of here in the smoldering Sacramento River Valley. Once the blaze turned east fire crews could not stop the onslaught as the inferno engulfed about 1,000 homes in Redding and left eight dead. Officials evacuated 36,000 people in Shasta County, most of them from Redding.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LCvgRcjcKHc/XSJ0p5imWoI/AAAAAAAADww/Z7bTodiW8YAaZhgYvi_JrorDzGvUi6VFQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_3134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LCvgRcjcKHc/XSJ0p5imWoI/AAAAAAAADww/Z7bTodiW8YAaZhgYvi_JrorDzGvUi6VFQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_3134.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Although manzanita burns quickly it also grows back after a year.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Carr Fire almost seems to have been downgraded to an asterisk in the aftermath of the Camp Fire in Paradise, where scores of people died in what became the worst wildland blaze in California history. But Redding has about 90,000 residents and its experience is an exclamation point for what could, and probably will happen in the future as we begin to deal with “urban wildfires.” People of the West have trespassed too far into the exterior with their massive subdivisions and strip malls. We’re asking for trouble. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A year later, rangers try to educate folks about forest management as Whiskeytown was welcoming thousands of visitors to the park. The 3,200-acre reservoir here is Redding’s “backyard swimming pool,” as a Shasta College sociologist told me.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had a chance to visit the day after the July 4 holiday while on assignment in Redding.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The federal park offers some beautiful and remote hiking in its interior, such as the James A. Carr trail to Whiskeytown falls. But the backcountry remains closed a year after the fire. The bruised landscape still is recovering after winter rains and snows battered the beaten terrain, uprooting hundreds of trees and washing out drainage channels and wilderness roads. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On a day when afternoon temperatures soared past 100 degrees, most visitors could be found on any number of floating devices across the cool blue waters of the lake. A few intrepid folks, including me, tested the dusty trails open to the public. Those along the lakeshore are available and provide a glimpse of the land.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I took the Davis Gulch trail because at 6.6 miles it was longer than the other offering at Old Bottom. The park service warns that parts of the trail often are closed through winter and spring for nesting of bald eagles. That seems only fair. Better than closures because of fires.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Davis Gulch Trail goes past hidden gems of beaches and coves.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rolling trail is not difficult as it goes from the Brandy Creek beach (go to Lot B and find the trailhead behind the restrooms away from the lake) to Whiskeytown dam. But it is well worth the time with lovely vistas of South Fork Mountain, hidden sandy beaches and coves and a diversity of flora and fauna. I encountered Brewer’s oak, Yerba Santa, knobcone pine, gray pine, California buckeye and, watch out for the abundance of poison oak. As the path ascends above the lake travelers walk into a forest of manzanita, a scrub bush that thrives in the lower mountainous regions of Shasta County. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charred scrubs and trees are remnants of the Carr Fire.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was here where the scars of the Carr Fire became tangible. Acres of trees were charred like a well-done steak. Stopping to reflect on the recent devastation I could not help but think about the movie, “Life is Beautiful.” The Roberto Benigni-film posits that even in the midst of the horrors of the Holocaust, concentration camp victims would see hope and humanity in a sun-splashed spring morning. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Colorful wildflowers and green plants sprouted in the understory of the charred, grizzled skeletons of the ghost forest. Nature’s renewal is underway. The park service reports that manzanita shrubland and the oak-filled woodlands start their rejuvenation a year after a fire of this magnitude. While the shrub plants burn intensely, they have the restorative power of seed banks for a quicker return. The Ponderosa and sugar pines and magnificent Douglas-fir are not as lucky. The lingering impact of fire damage can be seen for years along the rugged slopes.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It felt good to walk through a natural building boom with photosynthesis and other miracles of botany performing their alchemy. Yet, the blazing heat offered a reminder that it will not take much for fire to return to gobble up whatever fuel it can find. Or if not in this exact locale then up the road, down the road or almost anywhere outside the fog-refrigerated, bacon-thin strip along the coast.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The choking heat would not let the pessimistic thoughts retreat so I could marvel at the surrounding scenery. We might survive this Golden State summer. But I fear another hot, wind-whipped autumn.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pWeZ3a08-ug/XSJ209WSfvI/AAAAAAAADxI/xPYLmmCFm_418jcgIWnKmu6X-R3PifTbQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_3122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="1409" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pWeZ3a08-ug/XSJ209WSfvI/AAAAAAAADxI/xPYLmmCFm_418jcgIWnKmu6X-R3PifTbQCLcBGAs/s640/IMG_3122.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paddleboarders explore the cool blue waters of Whiskeytown Lake.</td></tr>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0S Shore Dr, Whiskeytown, CA 96095, USA40.60988659923607 -122.553110414247940.529768099236072 -122.74070191424789 40.690005099236068 -122.3655189142479tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-29006543461115501482019-01-20T14:48:00.000-08:002019-06-01T09:18:10.019-07:00No Big Foot sightings but something was out there<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8xe9o_AN1NQ/XETz-wy55YI/AAAAAAAADuA/pP7wng1UKb0W51cUuYNDB_4uC7UkA6N8wCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_2595.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1600" height="402" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8xe9o_AN1NQ/XETz-wy55YI/AAAAAAAADuA/pP7wng1UKb0W51cUuYNDB_4uC7UkA6N8wCLcBGAs/s640/IMG_2595.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Story and photos by Elliott Almond</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">I should have known what would happen.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just before stepping into a remote and empty section of the Santa Cruz Mountains I had texted the writer Ron Judd about his </span><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/the-legend-of-sasquatch-wont-die-but-if-just-one-bigfoot-would-die-that-is-ron-judd-would-become-a-believer/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hilarious take </span></a><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">on those who chase the myth that is Bigfoot.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sasquatch is an entrenched legend in North American folklore that has birthed an industrious community as robust and absolute as anything that came out of Area 51.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the text, I told the writer I’d planned to spend the winter’s day combing through a vast parkland of 8,020 acres of Coast redwood-covered forest searching for signs of the big ol’ hairy beast. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bciOqarIYo8/XET0gE6Aw6I/AAAAAAAADuM/vPABoX0WZPYVpHk8BebMNdbAlWH76DE2ACEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_2596.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bciOqarIYo8/XET0gE6Aw6I/AAAAAAAADuM/vPABoX0WZPYVpHk8BebMNdbAlWH76DE2ACEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_2596.jpg" width="240" /></span></a><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, I could easily have sent Ron a photo of swimmer Ian Thorpe because, at size 17, the Aussie Olympian has big feet. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instead, I shot off a few frames of some large anthills to serve as substitute evidence of the Big Guy’s presence although no one that I know has claimed a sighting this far south. Afterward, I merrily traipsed through soggy ground enjoying a respite from the recent abundance of rain showers. I passed a ramshackle hut that is a remnant of a long-forgotten dairy farm in these parts. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pescadero Creek County Park is a continuous network of wilderness that includes </span><a href="https://parks.smcgov.org/sam-mcdonald-park" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #036cb6; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sam McDonald</span></a><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="https://parks.smcgov.org/memorial-park" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #036cb6; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Memorial</span></a><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> county parks. Pescadero Creek shares a boundary with Portola Redwoods State Park, where one of the range’s most significant redwood groves lives. I’ve </span><a href="http://elliottalmond.blogspot.com/2017/04/portola-redwoods-state-park-earth-day.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">written about Peters Creek</span></a><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> redwoods in previous entries. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve rarely encountered another hiker here. It’s one of my favorite October autumnal locales because of the glancing afternoon sun and solitude. But I’m also hyper-aware that Squatch or bears aren’t what a solo hiker should fret their blistered little feet over.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This watershed is cougar country.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s why I like to conclude fall hikes by late afternoon. Even equipped with headlamps, I have no taste for tramping through the trails in oncoming darkness with the steely-eyed cats around town. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains lack the poetic punch of their cousins' way to the north in Humboldt and Del Notre counties, some majestic old-growth stands can be located here. Popping into these groves in my backyard is an enjoyable pursuit that saves me from a five-to-six-hour drive north to the giants.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dead winter after a few storms adds to the degree of difficulty with so many fallen trees spread across the trails. But even the most challenging of situations could be overcome by bushwhacking around the obstacle. My biggest concern was fording Pescadero Creek in high season. It turned out to be a non-starter because of a fallen, soggy log lying across the creek like a natural bridge. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I met a chef from El Grenada at a vista stop on the northern ridge. He had huffed in from the Heritage Grove along Alpine Road in Sam Mac. Then I retreated to Pescadero Creek park with its steelhead spawning stream that someday could be restored to re-introduce coho salmon. I took a loop trail to add some miles to the day but as the clock edged toward 4 p.m. it was time to up the pace despite the 1 ½-mile uphill to the trailhead.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XnxgADRzRAM/XET08_FcLEI/AAAAAAAADuY/NljdrrrwgcotoNyaKawZiGImUwDrg5KaACEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_2594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XnxgADRzRAM/XET08_FcLEI/AAAAAAAADuY/NljdrrrwgcotoNyaKawZiGImUwDrg5KaACEwYBhgL/s640/IMG_2594.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Retracing my footsteps through the waterlogged old-growth forest I noticed some deer tracks in the muddy path. Nothing big enough to memorialize for the Ron “Yeti” Judd Project. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I marched on.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The forest clears about a half mile from the trailhead, unfolding into a green grassland. I glanced ahead and thought I saw something standing still in the middle of the trail.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A fallen tree that I hadn’t noticed on the way down? No.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A dog? Doesn’t make sense. Oh, wait. A coyote.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But it didn’t look scrawny and flea-bitten like one of those scavengers. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By now I was about 200 feet away when I could make out the telltale signs of a big cat, which looks nothing like a Big Foot. Or Ian Thorpe’s size 17s for that matter.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tPt7eREsvU4/XET1Rcvd9RI/AAAAAAAADug/rB1tNlnvcnINaETDGhDfAyiMYVgNOPi4QCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_2598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tPt7eREsvU4/XET1Rcvd9RI/AAAAAAAADug/rB1tNlnvcnINaETDGhDfAyiMYVgNOPi4QCEwYBhgL/s200/IMG_2598.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our eyes locked. I thought about taking some photos but quickly realized the cougar could make up 200 feet in seconds. I put my emergency whistle in my mouth and ripped off my day back to get a hiking stick as a defensive weapon. Then I followed the general recommendation when encountering a cougar: make yourself as large as possible by waving arms above the head. I also let out a blood-curdling toot from the whistle. Then another one and finally a third one lasting a few seconds.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfdfd; color: #555a5a; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Upon the third tweet the five- to six-feet long cat bounded effortlessly into the underbrush. I had no choice but to pass where it had just departed from the trail. But I blew that whistle while I walked past. </span></div>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-24559103102168598102018-05-27T13:21:00.000-07:002018-05-30T09:07:02.185-07:00A trail of ticks on the way to a waterfall deep in the wilderness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wetland at Rancho del Oso is next to Highway 1 at the start of the hike.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia"; white-space: pre-wrap;">WEST WADDELL STATE WILDERNESS -- I had spent six decades without serious concern about ticks, those nickel-sized creatures who have roamed the planet for some 90 million years, according to paleontologists. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That suddenly has changed.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As of today, I have been bitten twice over the past year while tramping through redwood forests. Last year it happened in </span><a href="http://elliottalmond.blogspot.com/2017/07/fighting-off-ticks-to-find-tall-redwood.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Montgomery Woods State Reserve</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> when I Ramboed my way through the understory in search of the magnificent Mendocino Tree over the July 4 weekend. The determined arachnid snuck under my tee-shirt for its guerilla attack.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This time I found it underneath a tee again this past Memorial Day weekend. But I had stayed on the trail the whole day so it seems more than a little unjust. I happened to stop at </span><a href="http://harleyfarms.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harley’s Goat Farm</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in Pescadero on the way home from a spectacular all-day hike along the Skyline-to-Sea Trail that encapsulates everything great about the California coastal range. Perhaps I picked it up by the farm. That’s where I felt it, extracted it and now hope for the best that will be that.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can’t let a flesh-eating insect despoil an otherwise stunning day in the forest.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berry Creek Falls on the way to three more cascades higher up the trail.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The</span><a href="https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/berry-creek-falls-trail" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> trek to Berry Creek Falls </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is one of the Bay Area’s best day hikes, particularly for those who start at the parking lot at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Most trail guides describe the hike from this starting point because it offers almost 11 miles of challenging terrain that includes passing through some of the largest old-growth redwood trees in California’s first state park.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I began from the opposite direction at the damp, overcast sea at the Waddell Creek State Beach, a popular kitesurfing locale. It’s 12-plus-miles from Rancho del Oso with very little elevation gain, making it a simple jaunt to Berry Creek. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I like starting at the beach and charging into the guts of the remote Santa Cruz Mountains, trespassing along paths the Cotoni and Quiroste people once did for thousands of years before the Portola expedition arrived in 1769 to forever change the natural landscape. The wilderness designation since 1982 has preserved the forest’s natural state by limiting development. The 5,900 acres of the Waddell Creek watershed is part of Big Basin Redwoods -- perhaps the best the park has to offer.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gUlPs5X6Beo/WwsN1RwTgKI/AAAAAAAADtQ/hPWx7sc_z3ctKCzNxG5kj2k1jCpDq4FdgCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_1034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gUlPs5X6Beo/WwsN1RwTgKI/AAAAAAAADtQ/hPWx7sc_z3ctKCzNxG5kj2k1jCpDq4FdgCEwYBhgL/s200/IMG_1034.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berry Creek Falls</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A quick history lesson. Portola’s party named the area la Canada de la Salud, or The Glen of Health, after explorers recovered from illness while resting there. Unfortunately, a more chauvinistic named stuck a century later when Kentuckian William Waddell built a sawmill there as part of lumber boom that contributed to extracting 96 percent of old-growth redwood trees along Northern California’s coastline. According to “California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names,” Waddell met his fate at the ferocious fangs of a grizzly bear. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alas, grizzlies, like most of the giant redwoods and native peoples, couldn’t halt the pervasive white culture that forever transformed the natural world. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’re trying to make amends by turning places like this watershed into wilderness zones. The route from the sea follows along West Waddell Creek, whose source can be found at about 1,800 feet up near the San Mateo County line. The ecological changes along the path help us better understand where we live. From the rivermouth to a lush open wetland to a creek lined with alder, Doug fir, maple and madrone. Smaller redwoods also live among the inhabitants keeping the trail shady year-around. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I like the route because it’s perfect for families to walk with young children or to take mountain bikes into the interior. What better way to introduce kids to their backyards than a jaunt into an emerald kingdom where the soothing sounds of owls reverberate among swaying trees. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bikes are allowed to about 1 ½ miles from the falls where the Skyline-to-Sea Trail narrows into a rugged climb.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waddell Creek</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Biking or hiking, Berry Creek Falls is an ideal respite for lunch. With a caveat: the Skyline-to-Sea is a backpackers’ superhighway during summer weekends. The viewing platform underneath the cascade swarmed with a large group of teens determined to stay for the duration sending me to higher up the trail in search of seclusion. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So much for earning a bit of solitude after marching six miles into the backcountry. But it’s also easy to slip away from the commotion.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The hike affords a couple of taxing additions for the more ambitious. Three more falls tumble down the steep ravine beyond Berry Creek on a climb to the Sunset Trail. It’s worth the hefty ascent even if landing at Berry Creek without the hordes. Silver Falls comes first, then the Cascades and finally Golden Falls near the Sunset Trail junction.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another tempting option is to return to Sea-to-Skyline after enjoying Berry Creek Falls and begin the demanding ascent toward the Big Basin park headquarters. The big trees -- some reaching more than 300 feet high and 50-feet in diameter -- reside between the Berry Creek turnoff and the Timms Creek Trail junction. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Either extension would turn the hike into something closer to 14-to-16 miles but with energy zapping elevation gains. If well planned, it shouldn’t be a problem because the return mostly is downhill or level. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With the long days of summer upon us, it’s the perfect season for such an undertaking.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ticks be damned. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">--Story and photos by Elliott Almond</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harely's farm in Pescadero has outstanding goat cheese.</td></tr>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0Big Basin Redwoods State Park, 21600 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek, CA 95006, USA37.1716284 -122.2227570999999711.649593900000003 -163.53135109999997 62.693662900000007 -80.914163099999968tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-10285187954920995452018-04-22T17:35:00.000-07:002018-04-23T11:22:28.007-07:00An eruption of the senses at hidden volcanic wonder<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">North Butte from the Dean Ranch.</td></tr>
