Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Looking for Palisade Creek Petroglyphs

Armed with our neighbors rough route description and a GPS coordinate we went in search of the Petroglyphs perched in the rock shelves above Palisade Creek on the big slope leading down to the American River's Royal Gorge.  Zeroing in on a specific coordinate in open snow slopes, or in flat terrain is one thing, but scrambling over rock escarpments, and working our way across vanishing ledges in search of faded rock figures is another matter.  We never found the petroglyphs on this outing, getting within 100 feet of the target, but we ran out of time and had to turn back - not empty handed though.  The wildflowers are busting out all over, fresh deer tracks showed in the muddy places, large piles of marmot poop littered some of the isolated rock ledges, and large 8" bear tracks were evident in the dried mud from earlier this spring.


Who can help me identify this wildflowers and butterflies?



From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Flume Trail and Chimney Rock Trail from Sierra Meadows, NV


Completely clear bluebird day with temperatures in the mid-70's Jeff and I  ride an extended mountain bike tour from Sierra Meadows on the Mt. Rose Highway south along the Tahoe Rim Trail (remember you can only ride this on a bike on even numbered days) to where it hits the Flume trail, then along the Flume trail to the dam on Marlette Lake connecting to the Chimney Rock trail eventually arriving at the shores of Lake Tahoe. This is one of the grandaddy classic mountain bike rides with recorded descents as early as 1980. Since then, the route has become easier to follow, and much better groomed for the capabilities of a modern  bike.

The first leg of the TRT was quite technical and challenging for me on the bike and by the time we reached the flume trail, I was glad for its slight upward gradient simply because it was relatively smooth with incredible views out over the lake. A few places we needed to duck beneath rock overhangs, and if you are concerned about exposure on narrow ledges over steep slopes, don't take this ride. But the trail is mostly over 24" wide and non-technical. At the end I carried my bike up and over some rock steps to reach the dam on Marlette Lake. Bring a towel, because at this point a swim would have been well appreciated. Plenty of climbing on this route, but we managed to stay in the saddle except for a few technical spots and then the steep pull up to the saddle where the Chimney rock trail begins its decent to lake level. From there it is a sandy, swirling, roller coaster of a trail down to lake level where we stashed our shuttle car.

Snow Flower breaking through the forest floor's duff.

First view of Lake Tahoe from the Tahoe Rim Trail

 From Summer 2012

View Looking south from the beginning of the Flume Trail.

Flume Trail on the left, Lake Tahoe on the right.

Marlette Lake
From Summer 2012

Monday, June 18, 2012

Royal Springs Ridge - Sunset Wildflower Hike

I don't really have much of a yard, living up here in the woods, but the wildflowers are busting out all over the place.  We struggled through swarms of mosquitos at sunset and hiked up the ridge between Royal Gorge and Soda Springs ski resorts on the old snow shoe trail.  Once on the ridge, the wind kept the bugs at bay so I could bend over and shoot some of these beauties.

From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012
From Summer 2012

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Donner Peak Wildflower Hike

Wind and weather swept trees on the summit of Donner Peak

Bee gathering pollen









Denise, Diane and Chris on the summit


View to the Sierra Crest ad Tinker's Knob.


Lunch visitor


View down over Donner Ski Ranch condos and the National Forest beyond


Monday, June 11, 2012

Summit Roller play Tinker's Station June 29th 7pm-10pm

Mark your calendars and be ready to "bust-a-move" when the Summit Rollers steam into Tinker's Station on June 29th from 7pm to 10pm.  We'll try to keep the kitchen open for panini's and salads and of course the beer on tap will be flowing.




Friday, June 8, 2012

In case of emergency

Yesterday I heard a disturbing story of an acquaintance who suffered from a brain aneurism and was found stumbling around a nearby campus with no recollection of who she was or how she got there and why she was so confused. Luckily on her phone there was a screen saver message with a simple phrase: ICE: and a phone number. The police and paramedics recognized this phrase as "in case of emergency" and called the number to begin getting family involved.

This simple precaution can also help in a case as pedantic as if you loose your phone or drop it off the chair lift.

With an iPhone:
Step 1: open the notepad app, create a new note. Skip a few blank lines and write your emergency contact message.

Step 2: press the power key and within a second, simultaneously press the home key. This makes a snapshot of your screen.

Step 3: go to Settings, then select Wallpaper and scroll through available images until the snapshot if your emergency message appears.

Step 4: pick that image, then click on SET, and select "lock Screen". This will make the image of your message the screen saver when your phone is locked.

Now, whenever you awake your phone and swipe the slider, behind the keypad and entry for your unlock code will be your emergency message. Even if the person finding your phone does not know your unlock code, they will have some information to help unravel the mystery of the orphaned phone or it's confused owner.

Similar operations should apply for an android or other phone. If you don't lock your phone, make an entry in the phone/contact directory for "In case of emergency" and one for home with a number and a note.

Be safe!

Monday, June 4, 2012

Southern Utah Trip Sumary Video

Experimented with a new digital video camera here. Some of this movie was shot with a fancy digital SLR (Nikon D7000) and some was shot with my iPhone 4.  Each piece of equipment has its advantages and disadvantages, but I certainly learned to shoot everything in landscape format.  No new sights here, if you've been keeping up with the blog, but seeing the pano's and hiker in action in a nice change from the still format.  I have not figured out how to upload HD video.  Niether Vimeo or YouTube seem to accept the larger files.  Anyhow - sit back and enjoy this - under 5 minutes.




From 2012 Spring trip

Friday, June 1, 2012

Mono Lake South Tufa

We arrived at the south Tufa of Mono Lake late afternoon as a rain storm was passing overhead.  By the time we got down to the lake, the storm had blown past, but the lighting was still very dramatic.  Took far too many photos while waiting for sunset.  There were a pair of nesting Ospreys on the farthest Tufa island, and it was enjoyable to watch them coming and going with food for their young.


From 2012 Spring trip

From 2012 Spring trip

From 2012 Spring trip

From 2012 Spring trip

From 2012 Spring trip

Tonapah, NV

Great stop in central Nevada - very photogenic, with some restored parts of town, and a mining museum.  If you like photographing old decaying machinery, this is a good stop.

From 2012 Spring trip
From 2012 Spring trip