Outdoor Adventure USA

Our net this week is the destination, Sequoia and Yosemite. Rick Schirmer KK6CTT, will be recounting this adventure through these very spectacular National Parks. Both parks have a fascinating history and should be on everyone's list of places to visit.

Here is just a little taste:

Product for the evening:

NAT GEO free mapping site: http://ngmaps.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Embe ... heme=light
Drill down and pick your topo for the area you are looking for by clicking on the red tab once then again on the map name and it will down load a PDF file to your computer for saving. There are five pages:
Page 1: 1:100,000 overview of the area Pages 2-5 are the depicted quad of the area at 7.5' quadrangle or 1:24,000 map. You cannot manipulate it like you can their program software but a really nice tool if you just need a little map help that does not cost an arm and a leg.

NAT GEO map of Yosemite National Park paper copy MSRP $11.95 do a search for it.

Yosemite Falls 2,475' with 3 drops: Vernal Falls 318': Nevada Falls 594': I highly recommend walking up the Mist Trail during the hotter days. This is just as its name implies a misty trail that keeps you wet and sometimes soaked but feels great when the heat is up and the breeze helps keep you cool. We did this going up and took the John Muir Trail down which allowed us to see the whole thing from another perspective (plus you are walking downhill and the need for being cooled down is not as important as the trip up.

NPS trail information for the Vernal and Nevada Falls: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/ ... atrail.htm
General distances:

The crowds and noise of the falls will melt away once you get to the top and start your last leg into Little Yosemite Valley and the campsite if you so choose to make this a multi-day event like we did. First order of business; get those packs off and setup camp so that chow can be thrown back pretty quickly. Next or as you come into camp there might be two other things that you might like to take care of; water resupply: and locating the privy: Next up...making sure your site is animal compliant and not an attractant!

Or, do the Half Dome day hike: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/halfdome.htm

Let's tackle Half Dome next: You have to watch your weather and other data coming out of Yosemite before you get there. There are alerts posted on the Yosemite NPS website and it really does help to start planning and researching this trip one year out. Yes, I said "one year out!" This is deceiving but it was not easy either. This snow pack sits on a granite face that could, if you are not careful, be a big problem if you lose your footing and go the short way rather than the spine of the ridge. I did find a nice place to slide down on my butt when we left but it was definitely not here. My spot had about a 35 foot run that was a chute and I knew which way I was headed. Bundle the stay in Little Yosemite Valley and the hiking permit to Half Dome: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/ ... ermits.htm
https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wpres.htm

On the way out of the area we hit the Pioneer Yosemite History Center that provided a self-guided tour of cabin and life in Yosemite examples. https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/pyhc.pdf
Covered Bridge. Powder House/Jail Cell

We finished up with a trip to see General Sherman in Sequoia National Park. And, topped it all off with a stop in Hanford, California's Superior Creamery for their variation of a Banana Split (capitalized on purpose).

Dave
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Kevin
KK6DGL

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Please check me in KE6PLA 73!