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Story and Photos by Elliott Almond</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SUTTER BUTTES, California -- A carpet of emerald grass that would have made Arnold Palmer drool colored the historic, volcanic landscape like a velvet painting.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sutter Buttes is a seductive yet remote location in the heart of Sacramento Valley filled with geologic wonders, Native American legends and a less-than-cordial dispute pitting public access advocates against property owners who are the de facto conservationists of one of California’s most distinct landmasses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia; white-space: pre;">We knew none of this before heading out to celebrate Earth Day weekend near Yuba City, about 50 miles north of Sacramento.</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-2a060061-f30f-6762-30d5-d318deb915c6"></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The craggy Buttes always had left me wondering while driving along I-5 toward Red Bluff: What the heck are those mountains rising out of the tortilla-flat Valley floor?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It turns out they aren’t mountains at all, though well-advertised as the “world’s smallest mountain range.” I guess if Reno can call itself the “Biggest Little City in the World” then every backwater station deserves a slogan.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I didn’t hesitate when my friend Jody invited me to participate in a Northern California Science Writers Assn. guided hike through the Dean Ranch portion of the Buttes, rugged oak-covered hills that were formed 1.6 million years ago through volcanic activity.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We joined a band of brainiacs led by naturalist Steve Roddy, a retired Grass Valley school teacher. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“When I came here the first time I just wanted to come back,” said Roddy, an affable, robust man attached to hiking poles.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mFdEAnkZQLk/Wt0n5pR9O6I/AAAAAAAADr0/R7yj8fMgpgcTT7HIMiiOm2N2GDT7ByrIgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mFdEAnkZQLk/Wt0n5pR9O6I/AAAAAAAADr0/R7yj8fMgpgcTT7HIMiiOm2N2GDT7ByrIgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0952.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve Roddy</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before starting out on a tour that would take us around the 1,863-foot North Buttes region, the group learned about the lava flows made up of andesite and rhyolite compositions. Although my father once worked as a U.S. Geological Survey geochemist too many years had passed since I remembered the rock distinctions. Fortunately, we had some real-life geologists among the group to give us a primer.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It turns out Sutter Buttes is not part of the Cascades volcanoes that extend along the spine of Northern California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The farthest southern Cascade volcano is 9,236-foot Mount Tehama (Brokeoff Mountain) in Lassen National Park not far from here. Sutter Buttes is the remnant of a volcano that is more closely associated with the Coast Range, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Normally I shun organized hikes because it decreases the sense of backwoods wonderment. I prefer pointing a compass away from the metropolitan madness and seek solitude. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the science writers excursion highlighted what usually is missed on solo treks -- unless one were equipped with graduate degrees in geology, botany, anthropology and local history.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It takes that kind of broad-based knowledge to begin to fully appreciate the Buttes’ distinct place in California’s rich natural and human histories.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Such feelings crystallized as we negotiated our way across ancient rocks considered sacred land by Native Americans. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Maidu of the Buttes</span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Maidu tribes of the Feather River drainage called the castellated peaks, “Middle Mountains of the Valley” or “Spirit Mountain,” depending on interpretations. The circular formation of lava domes that covers about 75 square miles now is named after Captain John Sutter, who is best known for his Coloma mill where gold first was discovered in the south fork of the American River.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OjF3OHid1Aw/Wt0gVBdfWXI/AAAAAAAADq8/Jp42QGEILx4eQMRq__jNasSEY0qcuHfhACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1338" height="193" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OjF3OHid1Aw/Wt0gVBdfWXI/AAAAAAAADq8/Jp42QGEILx4eQMRq__jNasSEY0qcuHfhACLcBGAs/s200/IMG_0933.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A typical milling station.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While Sutter’s connection to the Buttes has faded other than naming rights, the Maidu people have left a thriving legacy. According to legend, the spirits of their people rest in the Buttes before journeying to the afterlife. We could not imagine a better place to ascend to eternity -- or whatever comes next.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Roddy recounted a tale how the North Buttes spires were formed: According to Maidu legend, the Maker warned the people not to follow him as he ascended the peak. But three warriors failed to heed the warning and were turned to stone. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Such stories provide connective tissue to the land where we were standing. The group had stopped under some oaks to gaze at a flatten rock with bowl-shaped holes our guides said were used to grind acorns. The Sutter Buttes is littered with these bedrock milling stations with six-inch-wide holes three-inches deep. At one station by a creekbed, Roddy passed around a stone pestle that was found in a hole, probably just as it was left eons earlier by a Maidu woman.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The early Californians haven’t wandered these parts since the mid-19th century in what unfolds as an all-too-familiar tale of greed and displacement of Native Americans.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1863, soldiers rounded up 455 Maidu in Chico for relocation to the Round Valley Reservation in northeast Mendocino County. Only 277 Maidu were said to survive the journey in what is known as the tribe’s Trail of Tears. It’s a rarely told part of the Golden State’s history, and one we would not have known without coming to the Buttes.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spring in Sutter Buttes</span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s difficult to imagine a more stunning time to visit these hills than March and April when wildflowers burst out of the thick native grassland. Our hosts handed out plastic wildflower pamphlets to help everyone identify the dozens of vibrant flowers.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mJBCGz5C7JI/Wt0h07VrXXI/AAAAAAAADrU/HSjMiXP9oVAwyNehJoFtzCFvrXbRLEsLgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="1600" height="195" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mJBCGz5C7JI/Wt0h07VrXXI/AAAAAAAADrU/HSjMiXP9oVAwyNehJoFtzCFvrXbRLEsLgCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0949.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A field of popcorn flowers.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shy blue filaree hid in the underbrush while yellow fiddlenecks sprouted up. A few Golden Poppies mixed with lupine, larkspur, mule ears and wild carnations. But the white popcorn flower, floating along windswept ridges such as one on Seismograph Hill, were among the most pronounced by late April.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Their presence helped the troops scurry up the short ascent. Roddy, who with the other guides take more than 1,000 school kids on Buttes tours, said the third-graders look at the hill as their Mount Everest. But it doesn’t lead to the top of the world. Instead, it culminates with a U.S. Geological Survey seismograph connected with a UC Berkeley lab that monitors earthquake activity.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In early spring it’s also possible to view birds, including the golden eagle and acorn woodpeckers we met along the trail. The Buttes are located east of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, a welcoming winter home for hundreds of migratory birds. But we learned from guides Greg and Kathleen Payne of Yuba City that many of the flocks also enjoy the fields and almond orchards just below the Buttes. Kathleen shared photos of fields we passed filled with the majestic snow geese that she and her husband saw earlier in April. They also spotted sandhill cranes, Great Blue Herons, egrets. The best time for birdwatching, though, is at the height of the Pacific Flyway in December. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jody and I happened to hitch a ride with the Paynes to the Buttes from our meeting point in Yuba City. It was just our luck as we landed in the backseat of local historians and natural-born raconteurs. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They are part of the education program for Middle Mountain Interpretive Hikes. The Middle Mountain Foundation, an offshoot of the Sutter Buttes Regional Land Trust, works with some of the region’s ranchers to allow controlled access. It offered about 30 excursions so far this year, including a final seasonal hike May 5. The fall season begins in October.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For information, </span><a href="http://www.middlemountainhikes.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.middlemountainhikes.org</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> or mmsutterbutteshikes@yahoo.com or call 530-671-6116. Cost ranges from $35 to $60 per person, depending on the hike’s length and difficulty. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although many of the tours are a mix of walking and teaching, the foundation also offers summits to some of the peaks. Although the highest peak is a mere 2,122 feet, these are not easy ascents. Without any formal trails, trekkers are bounding straight up pockmarked cow pastures and face a rock scramble at the top.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, the uphill climb isn’t the deal breaker, Roddy said. It’s getting down the slippery elevator descents that can be tricky. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Sutter Buttes Regional Land Trust began a quarter century ago to monitor who accessed the Buttes. A dozen families who farm the land wanted to protect its ecology as well as preserve their way of life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; white-space: pre-wrap;">It became complicated in 2003 when the state bought 1,785 acres of lowland on the north </span></div>
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side of the craggy buttes in Peace Valley. Officials would like to create a state park there but the parcel is surrounded by private property. Ranchers worry that a state park would invite a degradation to the Buttes and interfere with farming and grazing.</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For now, the acreage is inaccessible to the public although the state allows a few guided tours into Peace Valley.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ranchers don’t trust state officials to preserve the area the way they have for decades. A state official once told the New York Times the situation amounts to a mini-range war.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But it doesn’t feel like a case of white hats vs. black hats. Not when trekking around the Dean Ranch while owners Margit and Pete Sands were spending the day branding their herd.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Margit Sands’ grandfather, Edward Dean, told the family the public should always be welcomed here to learn about the distinct lava formations. Dean bought the property in 1898 and Margit carries on the tradition raising yearling cattle and sheep. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The main rule for guests: Carry out whatever they bring. It has helped keep the land looking almost the same as when Edward Dean first settled here.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Part of the day's experience was witnessing a working ranch in motion. But the gruesome annual spring tagging and castration ritual cast a pall under cobalt blue sky because of the mournful cries from the poor creatures getting tattooed with a hot-iron. Near the end of the tramp, we passed the barn where young cattle were herded into cages, vaccinated, turned sideways and branded. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Margit, her husband and a ranch hand barely had time to look up to say hello to the local guides whom they know.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fortunately, it wasn’t our lasting image. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5MtJz5hmfT4/Wt0oijP_h2I/AAAAAAAADr8/A3Jwa0bFO1EzkYug4yj8jzdbftiZVN7ZQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5MtJz5hmfT4/Wt0oijP_h2I/AAAAAAAADr8/A3Jwa0bFO1EzkYug4yj8jzdbftiZVN7ZQCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0939.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">400-year-old oak trees dot the landscape.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our cultural education of the Sacramento Valley continued as we shuttled back to Yuba City. Kathleen and George Payne wanted to take us to the Sikh Temple Gurdwara. Kathleen called it the largest Sikh temple in North America. It is not. That distinction belongs to the temple in San Jose.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, the Sacramento Valley temple is impressive and attracts at least a thousand questions, namely, why is it there? It turns out four Punjabis arrived in Yuba City to help build the Southern Pacific Railroad at the beginning of the 20th century. From that start, Yuba City has become home to about 15,000 Sikhs, many of whom are farmers. Native Preet Didbal became the first Sikh woman to lead a U.S. city when she was sworn in as mayor in December.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Yuba City temple attracts 80,000 to 100,000 people every November for a festival to honor the Sikh holy scripture. The Paynes say it’s Yuba City’s main social event of the year.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Paynes weren’t through. They directed us to their favorite Sikh restaurant in town,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="http://starofindiaca.com/index.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Star of India</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. After steaming cups of chai, chat, tandoori chicken and naan we agreed we found the right guides.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We had come to experience a rare geologic wonder. We left with a deeper appreciation for California’s multi-layered landscape and rich cultural heritage.</span></div>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com1Sutter Buttes, California 95982, USA39.2057 -121.820213.6836655 -163.128794 64.7277345 -80.511606tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-89893885312933883452017-07-10T08:47:00.000-07:002017-07-10T08:47:37.514-07:00Upstate New York: A journey to bottom of the world<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 100-foot waterfall greets visitors with a visual highlight but the entire tour with Eugene Falco was grand. </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photos by Keren Lynn/ </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Story by Elliott Almond</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>HOWES CAVES</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, New York -- Keren Lynn learned about the secret cave while striking up a friendly conversation in a Hudson River Valley diner.</span></h3>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I admire Keren's relationship with the universe where good stuff finds her. In this case, a mother and daughter suggested the photographer visit a particular cave not as well known as the more famous </span><a href="http://howecaverns.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; text-decoration-line: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Howe Caverns</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> nearby, which, they told her, was just too touristy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keren Lynn – who is like one of those otherworldly Brazilian soccer players known simply by their first names -- journeys through life oblivious to hurdles real or imagined. She is as open to whatever unfolds as one of the shutters on her Fuji camera.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve learned to nod, “OK” and tail along for the meandering ride. So when she suggested we check out a cave not far from Albany I wasted little time in firing up the engine to the rental and pointing it toward out-of-the-way Schoharie County.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Off we went through the lush countryside in search of </span><a href="https://www.secretcaverns.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Secret Caverns</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I'm still not clear on the covert nature of the name, however. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artificial lighting casts colorful hues in the chambers.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>TOM </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Robbins’ “Another Roadside Attraction” popped into my head the moment we encountered the wide, gravel parking lot in front of a building as overdressed as a washed up B actress. The façade suggested anything but a little known secret hideaway for local farmers who populate this heavenly piece of Upstate New York.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The building inside and out is plastered in mural-like paintings all the way into the rustic bathroom stalls. I found the display to be an artistic arc dating to the Palaeolithic paintings of the </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/01/02/507549682/next-to-the-original-france-replicates-prehistoric-cave-paintings" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">famous caves in Lascaux, France</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Those ancient drawings seemed to have spawned a phantasmal display of folk art that the humorless might better describe as kitsch. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It seems the artistic courtship with the cave began with one Legrande Spaulding who, in a nod to early American entrepreneurship, created billboards to attract motorists to this Upstate wonder.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s understandable when considering the more famous Howe Cave is the Wal-Mart of Schoharie County attractions, outdistancing such draws as the </span><a href="http://www.gobblersknob.us/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gobbler’s Knob Family Fun Park</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the</span><a href="http://www.drbesthouse.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Dr. Best House and Medical Museum</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> over in Middleburgh. The billboard art was a fun way to remind motorists they had an alternative to Howe's Disneyland-like cave experience.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a way, all the murals represent an appetizer to the main draw: the limestone cave with a 100-foot waterfall. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It has been open since 1929, a year after two unsuspecting cows named Lucky and Floyd plummeted into a sinkhole while presumably seeking the cool air rising from the bowels of the underworld during a sweltering July day. The site’s staff likes to say the ungulates were the first “reluctant” explorers of Secret Caverns, forever keeping a sense of humor about the preposterous beginnings. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the unfortunate cows were discovered, the farm owners sold the property to a civil engineer who had been working at Howe Caverns. The man, Roger Mallery, hired local teens from nearby Cobleskill to explore the cavern. The idea was to determine whether Howe would have a commercial rival. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tethered to ropes and holding flashlights, the boys dropped 90 feet down. Then they crawled their way through a series of chambers to the large opening where they discovered a subterranean waterfall splashing into a pool. A narrow opening allows passage well beyond the waterfall. But the public tours stop here for an exclamation point for visitors.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keren and I were assigned to guide Eugene Falco, who happens to be the </span><a href="http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-features/article/Creative-placards-get-word-out-about-Secret-11240389.php" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">current creative mind behind the psychedelic artistic tradition</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of Secret Caverns. The artists before Falco started including witty sayings to emphasize a sense of humor. The owner had only one rule: All billboards must have a caveman and cow in them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The tour begins with 103-step stone stairway into the majestic hole filled with eerie rock formations. Part of the walkway is concrete and well lighted to make passage easier and safer. The cave, though, hasn’t changed much since those Holsteins fell into infamy. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>THE </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tour probably takes no more than 20 minutes. But time doesn’t move quickly for Keren and her photographic eye. The artist Falco understood the photographer’s attention to detail. Instead of feigning impatience, Eugene seemed to enjoy the slow pace to dispense with as much local knowledge as he could. During the Cold War, for instance, the cave was used as a local fallout shelter. