Winter is Coming: Seven Days on the John Muir Trail

Winter is Coming: Seven Days on the John Muir Trail

Monday, September 15, 2014

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"The mountains are calling and I must go"

- John Muir

Below is a video from Ryan Commons that documents his hike across the Sierra Mountains along the John Muir Trail.

Ryan made the trip from the Mt. Whitney Portal to Happy Isles in Yosemite National Park - 222.4 miles - in just seven days! Along the way he climbed a total of 42,000 feet, or, put another way, almost 8 miles of climbing! Obviously he put in some pretty insane milage each day to accomplish this goal.

Ryan followed the trail up to Mount Whitney, which, at 14,496 ft, is the highest peak in the lower 48. From there he passed through King's Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park, and the Ansel Adams Wilderness before ending his journey in Yosemite.

At 40 minutes in length, the video is fairly long, but is very well made, and well worth the spectacular scenery alone:


WINTER IS COMING - Seven Days on the John Muir Trail from Ryan Commons on Vimeo.






Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies

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The Best of Yosemite in One Epic Hike

The Best of Yosemite in One Epic Hike

Monday, June 30, 2014

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Did you know that you can do one hike that encompasses nearly all of Yosemite’s iconic sights? This epic 12.6-mile hike includes a full view of Yosemite Falls from the only place in the park to see both the upper and lower falls in their full glory. You’ll also see El Capitan, Half Dome, Illilouette Fall and Nevada Fall. This epic one-way hike begins with a climb up the Four Mile Trail, and then travels back to the valley via the Panorama Trail. The following is a pretty good video which highlights the outstanding sights along the way:





Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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Frazil Ice in Yosemite National Park

Frazil Ice in Yosemite National Park

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

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The last gasps of winter in the Yosemite Valley....

Check out this amazing video showing the "giant slurpee" that forms when "frazil ice" collects on Yosemite Falls, and flows down Yosemite Creek each spring like a lava flow.

As you might expect, the scenery in this film is quite awesome:



My wife and I visited Yosemite National Park for the first time this past fall. We did quite a bit of hiking while we were out there, and have posted several hike reports and photos on our new Discover the West website.



Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies

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A Yosemite Classic: The Vernal Fall / Nevada Fall Loop

A Yosemite Classic: The Vernal Fall / Nevada Fall Loop

Thursday, March 6, 2014

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The spectacular Mist Trail at the eastern end of the Yosemite Valley leads to some of the most popular destinations in Yosemite National Park. Although the mileage is relatively moderate, this is still a fairly tough hike. It’s all worth it though; you’ll visit star attractions such as Vernal Fall, Nevada Fall and the Emerald Pool. For more information on this “bucket list” hike, please click here.

Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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Horseback Riding in Yosemite

Horseback Riding in Yosemite

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

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In this short video from Finley-Holiday Films, Yosemite National Park ranger Shelton Johnson talks about seeing Yosemite on horseback (or mule back) - an experience that hasn't changed much since the earliest visitors ventured into Yosemite. You may recognize Ranger Johnson - he was featured quite extensively in The National Parks: America's Best Idea, the Ken Burns film from a few years ago:



If seeing Yosemite on horseback isn't your thing, or if you've never been to the park, did you know that you can do one hike that encompasses nearly all of Yosemite’s iconic sights? This epic 12.6-mile hike includes a full view of Yosemite Falls from the only place in the park to see both the upper and lower falls in their full glory. Along the way you’ll also see El Capitan, Half Dome, Sentinel Rock, Illilouette Fall and Nevada Fall. The one-way hike begins from the Yosemite Valley, climbs up to Glacier Point via the Four Mile Trail, and then travels back down to the valley via the Panorama Trail and the famous Mist Trail.


Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies

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One Day in Yosemite

One Day in Yosemite

Friday, February 8, 2013

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On Tuesday, June 26, 2012, 30 filmmakers converged in Yosemite to document one day in the life of the national park. Viewers of the film see the park through the eyes of rangers, park employees, sight-seers, hikers, painters, climbers and even hang-gliders. The park published this wonderful film late last month, and called it One Day in Yosemite:




Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies

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Chimani Announces Free iPhone Apps for National Park Week

Chimani Announces Free iPhone Apps for National Park Week

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

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Chimani, LLC announced today that all iPhone national park apps will be free during National Park Week, which runs from April 16-24. The Android versions of each national park app will be available for only $.99 cents. The Chimani national park apps normally sell for between $4.99-$9.99 each.