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Afterward, he told us we were his favorite tour of the year although we kept him down there for more than twice as long as other visitors. He appreciated our sense of wonder and immediate love of this unusual landscape.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We preferred the cavern in its natural setting but fully understood why owners erected a sign heralding “Suspended Ceiling” and added colored lights in one chamber of magnificent mineral formations hanging from the cave’s roof like icicles. The stalactites -- stalagmites grow from the ground up -- give the cave a crypt-like feel. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later, Eugene pointed to tiny tumors growing out of the stone that are the buds of new stalactites. The cave still is growing.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-meMsjAPp9UU/WWMJSNNmE4I/AAAAAAAADms/oSQhFmpRsnM1fOG1IRwgmbf4PrXvzmZmgCLcBGAs/s1600/NY_SecretCaverns_DSCF4952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-meMsjAPp9UU/WWMJSNNmE4I/AAAAAAAADms/oSQhFmpRsnM1fOG1IRwgmbf4PrXvzmZmgCLcBGAs/s640/NY_SecretCaverns_DSCF4952.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A tribute to Lucky and Floyd</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>WE </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dipped under rock outcrops and slipped past natural gateways to eventually reach the waterfall. Having just huffed my way to the top of raging Yosemite Falls a few weeks earlier, Secret’s cascade wasn’t call-home spectacular. The slender fountain, however, was a marvel considering we were a quarter-mile underground. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We kept chatting with our host/guide while resurfacing into the humid summer afternoon. Eugene handed each of us a tumbler with his artwork printed on the outside as parting gifts. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The tumblers are part of the curios sold in the shop at the entrance to the cave.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The artistic humor extends beyond the cave and roadside billboards. They’ve erected a sign warning, “Beware of Tourist Eating Alligators” with requisite green gator next to a lovely pond just beyond the parking lot.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Owners also placed picnic benches by the water to create a beautiful space to linger after the tour. As food-carrying travelers who prefer a lakeside picnic table to a noisy restaurant, we retired to the pond to enjoy our morsels scavenged from an Albany Whole Foods that very morning. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jjoaEP2ac_8/WWLWRB51MZI/AAAAAAAADmQ/9JGqO0n4G5wYnrSjwwUXi33SBF54zoc_gCEwYBhgL/s1600/NY_SecretCaverns_DSCF4978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="132" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jjoaEP2ac_8/WWLWRB51MZI/AAAAAAAADmQ/9JGqO0n4G5wYnrSjwwUXi33SBF54zoc_gCEwYBhgL/s200/NY_SecretCaverns_DSCF4978.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An American beauty. </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keren was hungry but distracted by ducks and Canada geese floating in the placid pond. Her camera rarely rests. I noted that the tranquil setting was missing nothing but the prehistoric cries of loons. (We wouldn’t encounter those forlorn sounds until days later on another unnamed pond).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In mid-bite, a commotion suddenly rang down from the sky. Three birds were raising a ruckus while a much larger winged creature burst into the forefront like an exploding firework.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A bald eagle, I exclaimed while unable to get my phone camera out. The eagle swooped around the pond before landing on a tree limb with entourage in tow. It eventually made three more sorties across the pond.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It left us feeling satisfied. From deep inside Secret Caverns to the sky above it, we were profoundly grateful Keren was directed here in the first place. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I10qeteGogs/WWLbkqvqG-I/AAAAAAAADmc/BDO0dccApmYhz2weA88Emu3kyfTuf0JygCEwYBhgL/s1600/NY_SecretCaverns_DSCF4957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I10qeteGogs/WWLbkqvqG-I/AAAAAAAADmc/BDO0dccApmYhz2weA88Emu3kyfTuf0JygCEwYBhgL/s400/NY_SecretCaverns_DSCF4957.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfect picnic spot after exploring a cave.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> ###</span></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-5d22d234-28c0-2246-9893-572c59f59f2f"><br /></span></div>
Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-7479951953161883672017-07-05T18:24:00.000-07:002017-07-06T09:09:41.578-07:00Fighting off ticks to find a tall redwood in a remote grove<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vn7WQj2DiCk/WV2LKgzNxUI/AAAAAAAADlQ/83uVElkfiBw9qVILHY6oyNjKqMNVXjFDACLcBGAs/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252820%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vn7WQj2DiCk/WV2LKgzNxUI/AAAAAAAADlQ/83uVElkfiBw9qVILHY6oyNjKqMNVXjFDACLcBGAs/s640/FullSizeRender%2B%252820%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The one to the right looked so much bigger than the Mendocino Tree to the left.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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Story and photos by Elliott Almond</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>MENDOCINO COUNTY </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-- As if contracting a bout of poison oak twice this hiking season wasn’t enough.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now I had to deal with ticks, the Lyme disease-carrying predator that is a forest menace. The tick had snuck under my tee-shirt to begin burrowing into human flesh. I was able to repel it before the tiny insect could set up a beachfront. At least that is the hope going forward. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The attack came just after rummaging through an elfin forest at </span><a href="https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=434" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Montgomery Woods State Natural Reserve</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I had left the dirt path in search of the Mendocino Tree, a pole-like specimen that reaches 368 ½ feet into the sky while supported by stick legs.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-duEUp8Ik1mc/WV2MyTf6sLI/AAAAAAAADlU/scaYHl60qCEOD9AqZRdZQhyeIw_1Vp2qgCLcBGAs/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252818%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-duEUp8Ik1mc/WV2MyTf6sLI/AAAAAAAADlU/scaYHl60qCEOD9AqZRdZQhyeIw_1Vp2qgCLcBGAs/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%252818%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mendocino Tree is 11th tallest in the world.</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps getting beat-up by nature is part of the toll for enjoying its wonders. I’m just hoping this isn’t a trend. I can take the occasional piercing of an angry ground wasp and the itchy side effects of brushing up against poison oak. But I prefer to escape the forays of ticks, mountain lions and rattlesnakes, thank you very much. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Biting insects were not on my radar upon entering the grove at the appointed spot, where I calculated the elusive Mendocino Tree might be. But my first attempt ended in abject failure. I blew past the Mendocino to inspect a thicker, weather-beaten monster that keeps the grove’s queen company.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s coast redwoods for you. They’re not always easy to identify when it comes to the tallest. The Mendocino is only 10.10 feet in width, half the diameter of its more majestic sisters to the north. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Three years ago, I </span><a href="http://elliottalmond.blogspot.com/2014/09/secret-mendocino-tree-and-montgomery.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">wandered through the groves</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> without a clue where the Mendocino Tree stood. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since then, it’s possible to find locations of most of the big redwoods through sleuthing on the world wide web. While it’s nice to know exactly where the trees stand, it has diminished the mystique that once surrounded these old-growth groves. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even with directions, it wasn’t a guaranteed sighting. I didn’t give the Mendocino a second glance while focusing on its neighbor a few yards to the north. But I was pretty sure I was in the right vicinity although the other tree didn’t have the right markings.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the first charge into this grove, I returned to the trail, ducked under a fallen log and headed <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1Z5R5As703U/WV2NN19bsEI/AAAAAAAADlY/2dy3KQkNrMgbPNxECeAt5fmYzeKjT_ttQCLcBGAs/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252822%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1Z5R5As703U/WV2NN19bsEI/AAAAAAAADlY/2dy3KQkNrMgbPNxECeAt5fmYzeKjT_ttQCLcBGAs/s200/FullSizeRender%2B%252822%2529.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Difficult to eyeball the height.</td></tr>
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south toward the Montgomery Giant, the easiest tree in the park to locate. I didn’t go far, instinctively knowing I was close to the find. Following the internal compass, I veered off the trail again and worked my way north over an entangled forest. That ticked off tick must have been lying in wait. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By approaching the tree from the southwest I was able to find the distinct markings of burnt bark and a fallen tree limb by the side. The Mendocino Tree lies in the heart of the Montgomery park groves, residing in spongy soil without much of an understory. A requisite fern stands guard on the northeast side.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many visitors passed by while I stood next to the arbol high rise. They hardly gave me a nod in their haste to complete the park’s easy loop trail. This is something to celebrate. According to Associated Press, </span><a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1309&dat=20000130&id=U8wyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZBQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6834,1822801" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">15,300 visited the park</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> over the summer of 1998 after a Santa Rosa Press-Democrat story publicized the Mendocino as the world’s tallest.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over the past two decades, the tree has been downgraded to 11th tallest in the world. According to one account, it’s only the fifth biggest in volume in the reserve. The lack of girth is one reason the Mendocino can go about its business without gaining the attention of would-be tree worshippers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It stood for centuries without notice until renowned tree climber </span><a href="http://www.mendorailhistory.org/1_redwoods/redwoods.htm" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gerald F. Beranek</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> first spotted the Mendocino in 1981 while shimmying up the Montgomery Giant, the largest tree in the reserve. The Montgomery is 360 feet tall with an impressive 17-inch diameter base.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peering out over the grove at the crown of Montgomery Beranek noticed a tree to the north even taller.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It would take a good 15 years before famed botanist Stephen Sillett climbed the Mendocino to determine its short-lived claim as the world’s tallest known tree. The Humboldt State professor and colleagues kept the location a secret, as they have tried to do with other major finds along the Northern California coastline.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But a reserve ranger agreed to show a Santa Rosa reporter the spot. He even posed for photos in front of the Mendocino Tree. Although the newspaper story didn’t reveal the exact location it did put the remote Montgomery Woods reserve on the tourist map. For a short time, curiosity seekers invaded this austere setting like another roadside attraction.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The park has returned to its peaceful ways as</span><a href="http://www.mendorailhistory.org/1_redwoods/redwoods_tallest.htm" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> much taller trees have since been discovered</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most people arrive here these days because they spend a weekend at Orr Springs resort with its mineral baths. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The off-the-beaten-path park usually is an afterthought. But it’s a miracle it’s here. <a href="https://www.savetheredwoods.org/" target="_blank">Save-the-Redwoods League</a> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">preserved nine acres of this place when owner Robert Orr donated the land in 1945. The park has since expanded to 2,000-plus acres and is part of California’s state parks system.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ###</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UDgIpqNo8TM/WV2NuLuwETI/AAAAAAAADlc/mfpYVNa-61wYco0kA6gmesr9maOkT44LgCLcBGAs/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252826%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UDgIpqNo8TM/WV2NuLuwETI/AAAAAAAADlc/mfpYVNa-61wYco0kA6gmesr9maOkT44LgCLcBGAs/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%252826%2529.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family stops at Montomgery Giant</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>MENDOCINO</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was measured during the height of the redwood discovery era during the 1990s that began with Sillett and others. Redwood lists fluctuated because of new discoveries and the fact crowns of the trees often fall off in fierce storms. As of now, it appears eight trees are estimated to be at least 370 feet. Hyperion, in Redwood National Park near Orrick, is the tallest at 380 feet. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://verylargeandtallredwoods.com/?page_id=662" style="text-decoration: none;">Of the top 15 tallest redwoods</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, only 1,300-year-old Mendocino grows so far south. Many of the others are located at least 115 miles to the north on Bull Creek in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Five of them live along Redwood Creek in Redwood National Park, more than 200 miles north of Montgomery Woods. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In all, this reserve contains 18 trees taller than 350 feet and four rising at least 360 feet. By any estimation that’s remarkable for a series of groves that lie only 13 miles west of Ukiah. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DfWAQIaHecg/WV2OHSgCHgI/AAAAAAAADlg/hBZJw4w24CAHxM95HCK9idOVQlEOcc9rQCLcBGAs/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252825%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DfWAQIaHecg/WV2OHSgCHgI/AAAAAAAADlg/hBZJw4w24CAHxM95HCK9idOVQlEOcc9rQCLcBGAs/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%252825%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Few would expect to find a world-class redwood grove so close to a dry region of sprawling farmland. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The byway to Montgomery Woods travels along rugged Orr Springs Road that narrows to one lane on occasion while meandering over the Mendocino Coast Range. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tuning into the psychedelic '60s music of Fort Bragg's </span><a href="http://www.kozt.com/" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">KOZT FM</a><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> helps create a suitable atmosphere for the Mendocino.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">While climbing to a rolling ridge drivers pass scrub oak and madrona settled into the golden Northern California hillsides. Turkey vultures dip and rise in the thermals on a cloudless summer day.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The road descends into a verdant forest that follows the south fork of the Big River. The first sign of redwoods comes just outside the reserve, where parking is limited to a handful of cars.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For anyone who has spent time among the giants to the north, it begs the question: What are such big trees doing on the eastern edge of the redwood boundary surrounded by a landscape of oak and chaparral?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s an oddity that piques the imagination. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Montgomery Woods is pretty far from the coastal fog bank that hydrates redwoods in the rainless summer. Much of the reserve doesn’t share the lushness of the corresponding groves to the north, thanks to a ravaging fire in 2008. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But Montgomery’s trees have grown tall because of a narrow stream creating alluvial soil perfect to nurture these ancient treasures. Also, the trees are sheltered from the wind in a ravine cut sharply into the mountainside.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A third factor is the steep ridges that diminish the sunlight that can reach this forestland. The redwoods must grow and grow to catch more rays so they shoot to the sky like sun-starved beachgoers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ###</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fEjQQBpWFCA/WV2OV6-95sI/AAAAAAAADlk/NlXJ_OPZnLw4eRXK_nWNEPBfTYjegS1ZACLcBGAs/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252821%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fEjQQBpWFCA/WV2OV6-95sI/AAAAAAAADlk/NlXJ_OPZnLw4eRXK_nWNEPBfTYjegS1ZACLcBGAs/s400/FullSizeRender%2B%252821%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Montgomery Giant is 360-feet tall, 17-feet wide.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>MANY PEOPLE</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> spend about an hour on the three-mile loop trail that borders five separate redwood groves along Montgomery Creek. After crossing a bridge at the southern end of the loop the trail splits off to continue deeper up the ravine. A couple of big loner trees live along the dry, rocky creek bed away from the groves. It’s possible to extend the hike to five or more miles before it becomes more like bushwhacking than walking. Few people explore this end of the park so it’s even more peaceful.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Visitors like to congregate at the footbridge to photograph the Montgomery Giant. I encountered one such family concerned about the mosquitoes that aggressively buzzed the airways. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We came unprepared,” one of the boys lamented.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They didn’t have bug juice, a trustworthy accessory when hiking into a redwood forest over the summer. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That’s OK,” I told him and his blond-haired mom. “I’ve already been hit by a tick.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The woman freaked.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Where?” she asked.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Right down there,” I pointed toward the Mendocino Tree.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The boy, now joined by a younger brother, looked ashen-faced as the family huddled to prepare a strategy to avoid the ambush.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t worry,” I called out. “I wasn’t on the trail.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then as an epilog, I concluded, “I was looking the Mendocino Tree.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-26755298414767160772017-05-28T14:45:00.000-07:002017-06-06T10:09:43.419-07:00Yosemite's Stairmaster workout has room with views<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woman from Stockton, Calif., jumped onto a rock outcropping and began doing yoga poses.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Story by Elliott Almond</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photos by Jim Gensheimer </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Y</span>OSEMITE</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> FALLS TRAIL -- We met Brazilians, Germans, Poles, Swedes and Singaporeans living in Western Australia.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Foreign tourists seemed to be living on a continuous loop of sightseeing: Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco as they recounted their holiday journeys with us. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The nexus of the meeting was Yosemite National Park where a United Nations of visitors had flocked to bare witness to a springtime show. After a drought-busting winter, Yosemite Valley is offering a daily spectacle of gushing waterfalls plunging over rugged granite walls and turning the Merced River into a wild, frothy torrent.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The fortunate onlookers were enjoying Yosemite in all its glory just as the summer season was about to begin.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim captured me heading up unrelentless steps.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many park visitors congregate at Happy Isles in the far eastern end of the Valley to trek to Vernal and perhaps Nevada falls along the famous Mist Trail. A parade of hikers leaves a noisy footprint while powering their way to the popular cascades. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The glacial carved Valley is such a coveted attraction that park officials struggle with the balance between public access and protecting wild spaces. It has become a jumble of humanity as visitors often forget to pack common sense while meeting nature on its terms.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For this reason, I talked photographer Jim Gensheimer into a less congested hike to the top of Yosemite Falls. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The trailhead starts just beyond Camp IV, the austere campground geared for rock climbers and desperate overnighters looking for any level spot to lay down a sleeping bag. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The path immediately turns into a serpentine tail of switchbacks. Each muscle-crying step upward leads to demoralizing thoughts of abandoning this mad pursuit to a scenic vista thousands of feet up there.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mind you, the 7 ½ mile round-trip journey to the overlook invites plenty of people. But almost everyone on the trail feels a kinship with other hikers because of the relentless nature of this Stairmaster-like climb with an elevation gain of 2,600 feet. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s the equivalent of taking the stairs up the Empire State Building. Twice. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The perpetual agony of the ascent is enough to discourage families with young children from continuing to the top. Most of the round-trippers were between the ages of 20-45. While young legs bound up and down these granite walls with gymnastic balance, older folk need to carefully navigate the path to avoid scrapes and broken bones. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: EAA</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Families tend to stop at a rail guard with a Valley view a quarter of the way up. They snap photos and call it a day. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those with strong legs and willpower grit their teeth and continue. If the top overlook isn’t a challenge enough, hikers can extend the journey to 6,936-foot Yosemite Point to add a couple miles of climbing. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Along the route, Upper Yosemite Falls is to the right of the hikers, allowing for crowd-pleasing views of the 1,430-foot spillway. Just past the halfway mark the falls’ spray rains down on the trail turning a warm day into a chilly, slippery outing. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The quest for the outlook keeps hikers ascending on a trail that doesn’t ease off until the finish. The top feels like a college commons after finals week with tired bodies lounging in the sun, munching trail mix and kibitzing among friends.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If reaching Yosemite Point is too big an undertaking, it’s still worth heading that direction for a quarter mile or more to a footbridge that crosses Yosemite Creek. It’s a great place to <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZgHADqm_GRk/WStENty5sGI/AAAAAAAADkM/bHT1nNFGYZEtZGvgjCbQ_1RdhQfjQKNzACLcB/s1600/IMG_3401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZgHADqm_GRk/WStENty5sGI/AAAAAAAADkM/bHT1nNFGYZEtZGvgjCbQ_1RdhQfjQKNzACLcB/s320/IMG_3401.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yosemite Creek/Photo: EAA</td></tr>
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see the swift water hurling toward the hanging cliffs. Just don’t go near the creek’s edge because one mistake could lead to a fatal ride over the falls. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another terrific viewing area can be found near the halfway point before a sharp left in the trail leads into the mist area. It’s possible to bushwhack onto a boulder and come to a rock amphitheater practically underneath Upper Yosemite. Humans being humans, some people attempt to reach the base of the falls near here along slippery slabs of rock. This has led to Yosemite Search and Rescue crews fetching victims. In some cases, it turns into a costly helicopter ride off the ridge.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We enjoyed an incident-free day filled with learning about the lives of new foreign friends. I completed between nine and 10 miles whereas Jim finished with an estimated 11 miles by the time he was done roaming around the backcountry taking photos of wilderness campers. He trains for triathlons so I set him free on top then retreated to the Valley with cramping thigh muscles. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By the time we reconvened at Camp IV we made more new friends who were waiting overnight to nab one of the precious camping sites in time for Memorial Day Weekend. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Jim found me at the designated meeting spot, he asked, “Where’s the beer?”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The notion of a well-earned cold one quickly faded as he pulled out his camera and started recording images of the early bird campers.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim Gensheimer/Photo: EAA</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The work isn’t over even at the end of a long day.</span></div>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-15058365207450366552017-04-24T11:23:00.000-07:002017-04-24T11:23:00.488-07:00Portola Redwoods State Park Earth Day hike into past<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rqwquUXwJok/WP465oPWcbI/AAAAAAAADhg/avgkzV-pb4Q5kudLoLUOlBtkxzyicVZUgCLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%25286%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rqwquUXwJok/WP465oPWcbI/AAAAAAAADhg/avgkzV-pb4Q5kudLoLUOlBtkxzyicVZUgCLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%25286%2529.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't say you weren't warned.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stories and photos by Elliott Almond</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">LA HONDA,</span> California --The original Earth Day unfolded on a lovely spring Thursday. I vividly remember the sunny April day because we had a track-and-field meet in which I was scheduled to run the mile. Our athletic director approached me before the race while clutching a spreadsheet. “You need to finish third for us to win the meet,” he said.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No pressure. I earned the needed points by etching out a third-place finish with a personal-best time. I’ve always attributed the result to the relaxed state I felt having attended a school assembly earlier that afternoon to pay tribute to Earth Day. It featured a real scientist who seemingly appeared straight from central casting with horn-rimmed glasses, flannel shirt and khaki pants. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instead of fretting over the upcoming race I became spellbound by the presentation in which the young scientist proceeded to cast aspirations on the the planet’s chances of surviving. In 1970, the environmental movement was in an embryonic state leading scientists to try to jolt the public into action. Mostly, citizens ignored these outliers and their dire predictions about melting Arctic ice. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, now, 47 years later, other than the dutifully entrenched deniers, we must deal with climate change and invent new ways to energize our gadget-dominated lives.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first Earth Day talk still resonated with me when setting out this past weekend to mark the movement’s 2017 celebration by visiting one of the Santa Cruz Mountains’ most remote and magnificent redwood groves. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peters Creek grove is a fairytale setting.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">P</span>eters Creek’s tall trees are one of those sparkly little treasures found at the bottom of the chest, hidden behind a mountain of trinkets. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Tom Stienstra likes to call the place “Bay Area’s Lost World.” The mountain’s third-largest old-growth redwood grove rarely is crowded because it takes a major commitment to reach it. </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peters Creek is nestled deep in Portola Redwoods State Park, which only can be reached on a twisty drive off Alpine Road. Rangers tell visitors to set aside seven hours to complete the 13.5-mile trek to Peters Creek, which isn't as extensive as the groves at Big Basin and Henry Cowell state parks but equally as beautiful. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From park headquarters, hikers climb 1,000 feet to a ridge before eventually dropping 600 feet into Bear Creek Canyon. The big trees -- some have reached 300 feet in height -- are found at the confluence of Bear and Peters creeks.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sQ-kYsReaPY/WP48M0woJUI/AAAAAAAADi8/vKy3S5DCF-ELri-oAzHcOCj-qzTdiVyHwCLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252825%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sQ-kYsReaPY/WP48M0woJUI/AAAAAAAADi8/vKy3S5DCF-ELri-oAzHcOCj-qzTdiVyHwCLcB/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%252825%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the big ones right before the creek crossing.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>ew trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains compare with the mammoths of Humboldt and Del Norte counties. None of them share the girth of those in the infamous Atlas Grove in Prairie Creek State Park or the Grove of the Titans in Jed Smith State Park. They would have to live in a perpetual rainforest to grow into champion trees.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yet, the Peters Creek grove offers one of the best redwood experiences south of Montgomery Woods State Reserve in Mendocino County. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ii14GV1SsU4/WP48Ou60PqI/AAAAAAAADjI/dqRErY4VHBkGZwRBUyuvX50ippGh0RWzACLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252827%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ii14GV1SsU4/WP48Ou60PqI/AAAAAAAADjI/dqRErY4VHBkGZwRBUyuvX50ippGh0RWzACLcB/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%252827%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fallen foliage means lots of bushwacking.</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The understory is covered in redwood sorrel adding to the fairy tale-like aura of this quiet arena. I met only three other hikers during my journey despite a full parking lot by headquarters. The Portola park offers plenty of easier and family friendly trails. So, most bypass this demoralizing slog that includes two energy-zapping uphill climbs. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I like to visit in autumn when afternoon light dances off the trees like a chorus line. The wind rustles the yellowish leaves as if the Headless Horseman has rushed past. But those going in fall need a morning start or carry headlamps because the light retreats into the dense forest by late afternoon. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whereas the autumnal cycle denudes the landscape to its barest form, spring is a time of rebirth in the forest. Along the way, hikers trespass through tanoak ground cover, live oak, manzanita and Douglas fir. A few redwoods mingle with this diverse natural painting as a preview for what is to come.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-THVUyd02e8s/WP48PsG7OEI/AAAAAAAADjQ/-DddgqA8UQ4B-Z5DMcf32cJPlNcMsz8CgCLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252829%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-THVUyd02e8s/WP48PsG7OEI/AAAAAAAADjQ/-DddgqA8UQ4B-Z5DMcf32cJPlNcMsz8CgCLcB/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%252829%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squishy mud greets spring hikers.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">A</span>fter such a wet winter, the trail has not been perfectly groomed. Some bushwhacking is required to circumnavigate fallen trees and thick brush. Many segments of the trail were a gooey quagmire leading to an unstable footing. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then there is the poison oak. It simply cannot be avoided. I used to be immune to the itch-producing plant. Something changed in the past decade. Now, all it takes is one leaf to give me a look and I am afflicted. I took special precautions after having already suffered from the ill effects of poison oak this spring from a hike through Land of the Medicine Buddha. At this writing, I’m not sure what to expect after bathing twice with tecnu scrub wash. I know for sure I tramped through and over fields of poison oak that lined a super model-thin path.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But it was worth it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he first signs of the creek’s magical kingdom appear as the steep descent passed two notch valleys where redwoods like to live. Suddenly a couple of nice specimens were found although high above Peters Creek. The beasts usually reside near creek beds with plentiful water supplies. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The trail looped along the far side of the creek as the redwoods grew bigger the deeper into the grove I went. Right before the creek crossing a couple of large redwoods stand sentry over the grove. They are to the right, just up from the banks of the creek. Although the park has not identified any of the trees, these appeared to be the grove’s largest. It’s almost impossible to estimate heights by eyeballing the trees. But a good-sized redwood will stand out.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uwCF8rzW2aw/WP4746GX3xI/AAAAAAAADjs/Rzzwd0NN5l0nWJwDIYoi7QIN0n_-OIfxwCEw/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252812%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uwCF8rzW2aw/WP4746GX3xI/AAAAAAAADjs/Rzzwd0NN5l0nWJwDIYoi7QIN0n_-OIfxwCEw/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%252812%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peters Creek still is running high because of the storms that battered these mountains this winter. I didn’t bother tiptoeing over the slippery rocks in an attempt to ford the creek. The other half of the loop isn’t as spectacular so why bother? Instead, I doubled back through the best part of the grove to soak it in. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I needed the inspiration knowing that a 16.5% grade awaited me on my way out.</span></div>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-7532571607826894132016-06-12T10:21:00.000-07:002016-06-12T10:24:03.894-07:00Yosemite's Forgotten Land: Hetch Hetchy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N5j-FulpPqs/V12NvXCi1QI/AAAAAAAADZs/UCRHQMOKgfQ0-w0ouf89E19SFaxkMFifQCLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252821%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N5j-FulpPqs/V12NvXCi1QI/AAAAAAAADZs/UCRHQMOKgfQ0-w0ouf89E19SFaxkMFifQCLcB/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%252821%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We have dubbed this Rainbow Bridge.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9BY7GLZcACo/V12ODyFKV0I/AAAAAAAADZ4/bNYidr0GVFEEHVD__hIOqwJ-i1u7IniVgCLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252820%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9BY7GLZcACo/V12ODyFKV0I/AAAAAAAADZ4/bNYidr0GVFEEHVD__hIOqwJ-i1u7IniVgCLcB/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%252820%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jHtvC86FPu4/V12NGvCX9zI/AAAAAAAADZk/u5j_IggvWRo5Z3mcP2PnrD8ebGaNz0DRwCLcB/s1600/Hetch%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jHtvC86FPu4/V12NGvCX9zI/AAAAAAAADZk/u5j_IggvWRo5Z3mcP2PnrD8ebGaNz0DRwCLcB/s640/Hetch%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jody and Lucy cross one of the bridges at Wapama Falls.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Story and photos by Elliott Almond </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">YOSEMITE</span></b> NATIONAL PARK -- Rugged and spectacular Hetch Hetchy is so far off the beaten path many outdoor enthusiasts have no idea about its important contributions to America’s national parks system.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Which is odd considering it’s tucked into the northwest corner of the park about an hour’s drive closer to the Bay Area than precious Yosemite Valley. Hetch Hetchy receives a scant percentage of the scores of visitors traveling to the Valley, a drive-by tourist playground to snap a pretty camera phone photo. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As we traced ancient footsteps of the Miwoks, Paiutes and Washoes peoples on a recent all-day trek toward Rancheria Falls, I began to wonder if the careless destruction of Hetch Hetchy Valley in the early 1900s somehow has preserved its solitary state.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d93P_hl7ETY/V12OWTX5wiI/AAAAAAAADaA/aYWK7-IO1tE2ahDN6GbBQK_AYw3Cyv7fACLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%252815%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d93P_hl7ETY/V12OWTX5wiI/AAAAAAAADaA/aYWK7-IO1tE2ahDN6GbBQK_AYw3Cyv7fACLcB/s200/FullSizeRender%2B%252815%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jody and Lucy scramble up stone steps.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To be clear, local backpackers are attuned to the splendors of this granite-strewn arena judging by all of their parked cars on a recent Friday. But most of the 4 million-plus visitors jam their clammy bodies and sports utility vehicles into the Yosemite Valley floor 15 miles to the south to enjoy an outing as unremarkable as a backyard barbecue. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Might a similar scenario have unfolded had the Hetch Hetchy Valley been preserved by naturalist John Muir and others who tried to stop the damming of the free-flowing Tuolumne River from 1901 to 1913?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I’m not one to advocate that a massive engineering project in a national park is good natural resource management. But I just wonder what it would look like today under a preserved state when seeing families linger on 430-foot O’Shaughnessy Dam that created the eight-mile Hetch Hetchy Reservoir so San Francisco could get a nice glass of water. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Much has been written about the political struggle to save Hetch Hetchy, a name that is said to derive from the Miwok word “hetchetci,” or edible grasses. Muir’s forces eventually lost out to human greed in 1913 when Congress passed the Raker Act that allowed San Francisco to effectively blanket the glacial-carved valley with water.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It proved to be a defining moment in U.S. national park history. It helped spur the environmental movement as the Sierra Club gained political strength over the ensuing years. In 1968, environmentalists used the destruction of Hetch Hetchy to help halt the building of 740-foot Hualapai Dam in an isolated section of the Grand Canyon. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In other words, the rival to Yosemite Valley might have been sacrificed for the future betterment of America’s most cherished natural wonders.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We’re left to let our imaginations run free while traversing Hetch Hetchy’s stone cathedrals. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some have described the dam and reservoir as a “scar” on the national park system. I cannot find argument with their disdain. The Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River once flowed into the gentle valley. The reservoir dramatically altered the landscape. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ajXcDAZ703w/V12Oul4hLUI/AAAAAAAADaQ/n0YMJPCJ2WsvDI_hNd1sBgoZUGhXZmPIgCLcB/s1600/IMG_1497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ajXcDAZ703w/V12Oul4hLUI/AAAAAAAADaQ/n0YMJPCJ2WsvDI_hNd1sBgoZUGhXZmPIgCLcB/s200/IMG_1497.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wapama Fallas from the east.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_oeZsehutuE/V12Pv-dpk9I/AAAAAAAADaw/gUNjMZjMzu4vyd391A8frgBievqPQbPPwCLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%25287%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_oeZsehutuE/V12Pv-dpk9I/AAAAAAAADaw/gUNjMZjMzu4vyd391A8frgBievqPQbPPwCLcB/s200/FullSizeRender%2B%25287%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovely forests on the trail.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RiH5QbNwiVE/V12ZmWfNSEI/AAAAAAAADcU/1esMs7N0TxYqp_ogpe3hGYRGJtjBzZDWACLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%25288%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RiH5QbNwiVE/V12ZmWfNSEI/AAAAAAAADcU/1esMs7N0TxYqp_ogpe3hGYRGJtjBzZDWACLcB/s200/FullSizeRender%2B%25288%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Granite dome called Kolana Rock</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But our trio of hikers got past the disgust one, long day to explore what’s left. As those experienced backpackers can attest, Hetch Hetchy still has much to offer with waterfalls spilling over granite rock or seemingly flushing straight out of the mountain with a misty roar. Towering 2,000-foot granite dome Kolana Rock is perhaps the most prominent natural piece that rises above the water across the reservoir. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A majority of the day-use visitors stop along O’Shaughnessy’s concrete overpass to take a photo of the reservoir, or peer over the edge at the impressive dam walls and spurting water of the tamed Tuolumne. Many also make the rocky five-mile roundtrip hike to Wapama Falls, the swirling, gushing cascade of water that guarantees trespassers will get wet. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My companions Lucy DiBianca and author Jody Berger <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Misdiagnosed-Womans-Escape-Healthcareland/dp/1402293887?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0">(</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Misdiagnosed-Womans-Escape-Healthcareland/dp/1402293887?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0">Misdiagnosed, One Woman's Tour of--And Escape From--Healthcareland</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Misdiagnosed-Womans-Escape-Healthcareland/dp/1402293887?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0">)</a> marveled at the continual sight of water and the changing biology of forests as we huffed our way up hundreds of feet after the low point at Wapama Falls. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The 13.2-mile round-trip path to Rancheria Falls hugs the mountain while climbing and dropping steeply above the reservoir.