The current Chimani suite of national park apps include Acadia National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Grand Canyon National Park and Yosemite National Park.

Each of the five national park apps delivers constantly updated content, including ranger led activities, free shuttle bus schedules and news alerts. Users can view sunset and sunrise times for the most memorable scenic overlooks, access tide schedules along the coast, review lodging options, plan hikes, and much, much more.

Each of the apps boasts a rich and impressive map interface that is custom-made, GPS enabled, and includes all hiking trails in the parks. Designed from the ground-up using the National Park Service geographic information system data, the maps are all pre-installed in the app and work without any cell or WiFi connection.

“When Google Maps stops working, Chimani maps begin.” says, Kerry Gallivan. “Most smartphone users who visit the national parks find their traditional navigation tools are useless because they depend on a cell or WiFi connection. The Chimani national park apps are designed to work completely offline.”

The national park apps also include an audio tour designed to work while visitors are driving, walking or taking the shuttle buses around the parks.

Each of the Chimani iPhone apps can be downloaded from Apple's iTunes App Store and the Android versions from the Android Marketplace (keyword: "chimani"). The iPhone apps will be free, and Android version only $.99 cents, for the entire National Park Week which runs from April 16-26. After that, the apps will return to the regular price of $4.99-$9.99.

Chimani, LLC plans to release iPhone apps for Grand Teton, Great Smoky Mountains, Olympic, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, and Zion National Parks this spring. For more information, please click here.


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Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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Yosemite's "Fire Waterfall"

Yosemite's "Fire Waterfall"

Monday, December 13, 2010

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Check out the photos of the "Fire Waterfall" in Yosemite National Park. The waterfall is actually Horsetail Fall on the east side of El Capitan.

At first I thought that maybe this was a hoax, or maybe they were photo shopped images, but apparently they're real. The spectacular view of the waterfall is created by the reflection of sunlight hitting the falling water at a specific angle, and can only be seen during a 2-week period towards the end of February. Thus, seeing and photographing this phenomenon is fairly rare.


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Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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Daring rescue on El Capitan in Yosemite

Daring rescue on El Capitan in Yosemite

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

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Check out this report from the NPS Digest from last week. A seriously injured climber, and his inexperienced team, were rescued off the 3000-foot face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Details from the rescue are in the NPS report below.


Park dispatch received a report of an injured climber on a climbing route known as The Nose on El Capitan on the evening of Tuesday, August 24th. He was a 47-year-old Korean national, part of a four-person Korean climbing team. Rangers were unable to communicate with the climbers due to a language barrier, so little information was available at the outset.

It was eventually determined that he’d dislodged a large rock just below the Camp 4 bivy site, that he was in stable condition, and that he was unable to climb further. A helicopter short-haul mission was planned to extricate him from the rock face, but had to be cancelled due to the shear vertical wall at the climbing party’s location. A small technical rescue team was sent to the top of El Capitan to lower an attendant to him, but that operation had to be suspended due to darkness.

A plan was formulated by IC Shannon Kupersmith to send supplemental personnel first thing the following morning to support the lowering operation.

On Wednesday, additional personnel were flown to the summit of El Capitan for the technical lowering operation. Prior to the start of the mission a spotter in El Capitan Meadow was able to communicate with the climbing party and determine that the man might be paralyzed in his lower extremities. Two medics who reached the scene stabilized the climber and packaged him in a litter.

An alternate plan to immediately evacuate him from the wall using the "bean bag/short-haul" technique was employed. This technique involves sending a line from the hovering helicopter to the attendant/medic. The attendant/medic then retrieves a tag line attached to the short-haul line from the helicopter while the helicopter maintains a safe rotor distance from the vertical rock face. One attendant then attached himself and the climber to the short-haul line, which was followed by immediate release from the wall anchor. He was then flown to El Capitan meadow and medevaced to a hospital.

The remaining members of the climbing team were unable to lower themselves off the route due to their lack of experience and also had to be rescued. Two additional lowering operations were conducted to evacuate the Korean climbers off El Capitan’s 3,000-foot face. These operations were conducted on the hottest day of the summer to date, with the temperature over 100 degrees.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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Video: Yosemite rock fall

Video: Yosemite rock fall

Saturday, July 24, 2010

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Since glaciers retreated around fifteen thousand years ago, rock fall has been the major force of change in Yosemite Valley.

Below is the latest video from Yosemite National Park. As part of a series known as Yosemite Nature Notes, the video chronicles the role of rock fall in the evolution of the famous granite walls that dominate Yosemite Valley.