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We had agreed to a destination of Rancheria, which would take us deep into the Hetch Hetchy backcountry without breaking our backs or wills. It came with a caveat: We’d head back whenever it seemed right. The warrior mentality of having to complete a certain amount of miles is the antithesis of exploring nature on its terms. Author Bill Bryson got it right in his seminal book “A Walk in the Woods,” about hiking the Appalachian Trail. You don’t have to cover every inch of the 2,160-mile path to earn a Merit Badge. Just tread respectfully and appreciate the surroundings. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Spring hung in the dry air with meadows covered in blue dicks, buttercups, Indian paintbrush, larkspur, poison oak and yarrow, among other species of beautiful flowers. We found a rock perch just before Wapama Falls to stop to nibble on the usual offerings of the Trailmix Gods. Cousin Lucy </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scenes of 8-mile Hetch Hetchy Reservoir that once was a beautiful valley.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TsPaeeu8SDI/V12QDNwMXmI/AAAAAAAADbc/c-W5aQ1DL9crekdWtN-UuyIBGN1ZBMo6ACLcB/s1600/IMG_1511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TsPaeeu8SDI/V12QDNwMXmI/AAAAAAAADbc/c-W5aQ1DL9crekdWtN-UuyIBGN1ZBMo6ACLcB/s1600/IMG_1511.JPG" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.38;"> </span><span style="line-height: 1.38;">did her best elementary school teacher pitch to get us to sample a bag full of banana chips. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After refueling, we navigated a series of foot bridges underneath Wapama Falls while getting drenched in a freezing spray of water. Lucy, the Girl Scout, was smart enough to cross the threshold with a poncho. But it wasn’t so bad for Jody and I. The late spring sun helped dry our clothes quickly.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Yl7dZhxvt4/V12QNQfzEeI/AAAAAAAADbs/ktTqJvG176Y7KOo3LG1jw9l1PgCqBwNuQCLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%25286%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Yl7dZhxvt4/V12QNQfzEeI/AAAAAAAADbs/ktTqJvG176Y7KOo3LG1jw9l1PgCqBwNuQCLcB/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%25286%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Afterward, when heading up for the more arduous section of trail it grew serenely quiet. No other day hikers encroached past the Wapama bridges. Finally, two women backpackers from Bishop, California, caught us on the dusty trail. The older, presumably the mom to her slender teenage daughter, just got targeted by a local gang of bloodsuckers. The amenable woman seemed particularly sensitive to the native insects as the area just under her right eye began to puff into a dime-sized raspberry tart. This was not a good sign for a twosome undertaking the adventurous Laurel/Veron/Rancheria 30-mile loop. They planned to spend two nights out in Yosemite’s northern wilderness.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I found some antiseptic pads in my emergency kit to apply to her face and some extra for the next round of mosquito assaults they might encounter over the coming three days. The exchange led to an informative discussion about hiking trails in the drop-dead gorgeous Eastern Sierra.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lucy, our inquisitive companion, has a way of bringing out fascinating stories in people.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> “Did you see the poop on the trail back there?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yes, the women saw it.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bdtxtAvq33c/V12QbRR5xCI/AAAAAAAADcA/0O7feeni7kcttggLA9TaUY2fP6uOXf9jQCLcB/s1600/IMG_1489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bdtxtAvq33c/V12QbRR5xCI/AAAAAAAADcA/0O7feeni7kcttggLA9TaUY2fP6uOXf9jQCLcB/s200/IMG_1489.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Do you know what it is?” Lucy inquired.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">They weren’t sure. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It was big, and for whatever unknown reason I kept saying black bear scat is smaller. Something about some scat I once saw years ago hiking at Mt. Rainier National Park.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Maybe it’s a mountain lion?” Jody asked.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">By the time we shook hands and bid our adieus we decided the only creature capable of delivering such a healthy amount of disposal must be a bear, since confirmed by photos found in a Google search. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The idea of black bears roaming the Hetch Hetchy seemed troublesome to the women. I couldn’t understand why because they indicated they had been climbing and hiking in the rugged Bishop area for some time. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This wasn’t a family outing so I didn’t have time to tell the women my bear story from my last visit to Hetch Hetchy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That time four years earlier I was alone in the evening and under a time constraint to meet Lucy and some friends at White Wolf to began a weekend trip hiking Yosemite’s High Country. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I encountered a buck on the crumbly trail while returning toward the day-use parking area next to O'Shaughnessy Dam. Such a strange sight. The healthy buck stood frozen in the center of the trail, a wall of granite on one side and the reservoir on the other. The mighty deer looked at me. Then he looked behind him. He turned to face me yet again. I took off my cap and used it like a matador’s red cape. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Come on, then,” I said. “This is your home.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I stepped off the path as much as it was possible. The buck didn’t need a second invitation as he galloped past.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I continued in his direction because it was the only route to my car. As I came to a bend in the trail I could hear a commotion on the other side. For some reason, still unclear to this day, I thought it was another deer. Of course, that is absurdly ridiculous. Moments earlier a big buck decided it was safer to scurry past me rather than risk dealing with whatever was in the bush making the racket.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yet, there I was thinking about sneaking up on the animal -- a deer -- to surprise it. Just as I stepped around the bend my better sense took hold. I pulled out my emergency whistle as the bear materialized no more than 100 feet away. I blew a forceful tweet. Mr. Bear didn’t care. He continued his business of foraging in the woods between me and the path to my car.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The first twinges of dusk began to bathe the landscape in that unforgettable light. I had to do something. I began singing my go-to song, “I’ve been working on the railroad,” with the lyrics, “Dinah won’t you blow your horn.” OK, I cannot sing. But my audience of one black bear gave me not one notice no matter how long and loud I sang and blew the whistle. This is a real problem in the wilderness when bears become habituated to humans. It ultimately endangers the animals.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Finally, this one scrambled back up the mountain from where he came, opening the path as I blew past like the buck. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I ran into a couple on the other side and warned them about the bear.</span></span></div>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-16169222867878873422016-05-23T09:59:00.000-07:002016-05-23T12:46:13.066-07:00San Francisco Bay hiking: Sweeney Ridge<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">TOO</span> often we overlook the bounty in our backyards. It’s probably the result of the natural cycle of life, getting so immersed into the routine that it becomes difficult to hit the pause button to glance around at the wonders beyond the porch.<br />
My friend Don Carroll had the most potent antidote for the malady of routineness. He preached to his beloved wife Joyce and their children a simple, yet elegant, sermon: “Look how we get to live today.” Yeah, look at them mountain biking, surfing, snowboarding, creating a slice of paradise in their Santa Cruz Mountains home. To the end, Don constantly reminded his loved ones to grab hold and cherish everything near and dear.<br />
We certainly enjoyed the precious moments of hiking and biking among the redwoods and mossy rocks and surfing along the craggy Central Coast.<br />
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I thought about all those fabulous times on a chilly late May day while embarking on a head-turning hike in the Sweeney Ridge section of the Golden Gate National Parks. The slender finger of scrub-covered wilderness points its windswept tip toward crowded Daly City and San Francisco in the near distance. But up here on the hilly ridges and ravines, it’s easy to ignore the teeming humanity that has covered the landscape to the north.<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lXrmiuJu5YU/V0MyDLIpLFI/AAAAAAAADY0/VZ2yVTRm-VYQR8dU7ZE9hGkTTGux99cSACLcB/s1600/IMG_1335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lXrmiuJu5YU/V0MyDLIpLFI/AAAAAAAADY0/VZ2yVTRm-VYQR8dU7ZE9hGkTTGux99cSACLcB/s200/IMG_1335.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-viclPn8S-Po/V0MzGNpdfcI/AAAAAAAADZI/ic__K2kFidI0tQPFTWZqGK68Td_GKXEPQCLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-viclPn8S-Po/V0MzGNpdfcI/AAAAAAAADZI/ic__K2kFidI0tQPFTWZqGK68Td_GKXEPQCLcB/s320/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="240" /></a>The network of trails here have one particularly quality: visitors get vistas of the San Francisco Bay to the east and the mighty Pacific to the west. This is as close to a manageable bay-to-sea hike as there is. Starting above SFO in San Bruno, I traipsed up the eastern rampart overlooking San Andreas Lake and the Diablo Range of the East Bay in the distance. Once at the summit take a short diversion trail to the south to visit the historical stone marker citing the location of the first-known view of the bay by the Portola Expedition. It’s called the San Francisco Bay Discovery site. The Ohlone People, however, might question the distinction as they knew about the massive bay for years and years before the Spaniards “discovered” it.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8LoaeQQoofo/V0MyDEL6tHI/AAAAAAAADYw/IZKo70X2NF8bJAybOan83DJUwhhcxfrLACLcB/s1600/IMG_1320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8LoaeQQoofo/V0MyDEL6tHI/AAAAAAAADYw/IZKo70X2NF8bJAybOan83DJUwhhcxfrLACLcB/s640/IMG_1320.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d6O2-e2m1xs/V0MyDny_vkI/AAAAAAAADY8/F245obpTIEgAzWEDyXLBeih2yOsD1thKACLcB/s1600/IMG_1341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d6O2-e2m1xs/V0MyDny_vkI/AAAAAAAADY8/F245obpTIEgAzWEDyXLBeih2yOsD1thKACLcB/s200/IMG_1341.JPG" width="200" /></a>Heading north along the ridge the trail descends sharply after one mile into Pacifica’s Shelldance Orchid Gardens before crossing Highway 1 to the terminus at Mori Point.<br />
The ridgeline is about 1,200 feet in elevation so don’t worry about oxygen deficit. But expect some thigh burners if Mori Point or the western park entrance is the turnaround destination. It’s an unrelenting climb back to the ridge along a shadeless, stony path.<br />
The east-to-west trail ends at the sea, but it’s still some distance to Pacifica’s commercial areas to the north and to the south. So pack a lunch instead of planning to find a nice seaside cafe, as appetizing as it sounds.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Andreas Lake</td></tr>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-85857460417978572132016-02-26T10:35:00.000-08:002018-05-05T13:49:38.056-07:00Mild February hits Santa Cruz and Central Coast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">S</span>ome love spring skiing. But few California surfers rave about spring surfing because the ocean is roiled and tormented by strong onshore gusts that blow out most breaks. However, when the sun and warm temperatures arrive for late February it's possible to enjoy blissful days on the water. The swell wasn't big Feb. 22, 2016. But the calm day and 3-to-5-foot waves at Lighthouse Point provided a great way to spend the day. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great tribute to Wally. I remember when he was 16 or so and Don Carroll and I had to pick him up at the old San Jose Airport circa 1973. He came roaring out of the terminal on a skateboard. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mavericks on the morning of the 2016 Titans of Mavericks surf contest. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moss Beach on a blustery winter's day.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pillar Point Harbor from the bluffs.</td></tr>
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Contest Day, February 2016 at Mavericks. The break got bigger for the afternoon semifinals. Nic Lamb or Santa Cruz won with a big ride early in the final heat.</div>
Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-5406823004782052622016-02-26T10:34:00.000-08:002016-02-26T13:22:51.258-08:00Surfing at the Eddie big-wave contest in Hawaii<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jHRorx-jcGE/VtCJqS5-5GI/AAAAAAAADXA/3nDGD4GfPpY/s1600/DaveWasselRossClarkeJones_Eddie2016_Keoki_KEO_1557.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jHRorx-jcGE/VtCJqS5-5GI/AAAAAAAADXA/3nDGD4GfPpY/s640/DaveWasselRossClarkeJones_Eddie2016_Keoki_KEO_1557.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave Wassel (right) and Aussie Ross Clarke-Jones going for it.<br />
Copyright WSL/Keoki</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he attraction of big-wave surfing has as much to do with its rarity as its race-car thrill rides.</span></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It takes some kind of natural turbulence in a far away body of water to create the kind of momentum needed for a huge groundswell by the time it collides with land masses in its way.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TZX_RvLdfqQ/VtCJsoIfAJI/AAAAAAAADXE/4dXZaDQvF8M/s1600/GrantTwiggyBaker_Eddie2016_Keoki_KEO_0418_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TZX_RvLdfqQ/VtCJsoIfAJI/AAAAAAAADXE/4dXZaDQvF8M/s320/GrantTwiggyBaker_Eddie2016_Keoki_KEO_0418_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grant Twiggy Baker of South Africa is captured in risky tumble on 45-foot wave.<br />
Copyright WLS/Heff</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This winter of El Nino weather patterns has offered one of the most memorable surfing seasons in a long while. It has brought a bountiful harvest to the famed big-wave locales, where fearless watermen and women dance across supercharged walls of water.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two weeks after a successful run at Mavericks near Half Moon Bay, California, the granddaddy of big-wave contests unfolded at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Eddie Aikau invitational went off for the first time in six years, and only the ninth occasion in its 31-year history of an event less a competition than a celebration.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Waimea is the original big-wave locale, but it takes just the right swell -- direction and size are integral factors in whether it's worthy -- before surfers paddle into the pit.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thursday produced one of those epic days</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It proved chaotic for the competitors who risked life and limb to charge into the watery forest. Like at Mavericks two weeks earlier, the event experienced its share of spills and chills, and eventually was won by the new generation surfer.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hawaiian John John Florence, 23, rode four big ones to collect a score of 301 points. He and runner-up Ross Clarke-Jones of Australia overtook Hawaiian legend Shane Dorian in the final heat. Dorian ended third whereas the Michael Jordan of surfing, Kelly Slater, finished fifth.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Legendary Kelly Slater on a clean monster at Waimea Bay.<br />
Copyright WSL/Keoki</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The fascinating aspect of big-wave surfing is the age disparity among competitors. Clyde Aikau, whose brother bears the contest's name, is 66. Clyde was 20th out of 28 competitors. Australian Tom Carroll, 54, was 27th.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clyde is a constant reminder of what big-wave surfing is all about, what his brother Eddie was all about: sharing the passion of the ocean lifestyle.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"We are humbled and privileged," Clyde Aikau told reporters afterward.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eddie Aikau was known as a waterman's waterman. The Hawaiian lifeguard patrolled the shoreline of Oahu’s North Shore to keep others safe, then tested the boundaries by paddling into the biggest waves when Waimea awoke from its long hibernation. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1978, Aikau met his death on the high seas while trying to trace the 2,500-mile route of Polynesian ancestors from Hawaii to Tahiti paddling a hollowed out voyaging canoe. The canoe got a leak in one of its hulls and capsized in turbulent seas about 12 miles from the island of Molokai. Aikau, 31, mounted his surfboard to paddle for help. His body was never found. The rest of the crew, though, survived after getting rescued by the Coast Guard.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The big-wave contest began in 1984 to honor the Hawaiian legend. Surf clothier Quiksilver took it over in recent years to provide an ample prize purse for competitors. Florence won $75,000 for his four massive waves.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But everyone came away with a victory because no matter how big the purse is, no matter how much media attention the contest generates, its heart remains with Eddie Aikau.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winner John John Florence takes off deep, with Mason Ho. Florence, 23, won the Eddie on Thursday.<br />
Copyright WSL/Keoki</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James O'Brien and Shane Dorian share the power.<br />
Copyright WSL/Heff</td></tr>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-37735188860863220492014-09-24T00:06:00.000-07:002017-01-08T14:11:15.444-08:00Secret Mendocino Tree and Montgomery Woods State Reserve<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Left, carving on a redwood; center, climbing ropes on 366-foot Norman J. Hendry tree; right, a behemoth in woods.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VxtEKOitv8E/VCJl27rRwzI/AAAAAAAABTg/4Ts4n1sgl7I/s1600/IMG_1503%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VxtEKOitv8E/VCJl27rRwzI/AAAAAAAABTg/4Ts4n1sgl7I/s1600/IMG_1503%5B1%5D.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 36px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Photos and Story by Elliott Almond</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">MONTGOMERY WOODS STATE RESERVE, California -- Spoilers. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This is not the space to discover the secret location of the Mendocino Tree, a 367 ½-foot redwood spire that rises out of this scenic forest like a head-turning monolith with a cute headdress. It’s in there, growing quietly in the same mound of spongy soil for at least a thousand years, if not many centuries more.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">State park rangers and knowledgeable locals have made a pact to keep the natural skyscraper private in order to spare it from the hordes, who no doubt would trample over the delicate roots of this hidden California treasure to gawk upward at a wooden pole that seems like a stairway to the heavens. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">We have empirical evidence showing just what would happen were the state to broadcast its exact location. This all but happened in 1998, two years after experts confirmed the tree as then the world’s tallest. A park ranger agreed to show a Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reporter the spot. The subsequent front-page story led to an overnight doubling of visitors although the woods are located off a remote, serpentine byway that traverses the golden mountains west of Ukiah. The park has limited parking at its entrance off Orr Springs Road and one stinky outhouse. In other words, it’s not equipped to handle an invasion of curiosity seekers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Fortunately, the newspaper story didn’t detail the tree’s exact whereabouts. It remains an elusive vision for most visitors. Redwood experts from Humboldt State University eventually discovered taller trees in the mid-2000s, downgrading the Mendocino to ninth on their list. The change in status has lessened the interest is such a remote stretch of woods. Most people have little reason to come here now, well, except for the wonderment of some splendid old-growth trees.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Furthermore, 367 feet doesn’t sound that impressive with five known coast redwoods rising to at least 370 feet, the tallest being 379-foot Hyperion in Redwood National Park east of Orick. Hyperion’s location is known to scant few as national park rangers guard its whereabouts to allow it to grow in relative solitude. Time and again bloggers boast about finding the big one because we humans are hardscrabble tree baggers like it or not.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q344uMQszZU/VCJnWjrAdjI/AAAAAAAABT0/zL8l6A3WASU/s1600/IMG_1515%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q344uMQszZU/VCJnWjrAdjI/AAAAAAAABT0/zL8l6A3WASU/s1600/IMG_1515%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Although most of the significant trees can be found in public parks, state and federal officials are justified in their policy to not advertise the locations. Firstly, redwoods’ root systems are fragile. For practical matters, we have to be careful about disturbing them by having thousands encroach the ground where they lie. Secondly, we can’t trust ourselves to leave the big trees be. Just look at the carvings in these forests. People are wont to deface nature by leaving a mark in what I call "peeing dog syndrome."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Alas, Montgomery Woods has more or less returned to a peaceful state since the “world’s </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z4HPvy_PzS8/VCJoNjpxcfI/AAAAAAAABT8/tFQy_lRZW7A/s1600/IMG_1508%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z4HPvy_PzS8/VCJoNjpxcfI/AAAAAAAABT8/tFQy_lRZW7A/s1600/IMG_1508%5B1%5D.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Montgomery Giant at 360.5 feet<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">tallest” label ended. It now attracts weekenders and locals from Ukiah interested in a stroll through majestic redwoods. The park’s trail is no more than 3 miles even if ambitious hikers take an extension up </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">a steep, narrow slotted canyon to a mixed forest of oak and chaparral.</span></td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 72pt; margin-right: 72pt; margin-top: 6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br />One curious oddity. State officials have erected signs at the entrance bragging about the Mendocino Tree in something of a tease. They offer no explanation as to why they announce its presence or why they decline to reveal its location. It’s a bureaucratic conundrum. In the grove where the Mendocino resides another sign boasts that some of the world’s tallest trees are there for all to see, but leaves it at that. If the idea is to stop people from bagging big trees, why encourage them with signage? </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 72pt; margin-right: 72pt; margin-top: 6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I was attracted to the Montgomery forest for a handful of reasons, mostly because of its accessibility from my home. Equally interesting is the fact such tall redwoods could be found so far south of Humboldt and Del Norte counties, where a majority of the champion trees -- those reaching at least 350 feet in height -- are located. Furthermore, Montgomery's groves sit on the eastern edge of the redwood boundary, usually no more than 25 miles from the coast. The world’s best specimens, such as the Grove of the Titans and the Atlas Grove, are located much closer to the sea, thriving in rich, verdant rainforests. Montgomery Woods, on the other hand, is higher in elevation and in a much drier climate. As I negotiated the turns on Orr Springs Road while crossing the blond rolling hillside I wondered how a serious grove of redwoods could exist there.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 72pt; margin-right: 72pt; margin-top: 6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">But Montgomery’s trees have grown tall because of a narrow stream creating alluvial soil perfect to nurture big trees. The forest also is cooled by Mendocino coastal fog providing the temperate climate these ancient treasures need.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 72pt; margin-right: 72pt; margin-top: 6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It doesn’t take much sweat to hike into the valley where glorious redwoods live. I spent four hours roaming the grove inspecting each giant to enjoy its splendor. Deep in Montgomery Flats where that second sign extols the virtues of this amazing forest, I found two significant trees. One caught my eye from a ridge. I wended my way to its base and upon inspection found climbing ropes and a numerical marker, indicating it was one of the trees redwood scientists had identified. That was the Norman J. Hendry tree, at 366 feet, the second tallest in the park. Further in the grove, I found another marker on a big tree. However, plenty of other giants seemingly as regal as the two marked trees were untouched, a reminder of just how difficult it is to measure the beasts without requisite expertise. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The problem with eyeballing supremely tall</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wRSYXXo3Lyc/VCJq3ZyDmUI/AAAAAAAABUs/H1W79b2J0ko/s1600/IMG_1483%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wRSYXXo3Lyc/VCJq3ZyDmUI/AAAAAAAABUs/H1W79b2J0ko/s1600/IMG_1483%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> trees from the base is they don’t look that special. The Titans are easier to find in that regard because of their remarkable girth. They are some of the largest by cubic feet, and not by height. But the tall ones don’t necessarily have 20-plus feet diameters from breast height, or DBH. Also, it’s all but impossible to sit underneath a giant and determine its height in the canopy. They all look huge.</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 72pt; margin-right: 72pt; margin-top: 6pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For example, I stumbled upon a stroller from Ukiah who seemed rather unimpressed with his local wonder. He spoke rapturously of Muir Woods below Mount Tamalpais in Marin. Muir Woods is a lush, almost museum-like stand that gives San Francisco visitors a sample of what a redwood forest might be like. It’s pretty, to be sure. But none of its trees can match the beauties of Montgomery. Not by anyone’s imagination. It’s the reason the reserve remains so special. It has more than a dozen giants to enjoy. It’s never going to resemble fairy tale Fern Canyon in Prairie Creek State Park or the Stout Grove in Jed Smith. It lies too far inland to present jungle-like lushness.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Montgomery also suffered a tremendous blow in 2008 when a devastating fire scorched the arid landscape surrounding it. Six years later, the forest has returned to its natural state, but residue of the destruction is found deep in the woods with </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y6vfuZFzKUQ/VCJqtxq52QI/AAAAAAAABUk/tVKGXOO9xYQ/s1600/IMG_1455%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y6vfuZFzKUQ/VCJqtxq52QI/AAAAAAAABUk/tVKGXOO9xYQ/s1600/IMG_1455%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">blackened trunks. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-df5938b4-a656-c5d3-9388-b94bb72b8d57"></span></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 72pt; margin-right: 72pt; margin-top: 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Redwoods live so long because they are fire resistant and not prone to destructive insects. They also are efficient in regeneration. Their worst enemy has been loggers as 96 percent of old growth forests have been sawed into oblivion. In other words, virtually all the real champion trees, trees probably well beyond 400 feet, are part of the human fabric serving as tables and house frames. It is a major reason some visionaries set out to save the remaining forests, and why they deserve our vigilant protection.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gGtTonBTliE/VCJpztmuYcI/AAAAAAAABUI/u6fXhP1XdaM/s1600/IMG_1480%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gGtTonBTliE/VCJpztmuYcI/AAAAAAAABUI/u6fXhP1XdaM/s1600/IMG_1480%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Montgomery Giant</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> It’s the heart of my reasoning why I don’t mind the skullduggery in hidin<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">g the locations of such famed trees as the Mendocino. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-y3TxO5Jors8%2FVCJmClAyZ2I%2FAAAAAAAABTo%2Fj6DBeEGzTos%2Fs1600%2FIMG_1507%255B1%255D.JPG&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y3TxO5Jors8/VCJmClAyZ2I/AAAAAAAABTo/j6DBeEGzTos/s1600/IMG_1507%5B1%5D.JPG" -->Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-91238440515227197422014-08-28T09:16:00.001-07:002014-08-28T09:16:39.888-07:00Costa Rica: Rainforest hiking in snake country<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The verdant rainforest of Refugio La Marta.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Story and photos by Elliott Almond</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">REFUGIO LA MARTA, Pejibaye, Costa Rica -- Walking in a slick rainforest can be challenging in the best of circumstances.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gingerly stepping over gooey, chocolate mud-soaked paths on the western slopes of the Talamanca Mountains is terrifying when traveling alone.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lurking behind tree roots, branches and emerald fallen leaves are perilous snakes called fer-de-lance. These fearless reptiles seem happy enough to sample human flesh just for the sake of it. Hikers must not only carefully traverse the gutted pathway to stay upright, but keep vigilant guard against aggressive serpents that grow up to six feet in length and blend into the terrain like a harmless twig.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Such is the aura of fear when communing among the epiphytes, mosses, lichens, bromeliads and orchids in the arbol wonderland of this 3,750-acre reserve that protects the La Marta, Atirro and Gato river basins.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tucked into the deepest corner of the Orosi Valley, the cloud </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GFqHQmIiAzQ/U_9QYLE5W5I/AAAAAAAABPY/F_Vv8Ud-En0/s1600/IMG_8535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GFqHQmIiAzQ/U_9QYLE5W5I/AAAAAAAABPY/F_Vv8Ud-En0/s1600/IMG_8535.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">forests cling to the wet, humid ridges that rise to the heavens some 6,400 feet above sea level. With 180 inches of annual rainfall, the lush, biodiverse forest attracts stately mammals such as jaguars, ocelots and pumas.</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The jaguar sits atop the triangle as king of this jungle. Still, I’d much prefer staring down a jaguar than suffer a surprise attack from a fer-de-lance.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Experts say the pit viper is not aggressive, just defensive. That's splitting scales if you're the one bitten for simply interrupting its perceived solitude. The fer-de-lance is responsible for half the bites in the Americas. The damn thing can be found from southern Mexico to the verdant north of South America, and has migrated to human populations to feast on growing rat populations. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s a given the fertile jungles of the tropics are filled with snakes. Costa Rica alone has more than 120 varieties, 18 of which are venomous. None are as fearsome as Tericoplo, as Ticos call the fer-de-lance. The creature can open its deadly mouth 180 degrees before sinking inch-long fangs into its victims. Let's see Dracula try that.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The fer-de-lance is the centerpiece of terror in the jungle though I’m told everything in nature serves a purpose. Here are some unpleasant facts: The fer-de-lance -- French for spearhead -- injects on average 105 milligrams of venom in a single bite. A fatal dose for humans is about 50 milligrams. The snake rarely withholds its poison when striking whatever it has targeted. It’s the kind of animal that would join a crazy terrorist cult.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Victims don’t have much time to write their wills after an attack. The venom causes swelling and blisters as it flows through the blood cells, destroying tissue along its path. The area of the bite can become infected, leading to amputation and/or a coffin. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fortunately, Costa Rican physicians are well-equipped to handle bites because they deal with them so frequently. But time is against a lone hiker, who would have little chance of surviving an attack in such a remote location as La Marta.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps that is why the ranger, Carlos, kept asking me for a cell phone number. I was the only visitor to the reserve one August midweek day. The lone ranger was feeling a little uneasy sending a foreigner into a death trap.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Keep your eyes on the ground and always look ahead,” he advised.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">OK. But it’s difficult enough to navigate the treacherous trail much less scanning 20 feet ahead simultaneously. After a while, I mastered the technique of eyeballing my surroundings with robotic consistency. Eyes side to side, down, ahead. Repeat. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It just seems so futile. Pit vipers can sense the approach of a warm-blooded mammal with a unfair detection system that senses a change in body temperature. It has ample time to prepare its ambush on an unsuspecting hiker who has no intention of harming or encountering the snake. The brown coloring also allows it to blend into the surrounding making it difficult to spot to prevent an attack.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The best defense, then, is luck.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another snake to avoid is the bushmaster, the world's largest viper that grows up to 12 menacing feet. Here’s a cheery thought: According to some reports, 80 percent of bite victims die, including those receiving antivenom treatment. Alas, bushmasters seemingly try to avoid human contact while living in the remotest of jungle, and as a result, they are not nearly the threat of their predatory cousin fer-de-lance.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The deeper I walked into La Marta’s heart of darkness, the more </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4i_VrCDIDGA/U_9QZVqX1-I/AAAAAAAABPw/EspZF7t5EgI/s1600/IMG_8539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4i_VrCDIDGA/U_9QZVqX1-I/AAAAAAAABPw/EspZF7t5EgI/s1600/IMG_8539.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">vulnerable I felt. By the time Carlos would realize I was in serious trouble it would already have been too late to carry me out on a stretcher and then fly me by helicopter to a San Jose hospital that has antivenom.</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then as if a light switch had been employed, I was splattered by rain, turning the already soggy turf into a squishy mess. It made the experience all the more nerve-racking. It doesn’t help matters knowing that failing to see a snake is no assurance of safety. Many other creepers silently cling to their small piece of real estate until suddenly disturbed. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Descending the slippery and steep rudimentary trails must be achieved without the benefit of bracing oneself on a welcoming tree. The first rule of the tropical rainforest is to never grab any handy limb or vine to help prevent a fall. The seemingly benign branch could be home to poisonous spiders, scorpions and camouflaged snakes patiently waiting for any life form to breach the sanctuary.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It becomes a particularly daunting exercise when encountering a branch hanging across the path like an overpass. Hikers must get down the steep pitch while ducking underneath the branch or, with room, bypassing it. Just never brush it aside as if hiking where plants are plants and animals don't look like tree bark while waiting to pounce.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Soloists face further disadvantages in a locale where the more eyes the better. One must always watch before stepping. But she or he also needs to peer upward, too. Firstly, wonderful animals silently live in the canopy. Hikers won't see the sloths and kinkajous with heads down, eyes scanning the horizon on snakewatch.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Secondly, it's important to know what’s above. Namely, a wasp's nest suspended 50 feet above. Those who talk too loud or linger too long below the nest will experience the full wrath of these armed-and-loaded bugs. They often are called deer wasps because of their Usain Bolt speed. They can chase down a galloping deer with weapons fully engaged.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fortunately, my half day of cloud forest communion in La Marta proved tranquil all things considered. But upon my return, Carlos’ face suggested I had escaped some kind of peril.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He wore the look of relief.</span></div>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-84276372273946646352014-06-11T23:14:00.000-07:002014-06-11T23:15:20.105-07:00Brazil World Cup stirs memories of '94<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Story by Elliott Almond</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">N</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">oelly Russo doesn’t remember it this way. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">But our first encounter was on the stairs at the Cotton Bowl two decades ago at the World Cup.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I was heading into the bowels of the vast, empty stadium on my way to meet the Bulgarian soccer team before its upcoming game against Nigeria. Coach Dimitar Penev agreed to let a Los Angeles Times reporter enter the locker room to talk to the team, including star striker Hristo Stoichkov.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The only other person in the stands that moment was a dark-haired beauty with a determined look on her face. Noelly was coming my way.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">“Are you a Bulgarian official,” she asked when we crossed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">“No,” I said.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I was about to offer her the opportunity to join me for an exclusive interview with the Bulgarians because she looked so frazzled.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Before I extended the invitation Noelly summarily dismissed me with a wave of her hand.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A chance meeting ending like that usually doesn’t lead to an engagement four years later. But that’s how it started for us.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In 1994, I was sent to Dallas to cover FIFA, which set up its headquarters in the Big D. Hot, sticky, Cowboys-loving Dallas.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Most soccer writers were dispatched around the country following their teams. A few of us bunkered down in North Texas to write enterprise and news stories about the World Cup.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">One of those reporters was Jorge Luiz Rodrigues, a young writer from O Globo in Rio de Janeiro. Even then Jorge was superb. He’s now one of Brazil’s pre-eminent sports journalists.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">It didn’t take long for Jorge and I to become fast friends. Two days after meeting on the stairs, Noelly joined our small band. She worked at Folha de Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest paper and a rival of O Globo. In her eyes, this is when we first met. Not on the stairwell. Not with a quick dismissal.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Brazilians and I enjoyed the ensuing weeks covering the World Cup and exploring Dallas while enduring the oppressive summer heat.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Then the journalist roof came crashing down when the L.A. Times learned Argentine star Diego Maradona tested positive for ephedrine. My story sent the soccer world into a frenzy.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Argentina just happened to be in Dallas to play Bulgaria. After the game, I stood in the mixed zone where reporters can talk to players as they leave the field.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I couldn’t find Maradona as the dejected Argentines passed through the area after their stunning defeat. Then one of the players told me Maradona was speaking at a Dallas hotel.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I rushed through the media workroom with my computer bag and laptop while American reporters typed out their game stories. About 60,000 fans were leaving the Cotton Bowl causing L.A.- type congestion. But I happened into a taxi driven by an African. I offered him 40 bucks to get me to Maradona.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">“Maradona?” he asked loudly. “I love Maradona.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">He drove around, through and over any barrier in the way.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">As I reached the hotel lobby I found a teary Maradona in one of his Oscar performances. Noelly also was there, generously translating. She spoke five languages.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">With Dallas two hours ahead of Los Angeles, I still had time to write a complete story. But these were the days before wireless connections. I had to return to my hotel to write and send the story.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Noelly gave me her car keys, and somehow got to my hotel later that night to retrieve her rental.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Four years later, she was going to join me in my beloved Seattle. Our friendship had grown into something more.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">But the World Cup again would play a central role in our lives. Noelly wanted to cover the 1998 competition in France. I encouraged her to lobby for the assignment before moving to the Pacific Northwest.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The letter came postmarked from Paris that summer. Inside was a scribbled note by way of explanation, and my apartment key.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Noelly never contacted me again.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">With the World Cup opening Thursday in her hometown, I can’t help but smile. I hope she’s happy and well in Sao Paulo. I hope this World Cup fosters as many good memories for her as it does for me.</span></span></div>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-29642493096244344562013-11-03T11:17:00.000-08:002018-07-17T15:31:19.439-07:00Fall hiking in the Western Sierra<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mFHLBqV-EKI/UnaF-cxAM3I/AAAAAAAAAzM/5eqEkKFrdKY/s1600/IMG_7536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mFHLBqV-EKI/UnaF-cxAM3I/AAAAAAAAAzM/5eqEkKFrdKY/s640/IMG_7536.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Story and photos by Elliott Almond<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<b>ARNOLD</b>, Calif.--<span style="font-weight: normal;">As October ceded the stage to November we returned to one of our newly discovered haunts: Calavaras Big Trees State Park along CA 4 toward Ebbetts Pass. I had visited two weeks earlier, luckily catching the fall foliage color changes in peak season. We were a week late the first weekend of November but it proved to be another perfect outing. This time a Bay Area friend joined the party, equipped with his professional lenses and eye for taking exquisite photographs. I had my usual point-and-shoot but now I also had a human subject to help give the arbol beasts some perspective. </span></h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John somehow hiked eight miles with his camera always pointed upward.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing in the hallowed out portion of the tree call the Palace Hotel</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John is dwarfed by the base of the Agassiz Tree, the largest in the park.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We think this redwood is part of the Moody Group, a handful of trees lying east of the maintained trail's end at Agassiz.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the big ones along the trial just popped out.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">The old trail continues to the eastern border of the grove but it is all but impassable without a serious bushwhack and a full day. John and I ventured into the thicket to explore a bit. The trail disappears quickly even though some trail map guides say you can continue for 1 mile. Despite the setback we were able to find a handful of Sequoias most don't see because, well, who in their right mind gets that far into the forest? We also then tried to wend our way up Big Tree Creek beyond the Agassiz Tree. Again, we quickly were turned back by an impossibly tangled forest understory. We were able to bushwhack a ways, however, to come into the Moody Group -- at least we think we reached the edge of the group based on a detailed map we have. </span></h2>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">We enjoyed the last vestiges of autumn colors. A storm is expected by the end of the week. The South Grove will be all but inaccessible once the first snow blankets the spongy turf.</span> </h2>