It features a cliff-side interview with a rappelling park geologist, and some amazing rock fall footage that was captured by a passing tourist. That same tourist revisits the slide area the following year and compares what he saw in his view finder to the actual rocks at the slide area. Pretty amazing.

I've been hiking in Colorado on a couple different occasions when we heard the loud crack of rock hitting the ground below a cliff face. It's kind of a frightening sound. Fortunately we were far enough away to be in no danger on those occasions.

Although you may not realize it, the Great Smoky Mountains is not immune to rock slides. In 1951 Mt. Leconte experienced a massive debris slide after a cloudburst dropped 4 inches of rain in just one hour. The series of slides created the large V-slash on the south side of the mountain.

Enjoy the video:




Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

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Frazil Ice

Frazil Ice

Thursday, June 3, 2010

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The last gasps of winter in the Yosemite Valley.

Check out this amazing video showing the "giant slurpee" that forms when "frazil ice" collects on Yosemite Falls and flows down Yosemite Creek each spring like a lava flow.

As you might expect, the scenery in this film is awesome:





Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

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Video: Seven Days on the John Muir Trail

Video: Seven Days on the John Muir Trail

Saturday, February 13, 2010

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"The mountains are calling and I must go"

- John Muir

Below is a video from Ryan Commons that documents his hike across the Sierra Mountains along the John Muir Trail.

Ryan made the trip from the Mt. Whitney Portal to Happy Isles in Yosemite National Park - 222.4 miles - in just seven days! Along the way he climbed a total of 42,000 feet, or, put another way, almost 8 miles of climbing! Obviously he put in some pretty insane milage each day to accomplish this goal.

Ryan followed the trail up to Mount Whitney, which, at 14,496 ft, is the highest peak in the lower 48. From there he passed through King's Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park, and the Ansel Adams Wilderness before ending his journey in Yosemite.

At 40 minutes in length, the video is fairly long, but is very well made, and well worth the spectacular scenery alone.

WINTER IS COMING - Seven Days on the John Muir Trail from Ryan Commons on Vimeo.

(if you have trouble with the streaming of the video, turning off the HD seems to help)


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

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Yosemite bears prefer minivans

Yosemite bears prefer minivans

Saturday, October 31, 2009

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An interesting study was published this month in the Journal of Mammalogy showing that bears in Yosemite break into minivans more often than any other vehicle. The study suggests minivans are often owned by families with children who spill food and drinks There's also the possibility that there's a stash of food in the vehicle as well.

Scientists were inspired to study the phenomenon several years ago when they noticed that minivans in Yosemite had more windows pried open and broken than any other vehicles.

The study gathered information on vehicles broken into by bears by accessing records from the incidence database from 2001 through 2007. From 2004 to 2005 the study also measured availability of vehicles by recording the make and model of a sample of vehicles parked overnight in the parking lots of Yosemite Valley. They also classified vehicles into 9 categories based on their make and model

From 2001 to 2007 bears broke into 908 vehicles at the following rates:

* minivan (26.0%)
* sport–utility vehicle (22.5%)
* small car (17.1%)
* sedan (13.7%)
* truck (11.9%)
* van (4.2%)
* sports car (1.7%)
* coupe (1.7%)
* station wagon (1.4%).

Additionally, only the use of minivans (29%) during 2004–2005 was significantly higher than expected (i.e. availability: 7%):

Chart: Percentage of vehicles broken into by black bears (used—black) and parked overnight (available—gray) by class of vehicle in 2004–2005. Only use of minivans surpassed availability and shows that black bears strongly selected for this class of vehicle.

The analysis discusses several competing hypotheses about why bears selected minivans during the study. They include:

* Minivans may emit stronger food odors, regardless of how much food is present inside. (possibly from small children who spill food and drinks).

* Minivan passengers may leave more food inside their vehicles (Most vehicles broken into have some amount of food or trash inside. Since all Yosemite visitors are required to use food lockers it's unclear why minivan owners would not abide by this rule more than others.)

* Minivans may be physically easier to break into.

*A few individual bears may have learned to repeatedly break into minivans for a better payoff. Black bears forage selectively to balance energetic and nutritional gains with foraging costs. Selection of minivans by bears in Yosemite is possibly an effort to maximize caloric gain and minimize costs by targeting vehicles with higher probabilities of payoff.

Although the study couldn't conclusively determine why bears raided minivans more than other vehicles, I thought the results of the study were very compelling.

You can read the full report by clicking here.





Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.

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