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The Kansas Group of three Sequoias are the South Grove's final burst of magnificent redwood.<br />
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THE NORTH GROVE<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Discovery Stump</td></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">This is the place most visitors stop because it is a 1.6-mile stroll through a thinned-out forest next to the visitor's center. For anyone wanting a close-up look at some big trees this is the place to go. John equated it to a tree zoo, which is an apt description. The more adventurous should take the scenic overlook to get a more interesting perspective of the trees by looking across at them instead of peering up all the time.</span></h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Viewing Old Bachelor from the scenic overlook trail gave us a chance to inspect the canopy.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">The state park service maintains the grove to make it accessible to visitors. Unlike the South Grove, the Sequoias stand out without the obstruction of a mixed forest that includes incense ceders, sugar pines and Ponderosa pines.</span></h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John hangs out at the Pioneer Cabin Tree.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">A word on tree heights. It's almost impossible to know the truth when it comes to the world's tallest Sequoias. For example, according to giant.sequoia.com a 310-foot tree has been reported in Calaveras Big Trees in the South Grove. It seems possible considering there are about 1,000 Sequoias in the grove. The loop trail takes visitors past no more than 10 percent of those trees. The website, run by Welkers Nursery in Auberry, Calif., states that another tree in Redwood Mountain Grove in Kings Canyon National Park also is 310 feet, and that these are the world's tallest Sequoias. A biologist at the Calaveras visitors center questioned the veracity of a 310-foot tree located in the park. I can't find any reliable information that one exists. </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Also, Humboldt State professor and redwood authority Steve Sillett has reported measuring a 314-foot Sequoia along Sherman Creek in Giant Forest just outside Sequoia National Park. Sillett and his crew have perfected the measurement of trees, starting with coast redwoods.</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></h2>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Here is a list of possibly the three tallest Sequoias:</span></h2>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">314 -- Unnamed, Sequoia National Forest (reported by Sillett)</span></h2>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">311.4 --Unnamed, Redwood Mountain Grove, Kings Canyon NP (climbed and measured by Sillett)</span></h2>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">311.0 --Unnamed, Kings Canyon National Park. </span></h2>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-44302391124564459452013-10-21T17:46:00.001-07:002017-01-10T18:50:06.241-08:00Giant Sequoias, Sierra's fall foliage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Chimney Tree.</td></tr>
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Story and photos by Elliott Almond<br />
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<b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ARNOLD, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Calif.</span></b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> -- When it comes to mammoth redwoods some of the biggest specimens often remain a big secret. Such is the case at surprising Calaveras Big Trees State Park in the western rampart of the Sierra Nevada.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">About 1,0000 of Calaveras’ towering giants are found in the spectacular South Grove among the park’s greatest collection of sequoias. State park officials offer a road map to the Agassiz Tree at the back end of the grove, one of the finest areas for giant sequoias north of Yosemite’s Mariposa forest. It’s one of the few trees they identify in the extensive grove; perhaps as a way to keep visitors from disturbing root systems, or worse, defacing sequoias like they have done with the Agassiz Tree. Dissuading people from searching for super big trees isn’t unusual these days. Rangers and scientists take extensive measures to hide and protect some of best of the coast redwoods in Prairie Creek and Jed Smith state parks along the Northern California coast. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But next time I visit Calaveras -- and there will be a next time -- I’ll examine the grove to see if I spot ones taller than Agassiz. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; white-space: pre-wrap;">Such determination feeds an intellectual curiosity, nothing more.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although the giant sequoias commanded the spotlight nothing was more elemental than tramping alone through the quiet woods on a brilliant autumn day. Nature’s Impressionists had painted the big-leaf maples, Pacific dogwood and hazelnuts in a blaze of golds, yellows and crimson as if waving magic brushes across a wide swath of forest. It is peak coloring-book season from now through early November along this stretch of the North Fork of the Stanislaus River.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Any Californian yearning for a taste of New England’s famous fall foliage will enjoy the fluttering Monets along the narrow roads and trails. The conifer forest is a mix of evergreens and deciduous shrubbery that perform nature’s annual denouement to mark a final, illuminating breath before hibernation. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The remote South Grove is accessed from a well-maintained trail that offers hikes from 3 ½ to 7 ½ miles and beyond. But for tree lovers, a 5 ½-mile loop will lead past many of the big ones.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-7109e453-dd3d-b498-59c2-c66706f98b0f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here is a photo essay of my 7 ½-mile hike into the grove:</span></div>
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At an elevation between 3,000 feet and 4,500 feet the western Sierra Nevada is alive with colors, particularly in Gold Rush Country that extends from Sonora in the south to Nevada City. The colors are more prominent in the higher elevations of the region.<span style="font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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According to state park officials, an ideal time to visit Calaveras Big Tree is just after a strong rain because storms often shake the colorful leaves from their branches and carpet the moist ground in an illuminating landscape. But I had no such luck on a cloudless, blue-sky day. Ah, shucks.<br />
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The head-turning colors almost made me forget that I had come to stand beneath the giant sequoias of Calaveras. The northernmost grove of sequoias lies east of Auburn in Forestville on the the western slope of Donner Pass. According to descriptions, the Forestville grove isn't as extensive as the sequoias of Calaveras.<br />
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Big Tree Creek cuts through the South Grove. This scene is near the end of a 2.5-mile loop trail into the Bradley Grove, which is not worth the trouble except for adding some mileage to the day's hike.<br />
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<b>THE SOUTH</b> Grove straddles a ridge trial that eventually descends into the grove after 1 mile. A signpost alerts hikers when they are entering the natural preserve. About 100 sequoias are located along the trail. The groves in Sequoia and Kings Canyon and Yosemite are exceptional compared to Calaveras'. But these ancient trees are worthy in their own right. The park is easily accessible to the Bay Area -- just a three-hour drive past Stockton along Highway 4 that eventually crosses 8,730-foot Ebbetts Pass well above Calaveras Big Trees.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<b>THE AGASSIZ TREE</b></h2>
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The Agassiz Tree at the end of the South Grove trial is considered the crown jewel of the Calaveras park. It is 25 feet in diameter and 275 feet high. Considering an unnamed tree in the same grove is 310 feet tall Agassiz loses some of its oomph for tree geeks. The backside of Agassiz is hollowed out because of lightning strikes that set the beast ablaze. Visitors have carved their initials into the blackened bark, underscoring why it is important to not advertise where all the truly big specimens are located.<br />
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Although the trial ends at Agassiz Tree, it is possible to extend the route for another mile along Big Tree Creek. It will afford the intrepid traveler a chance to see more giants that are a bit off the beaten path.<br />
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Some of the unidentified sequoias away from the trail seemed enormous but without any kind of instrumentation, I could not judge their heights. Not that it mattered. The contrast between blazing fall foliage and the redwoods provided a spectacular day in the woods.<br />
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The so-called Kansas Group is a closely bunched stand of redwoods. Unlike coast redwoods the sequoias usually need wide berths to grow above the forest canopy. But these peas in a pod seem to keep each other company.</div>
Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-82677551130593863562013-09-30T07:49:00.001-07:002013-09-30T20:45:46.748-07:00Desolation Wilderness: Sierra Nevada's hiking paradise above Lake Tahoe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Elliott Almond</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>THE NAME</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Desolation Wilderness conjures images of an unreachable, hellish corner of Death Valley. Instead, the massive granite basin is one of the most popular backpacking locales in the northern Sierra Nevada. Rising above Lake Tahoe from the southwest and buttressed by the Crystal Range to the west, the jagged rocky terrain is a hiker’s playground.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-11a90f3e-6c64-6e30-e160-5da873ba47c4" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had wanted to visit the region for more than a decade, and finally got the chance recently when a friend invited me to join him on one of his, shall I say, “concoctions.” For the record: Tom despises well-maintained, regularly traveled footpaths. He has been known to pour over computerized topography maps trying to design routes that take him far from the sounds of humans. In the past three decades he has spent enough time in the Desolation Wilderness to talk fluently about the various peaks, valleys and glacial lakes. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For our daylong trip on this early autumn day Tom devised a point-to-point hike that kept us on trail for almost the whole time. The plan was to start at the Eagle Lake trailhead off Highway 89 above Emerald Bay and finish at Glen Alpine Falls at Fallen Leaf Lake. Adding to the logistics, we had to arrange a pick up at the end to shuttle us to our car at the starting point.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Below represents a photo essay of our adventure in the Des Wil.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our route took us straight up the Eagle Lake trail. It was no warmer than 30 degrees when we started but clear and calm. While we passed a handful of beautiful alpine watering holes we stayed along the ridge above almost all of them. Tom ingeniously planned the hike in a direction to ensure we were not exposed to a brutal sun while trekking up to a 9,200-foot passageway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the long ascent above Eagle Lake we reached a ridge that took us to the Velma Lakes to the west. Otherwise, the trail loops back down to the Bayview Campground. We caught a breather along the ridge while getting deep in the wilderness area. Instead of following the trail to the Velmas we turned south toward 9,874-foot Dicks Peak, whose north face already had the first blush of a wintry blanket of snow. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the respite in the high granite valley we started the long, arduous ascent to Dicks Pass. The final photo looks back above two of the Velmas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even as we gained elevation it didn't seem possible that we could reach Dicks Peak by our designated time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then with some more huffing and puffing we suddenly were looking down upon Dicks Lake after crossing the turnoff to Fontanillis Lake. At this point, we were on the famous Pacific Crest Trail that intersects with the Tahoe Rim Trail. I hiked along another segment of the PCT in July at Mount Rainier National Park. (see Rainier blog entry).</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt. Tallac</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dicks Peak</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pyramid Peak, at 9,983 feet is highest point in Desolation Wilderness</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Echo Peak with Angora Peak on the same ridge to the left pops out in distance</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The highlight of our day was an easy cross-country hoof to the so-called</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "Janine Peak", the unnamed 9,579-foot summit above Kalmia Lake. Tom's research discovered the side trip that proved to be our perfect lunch spot with 360-degree views of the wilderness, including the Maggies Peaks, Mt. Tallac, Pyramid Peak, more crystalline lakes as well as Lake Tahoe and perhaps all the way to the White Mountains. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">More views from "Janine," with Jacks Peak in the foreground and Pyramid in the distance in the first photo. A closer view of Mt. Tallac, a favorite half-day hike among Tahoe locals. The short ascent to our summit seemed to be my undoing as I started feeling mild symptoms of altitude sickness despite drinking plenty of water and eating. It was nothing to spoil the adventure but I suffered from an annoying headache the rest of the trek.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Tom took an extra moment atop "Janine" to soak in the splendor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We popped down "Janine" and rejoined the PCT at Dicks Pass. There, we had up-close views of Dicks and Fontanillis lakes. The lakes are favorite destinations for overnight backpackers though there are few designated camping sites. </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-83ip9M9gCUo/UkjbpVso6SI/AAAAAAAAAuw/xet5oEMk01c/s1600/IMG_7418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-83ip9M9gCUo/UkjbpVso6SI/AAAAAAAAAuw/xet5oEMk01c/s200/IMG_7418.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We came to the cutoff for Dicks Peak but were at the halfway point of our journey at best. The scramble up the backside of the peak didn't look too extreme but we weren't going to deviate from our allotted time for the hike. We didn't want to navigate the scree in the dark as we descended to Fallen Leaf Lake. Tom and I agreed that the backside of the hike eventually was reduced to a slog. Perhaps our feelings were skewed by fatigue. But after we passed Gilmore Lake we descended into a never-ending canyon. The trailhead at Glen Alpine Falls finally appears but the parking lot does not. We had to continue picking our way through rough terrain for what seemed to be almost two more miles before we arrived at the terminus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here is one of the topo maps Tom created for our journey:</span><br />
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-74657302024084510742013-08-25T18:02:00.000-07:002013-08-25T18:02:24.832-07:00Surfing in Santa Cruz Takes Summer Break<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>AT THE HEIGHT </b>of<b> </b>the<b> </b>dog days of summer, I ventured to Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz to take a peek at the possibilities. Alas, dreams of an autumnal swell bubbling somewhere in the deep trenches of the Pacific was nothing more than a figment of my well-oiled imagination. The ocean was as flat as a varnished table top and as inky black as a wet harbor seal. We have about a month more of the Pacific lulls that lead even the most patient surfer to suffer anxiety breakdowns. Thankfully the towering redwoods that stand sentinel above the coastline beckon, providing relief from the maddening boredom with hundreds of miles of beautiful hiking trails.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Famous NorCal surfing break Steamer Lane enjoys a summer slumber with lake-like conditions.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea kayakers bask in the morning sun along the coast.</td></tr>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-88105032959934237022013-08-22T08:49:00.001-07:002013-08-22T08:49:40.511-07:00Review: When a 'tropical storm' flooded Vermont<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">By Elliott Almond</span></h1>
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San Jose Mercury News</div>
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www.mercurynews.com</div>
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<b>"The Perfect Storm"</b> is the standard-bearer for nonfiction storytelling that involves the forces of nature. Sebastian Junger's best-selling narrative brought to life the fishermen of Gloucester, Mass., and the roiling seas that eventually swallowed them in 1991.</div>
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Junger's prose is so perfectly coiffed it seems to suck the oxygen from the creative room for those following him. But there is plenty to recount from nature's wrath, as author Peggy Shinn underscores in her debut book, "Deluge: Tropical Storm Irene, Vermont's Flash Floods, and How One Small State Saved Itself."</div>
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Shinn pursued the project after reporting for The Wall Street Journal on the August 2011 floods that surprisingly stranded a dozen Vermont towns after Irene swept through.</div>
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The human toll she had seen on television in the aftermath of countless hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons and earthquakes suddenly took on another dimension when it came to her front porch.</div>
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Shinn was one of the few reporters to witness the destruction firsthand after riding a mountain bike for miles to reach isolated towns where all roads had been washed away. As she writes in her introduction, "Loaded down with a ham sandwich, two energy bars, a half-gallon of water, cell phone, camera, notepad, pens and digital recorder, I pedaled up the road and through the woods."</div>
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While her on-the-ground reporting resulted in vivid descriptions of the devastation, Shinn soon realized the story of the calamity and, ultimately, restoration, was just beginning. This wasn't some reporter parachuting into the disaster zone for a one-time story. The eighth-generation Vermonter lives in Rutland, Vt., just west of the Green Mountains where neighboring villages were stranded.</div>
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Shinn returned to the scene to flesh out the story in the hours, days, weeks and months after the flooding. She eventually followed a handful of protagonists through their ordeals to develop the core theme of "Deluge." The book blends the human side of a natural disaster with digestible explanations of meteorology that are central to understanding how a landlocked state could be severely hit by a tropical storm.</div>
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Without such diligent reporting these stories might have been quickly forgotten, along with their invaluable lessons. After all, the media focused on the fact Irene passed by New York City with little more than a quick hello.</div>
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And with Hurricane Sandy's destruction last year in New York and on the Jersey shoreline, Irene is nothing but a distant memory, except for those who lost their homes and businesses. "This was not pastoral Vermont," Shinn writes of her initial reaction. "It was a war zone."</div>
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Then "Deluge" gives blow-by-blow accounts so vivid the reader is transported to this narrow region in south-central Vermont that is the focal point of the book. It starts in the town of Pittsfield (pop. 546), framed by verdant terrain. On a Sunday afternoon in late August, Heather Grev was preparing for a hurricane party after storm-proofing the clapboard home she and her husband rented.</div>
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Within minutes she found herself fighting for her life as water from the overflowing Tweed River turned her tranquil town into a life-and-death struggle.</div>
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The more time Shinn spent in the disaster zone the more she realized something greater was at work. Despite the sudden desperation, Vermonters rallied around each other and opened their homes and hearts to those hit hardest by the floods.</div>
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Instead of waiting for state transportation crews to begin rebuilding roads, private local construction companies went to work to reconnect isolated towns with the outside world. Without power for weeks, some tiny communities bonded together with daily town meetings to create a structure by which neighbor could help neighbor.</div>
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"Deluge" ends with a hopeful tone. Unlike New Orleans where so many people struggled to rebuild their lives after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Vermont's flood victims got on with it quickly.</div>
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A few scars remain, but the American "can-do" spirit is branded into these Vermonters like cattle.</div>
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<i>Staff writer Elliott Almond is author of "Surfing: Mastering Waves from Basic to Intermediate." He can be reached at 408-920-5865; follow him on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/elliottalmond" style="-webkit-transition: 0.1s ease-out; color: #5278ae; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.1s ease-out;">Twitter.com/elliottalmond</a>.</i></div>
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<i>University Press </i><br />of New England</div>
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$27.95, 200 pages</div>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-64893203141042029252013-08-19T07:26:00.002-07:002013-08-20T17:52:20.771-07:00Half Dome Hike and Yosemite's Sequoias Grove<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xs4C5tLnkNM/UhIhxlr6h3I/AAAAAAAAAoM/x3bt69OlA38/s1600/IMG_7276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xs4C5tLnkNM/UhIhxlr6h3I/AAAAAAAAAoM/x3bt69OlA38/s640/IMG_7276.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Half Dome is one of the major attractions from the floor of Yosemite Valley.</td></tr>
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Story and photos by Elliott Almond<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>SLEEP HELPS</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This precept was reinforced the other day on a energy-zapping sludge to Half Dome that began in the cool darkness after a restless night in Yosemite Valley. Lying on my hard, cot-like bed at Curry Village I stressed over the assigned 4:20 a.m. wake up. I was to meet fellow hiking companions for the 16 ½-mile, 10-hour trek to one of the country’s iconic vistas -- the granite rock outcrop of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Attempting such an ambitious, arduous day without a wink of sleep dramatically adds to the degree of difficulty. As someone who needs a full complement of sleep the body reacted negatively to the previous night’s debacle. I was so nervous about waking up on time that my heart raced as if it were about to start the Indy 500.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It didn’t take long to experience the results. The synapses failed to fire up wobbling up the Mist Trail as dawn roused Yosemite Valley from its slumber. On this day I had nothing. Our group still reached Nevada Fall in good stead, keeping us on pace. But the 2.5-mile ascent to the second fall is just an hors d'oeuvre. The main dish would come upon us soon enough.. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MVkI0Wvwszo/UhIiXkvLV2I/AAAAAAAAAoU/C29m3UKDXYw/s1600/IMG_7284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MVkI0Wvwszo/UhIiXkvLV2I/AAAAAAAAAoU/C29m3UKDXYw/s320/IMG_7284.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nature's spigot shuts down in the dog days of summer at Nevada Fall.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>YOSEMITE</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Valley has become so overcrowded that I don’t enjoy going there anymore. I had my time under the waterfalls and stars as a kid. I retraced footsteps from Halloween, circa 1989, when enjoying the autumnal glow in the Valley with a wonderful friend who lived in Mammoth at the time. We stopped at Lower Yosemite fall one evening to breathe the crisp air and snack after a long High Country hike, We had the place to ourselves except for the ravished blue jays and chipmunks. Those days seem out of place now. Everything about them represents another space. Yosemite’s now a place for foreign tourists and others who don’t get into the parkland much. My place is the High Country and the hikes originating out of Tuolumne Meadows.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One friend, though, wanted to “bag” Half Dome after hiking by it 20 years earlier on a backpacking trip. It took him two years to score permits through the lottery system. The park service limits the number </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">folks allowed to climb the 400-foot steel ropes to the top of Half Dome because of the dangers of having too many people ascending and descending at the same time while perched on a sheer granite face. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I promised to tag along but not attempt the cables. I have a healthy fear of heights, and no desire to test it on those cables like someone from the cast of “Survivor.” Just reaching the cables on the subdome is an accomplishment, however. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s what I emphasized after our party eventually bailed on the straight-up climb to the top. I was overjoyed no one pushed themselves quite literally over the edge. In the end everyone came away satisfied with a party-talk experience. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F6hL7AI9gbs/UhIkFDI4MoI/AAAAAAAAAoo/yLTDH-pJN5g/s1600/IMG_7301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F6hL7AI9gbs/UhIkFDI4MoI/AAAAAAAAAoo/yLTDH-pJN5g/s320/IMG_7301.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The outcrop of Half Dome, with subdome just below it.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">While all the attention focuses on the heart-pounding encounter of jimmying the way to the peak the subdome often is underrated. Hikers encounter this hunk of granite after having grinded upward for eight miles in oxygen-sucking air. It’s not that bad making the dome’s ascent. Returning, however, is one of the scary hikes of Yosemite -- like the cables and the sheer ledge out to Clouds Rest. Why more people aren’t dying in the Yosemite backcountry is the stuff of miracles. With so many hearty hikers out in force it seems more would succumb to the forces of nature. One slip is all it takes.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Consider a hot, August day on subdome at 8,500 feet. Sweaty and exhausted hikers now must retrace their footsteps down the Devil’s Staircase -- stair steps carved out of the sliprock. They must do this with nothing to hold on to, no railing, rope or any such mechanical security blanket. Also, hikers must worry about folks coming up and those behind them who are comfortable jetting down. Remember, all types tramp along this famous trail. Hikers will encounter the super macho 20-somethings next to the inexperienced desk dweller. Expect anything up there.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MO7u82qUjFo/UhIkiOoZu5I/AAAAAAAAAow/WrOV-WyJw_0/s1600/IMG_7304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MO7u82qUjFo/UhIkiOoZu5I/AAAAAAAAAow/WrOV-WyJw_0/s320/IMG_7304.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Backside of Half Dome and subdome</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It took the never-ending,dusty descent after subdome to realize how much climbing we had done from Little Yosemite Valley. We went down, down, down. As the trail kept descending. I wondered aloud if the little valley had been a mirage.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o6CHE9N1Vkc/UhIlQ_BdU4I/AAAAAAAAApI/YfVD0F_a4Qo/s1600/IMG_7313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o6CHE9N1Vkc/UhIlQ_BdU4I/AAAAAAAAApI/YfVD0F_a4Qo/s200/IMG_7313.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally, we left the forest behind and immensely enjoyed that brief respite along the Little Y Valley’s sandy trail. The watering holes along the Merced River are filled with backpackers laying on the rocks like sunning sea lions. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once we returned to Nevada Fall we elected to take the long, grinding way down: the John Muir Trail. With leg muscles crying for relief no one wanted any part of the super steep Mist Trail. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n6jxK2V4uos/UhIlGaSQa0I/AAAAAAAAApA/xV8MVjUyRpU/s1600/IMG_7311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n6jxK2V4uos/UhIlGaSQa0I/AAAAAAAAApA/xV8MVjUyRpU/s640/IMG_7311.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Half Dome, left, from John Muir Trail</td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GC_GgakaP8U/UhIk7UIIVkI/AAAAAAAAAo4/Sag5JZjtlkw/s1600/IMG_7306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GC_GgakaP8U/UhIk7UIIVkI/AAAAAAAAAo4/Sag5JZjtlkw/s200/IMG_7306.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>EVERYONE</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> had had his or her share of rock steps. The JMT also offers majestic views of Nevada Fall and Half Dome. Although it is 1 ½ miles farther it also is steep and rigorous. And it never seems to end switchback after switchback. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once we reconnected with the main trial below Vernal Fall it was just a matter of negotiating visitors who swarm there like gnats. It’s not a great intersection with families of all stripes out for a 1-mile jaunt interspersed with battle-fatigued hikers at the end of 16-mile walkabouts -- and their rope. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0301f2b1-96df-a4f1-1987-5996231d6e4c"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the finish comes soon enough at the appropriately named Happy Isles, where it is possible to buy an ice cream. I bet John Muir wishes a soft serve cone awaited him. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> THE BIG TREES</span></b></span></h4>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grizzly Tree in Mariposa Grove</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I NEEDED</b> a warm-down the next day so I decided to do a half-day walk among the Mariposa Grove along the park’s southern boundary. I hadn’t been there in a half century or so. But spending time among the coast redwoods has peaked my interest in big trees.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Sequoias of the Mariposa are stunning. It’s a popular place because many of the big ones are easily accessed by a short walk or Disney-like tram the park service runs to keep cars off the road. It’s also possible to design a decent hike through the grove, perhaps starting at the Wawona Hotel about six miles away. Or it works well as a half-day hike parking at the trial head and hiking the outer loop then zigzagging back through the inner loops. Starting at the parking lot at 5,600-feet those looking for a workout can climb to 6,800-foot Wawona Lookout. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unlike the big coast redwoods, the Sequoias are easy to spot as they stand out from the spindly ponderosa pine, sugar pine, white fir, black oak and incense cedar. They range from 400 years to 1,400 years old. But the arid ground and plentiful sunshine doesn’t encourage a jangled, old-growth forest the likes of foggy and soggy Humboldt and Del Norte counties along the upper California coastline.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sMTmxmlfRSA/UhInSMjPtVI/AAAAAAAAApc/xlbtYwrNSF4/s1600/IMG_7336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sMTmxmlfRSA/UhInSMjPtVI/AAAAAAAAApc/xlbtYwrNSF4/s320/IMG_7336.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most people pass without noticing immense and famous trees in the thick canopies of Northern California because so many other coast redwoods seem just as big. But not in Mariposa where the Grizzly Tree is unmistakable at 210 feet and a 30-foot diameter. Almost all of the big coast redwoods dwarf the Grizzly. Even one at 310 feet and a 20-foot diameter would be equally as impressive. But the old, gnarled beast is something to behold with a massive trunk and thick, muscled limbs. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The stately Columbia Tree is the largest tree in Yosemite at 285 feet. I like the fact the park service doesn’t advertise the Columbia other than to have a signpost with its name. I think that keeps people from hopping the wooden fence and getting too close.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visitors climb atop Fallen Tunnel Tree while majestic Sequoias stand out above.</td></tr>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7719454276679362835.post-9589322625697395342013-07-29T13:15:00.000-07:002013-07-29T13:15:11.570-07:00Mt. Rainier: Day Hike! book perfect guide for national park<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At 14,411 feet, Mt. Rainier is blanketed in snow in mid-July.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Story and photos by Elliott Almond</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">AUTHOR Ron Judd says the best way to view</span> Mt. Rainier National Park is by exploring “its wild spots, shake hands with its evergreens, breathe its crisp air, smell its wildflowers, and soak your aching feet in its cool streams.”</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I would offer an amendment: those streams are glacial-fed currents of burning cold. But after arduous treks along some of the trails recommended by Judd in </span><a href="http://www.ronjudd.com/books.html" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Day Hike! Mount Rainier</b></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, it was medicinal to tiptoe into the icy waters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">I recently joined Judd and his wife Meri-Jo Borzilleri for a week at Rainier to help the Washington native update his hiking guide for a spring 2014 release. The new version will offer full-color photographs to complement the invaluable trail descriptions. We had time to test all or parts of perhaps a third of the 50-odd trails listed in the book. Bottom line: Day Hike! captures each trail’s distinct characteristics perfectly. Judd, a beloved Seattle Times humor columnist, injects comedy and historical tidbits that make reading the book a joy. I’m not saying this just because my likeness can be found in the current book. As they say, “it’s true, it’s true.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Truth be told, most hiking guidebooks are dry and academic. The strength of Judd’s writing always has come from the ability to master a subject while making it supremely fun to read. This is why writers like Judd and Bill Bryson are so popular. Ron also is a masterful photographer who combines enticing images with his prose. The updated book with those color photographs is going to make Rainier a mouth-watering morsel waiting to be tasted.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wanted to show off some of the trails we tested as a preview to what to expect from the new edition. But for anyone serious about exploring Rainier pluck down the dough for what I think is the best hiking guide of this sensational national park</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bellingham, Wash., author Ron Judd checks out Chinook Pass trail</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Judd's wife, Meri-Jo Borzilleri, enjoys the Pacific Crest Trail.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">IT seemed we spent as much </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">time debating where to go as going there. But once we finally got a plan -- that is, once Judd decided on a course of action -- we pretty much stuck with it.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our first task was to check out Sheep Lake off of Chinook Pass. This trail is just beyond the national park borders but it nonetheless qualifies as a high-country Rainier hike. The book’s current photo of the trail shows a frozen poodle on a snowy autumn day along a narrow ridge. It looks bleak. But we arrived on a sun-kissed morning where after starting in the wrong direction we found this lovely stretch of the famed Pacific Crest Trail. Traversing the east side of the pass brought a change of scenery that is equal to the west. The terrain is classic Cascadian high country. This almost 4-mile hike is perfect for a family outing with little elevation gain. We had the pristine lake to ourselves for lunch. I would have preferred to continue to 6,370-foot Sourdough Gap, a 1,000-foot climb from the lake. But Ron’s achy knees weren’t up for the lung-bursting ascent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">We returned to the parking lot to regroup. Meri-Jo and I then took off on the Naches Peak trail that intersects at the 5,400-foot Chinook Pass parking lot. The loop is 4.5 miles of breathtaking country. Because of the lateness in the day we walked only to a tarn where we soaked up to our thighs. For the more ambitious the loop can include a side trip to Dewey Lakes to add up to five miles to the hike. The trail also follows the PCT in wilderness land. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">A brewing tropical storm greeted us the next day. It felt odd to be among the towering alpine peaks under darken sky but without that bite of cold. Ron wanted to use the day to tackle a couple trails in the Paradise section of Rainier. This is where the main visitors center is located. Although he already has a library of great photos of Narada Falls and the like he wanted to take advantage of the light as it is difficult to shoot mountain scenery under super bright conditions during the day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">While Ron meandered the area in search of a wildflower or two MJ and I climbed. Our goal was to reach Panorama Point midway up the 14,411-foot monster peak. It travels straight up into the gut of the dragon, the menacing alpine climb to Rainier’s treacherous summit. The trail allows armchair mountaineers a chance to get a feel for what it is like to climb a mountain. Only you don’t need crampons, ice axes and a fearless resolve. Although the calendar said it was mid July the snow pack remained low on the mountain. Trampling over the slippery stuff on the ascent wasn’t too difficult. But every step I took concerned me because I so dislike the downhill glide over snow -- even with hiking poles</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">MJ marched up the mountain like a bighorn sheep. Just as we got to the vista point the sky grew measurably more dark. Mt. Adams had disappeared and the nearby Tatoosh range was riveted by rain. I got a little nervous about getting stranded on Rainier in a snowstorm, something I have worked</span><span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> hard to avoid over the years. We devoured our lunches and headed down the way we came. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After naviga</span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ting a rocky section of trail we hit the steepest snowbank of the day. I suggested we use the glissade. It was on the snowy slopes of Rainier back in 1996 that Mr. Judd taught me the finer points of glissading, an enterprise I never had to encounter while hiking in the desert wasteland of Orange County, Calif. Alas, MJ steamed along screaming like a kid in a roller coaster. I plodded down until hitting a hump of snow that led to a dead stop. I clumsily hopped the mound and tramped over to the trail. As we descended we were showered by a light rain; thankfully</span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> it was not a dangerous downpour. Meri-Jo, a Lake Placid, N.Y., native, underscored her roots with snowy conditions by easily cruising down the mountain. I, on the other hand, struggled, often giving way by gliding on my butt. Kids in tennis shoes passed me. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mothers</span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in tennis shoes passed me. Everybody’s favorite great aunt whizzed by. But we arrived at the bottom at the ascribed time where Ron was waiting.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WE did a number of other </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hikes, including to Owyhigh Lakes, Summerland, Fremont Mountain Lookout and then suddenly had run out of time. All of them were spectacular and many I had previously done but enjoyed as much as ever. </span></div>
<span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While living in Seattle Rainier seems like a neighborhood park just 60 miles away. But it never stops being spectacular no matter how many times one touches the mountain.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We vowed to make camping and hiking there an annual event.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">IN the dark, thick forest near dusk along Summerland Trail.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crossing of Fryingpan Creek on way to Summerland</td></tr>
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Elliott Almondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494051296875810931noreply@blogger.com0