Musings
Last Adventurer
#preservethegood

As you’ve seen above, #preservethegood could mean anything – it could mean helping someone in a time of need; it could be picking up trash on a trail, or a wilderness area; it could be educating people on leave no trace principles; it could be making a difference in any way you want; and it could be just about anything you want as long as you are focused in keeping the magic and the unique positive things in this world and this life. In terms of tangible things, I encourage you, my readers and followers to use the hashtag when you post a photo of something amazing; or when you’re talking about something exceptional you – or someone else has done to improve the world. I look forward to seeing how all of you end up preserving the good in 2015, and you can rest assured that as always, I will keep preserving the good where I find it as well, because as Plato says, “Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.” 

#preservethegood
Hiking, State Parks
Last Adventurer
Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls

As I mentioned previously, Waimea Canyon is a site that is most definitely one of the “must-view” locations on Kauai, and in the world; and as I also mentioned, the best way to experience it is to hike it. While there are many great hikes through the canyon, the best hike in my book is the Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls. It is the best hike to me because at four miles roundtrip, it is accessible, it has stunning views of the canyon from inside the canyon, and it ends at the top Waipoo Falls. It also allows the hiker the chance to swim in a waterfall, which is a once in a lifetime experience.

Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls

Hiking

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Oak Canyon, Mission Trails Regional Park

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Oak Canyon, Mission Trails Regional Park

Mission Trails is a park that is known for one thing and one thing only: Cowles Mountain and that is a shame. It is a shame because, while Cowles Mountain is pretty, it is only a small portion of the 5,800 acres of open space, and it is tucked away in the Southern corner of the park. The remainder of the park is a great example of preserved open space; and a great spot to find solitude and serenity from the hustle and bustle of San Diego. Mission Trails is also a great spot to see how California used to look, as it is full of native California coastal vegetation that covers its hills and valleys; and it is a great spot to see how the seasons pass and have passed in the coastal desert plain for hundreds of years, with seasonal wildflowers and waterfalls in the winter and spring, and dry slickrock and whispering grasses in the summer and fall months.  The best trail to hike in all of the park to experience everything I’ve listed above – solitude, serenity, and seasonal features is the Oak Canyon Trail; and the best time to experience it is from November to May.

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Shorty's Mine

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Shorty's Mine

While most of the mines in the park have been sealed by the National Park Service for the public’s protection, some of the mines in the more remote areas of the park can be found and explored by intrepid visitors. Such exploration is not for the faint-hearted: as the above sign states, abandoned mines carry a plethora of hazards. If those physical dangers aren’t enough of a deterrent, the Panamint Range of the park is rumored to harbor a series of large underground caverns containing strange creatures and even stranger relics. If you are interested in exploring a Death Valley mines safely, or just seeing an open Death Valley mine, despite the above listed hazards, the easiest mine to see in the backcountry is Shorty’s Mine.

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Bryce Canyon in Winter

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Bryce Canyon in Winter

Bryce Canyon National Park is an amazing spot, first and foremost for the geologic features that are present there, hoodoos. These ancient rocks are the main attraction of the park, and there are many viewpoints that overlook these rocks, and there are many excellent trails that wind in between the hoodoos.

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Hollenbeck Canyon

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Hollenbeck Canyon

San Diego has it all – beach hikes, desert hikes, mountain hikes, even hikes in the foothills. With all of the hiking present in the county, sometimes it’s hard to decide both where in the county one will go; and when to visit. One place that's striking year-round is a place that's a "newer" trail network - Hollenbeck Canyon. 

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San Diego's Top 5 Mountains

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San Diego's Top 5 Mountains

Irrespective of whether you’re a native Californian whose recently become interested in the outdoors, or a recent transplant that’s been hiking for years, you’ll find that San Diego has a number of fantastic trails and hiking opportunities. 

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Calico Tanks, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

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Calico Tanks, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

From the parking area, the trailhead is readily apparent, and the trail to the Calico Tanks is a relatively simple out-and-back route. From the parking lot, the trail heads across the desert, and across a wash, where it forks toward Turtleback Peak, and also toward the “tanks” themselves. From this point, the trail winds through the wash and into a canyon. At the start of the canyon, the trail is quite wide, and provides great views of the Calico Hills to the South, and the Turtleback Peak region to the North. However, as you head up the trail, the canyon narrows, and eventually begins to ascend a series of steps cut into the slickrock.

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State of California’s Mountain Snowpack 2014

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Bad. That is the state of California’s mountain snowpack as of today, January 20, 2014. In fact, bad probably is an understatement. A more accurate descriptor might be “awful” or “horrible”. You may think I’m exaggerating – but I’m not. One of the things that’s been lost in the winter of 2013-2014 among “polar vortexes” and wind chill is the simple fact that in California, winter has ceased to exist. While California has always popularly been known as the land of Endless Summer, it used to have seasons. While our seasons were milder than say, Pennsylvania, the state did have them – but not this year. In cases like this, I find a picture is worth a thousand words. If you look down, you’ll see the picture that Governor Brown featured in his press conference from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Institution regarding the conditions from 2013 to 2014.

california_drought_2013-14-noaa.jpg

On the left, you can see the snowpack as it was in 2013 – a drought year, but a more “normal” year than 2014. On the right, you can see the snowpack as it stands now. Again, keep in mind that California is a state that should have winter. California is also a state that should most definitely have snow above 8,000 feet during the winter months – and yet it does not this year. In Yosemite, the Badger Pass ski area is closed, because there is not enough snow. On Mt. Shasta, rescue crews had to aid two climbers on one of the more popular routes of the mountain, because, among other things, the route did not have enough snow. And, on Mt. San Jacinto, there is no snow at all.

Western Sierra Nevada Mountain Range from Mt. Whitney, June 2011

The cause of the worst winter in recorded history since 1890 is a “blocking high” – a high pressure dome which diverts storms from the state during the state’s wettest months.  But this blocking high is part of a larger problem in California, which is a persistent multi-year drought. As a mountaineer, I’ve observed the climate change over the last five years in our tallest spots. I’ve watched the glaciers recede on Mount Shasta over a ten year period.

Western Sierra Nevada Mountain Range from Mt. Whitney, May 2012

I’ve also watched the Sierras progressively receive less and less snow during the recent years. In 2010, I climbed Mt. Whitney on the summer solstice under bluebird conditions with snow and ice. In 2011, I climbed Mt. Whitney a week earlier, only to find that it has less snow than 2010. In 2012, I again climbed Mt. Whitney a week earlier – to find that it had no snow. In 2013, when I went to Mt. Whitney in mid-April, most of the snow was melting off. This year, the mountain by and large has little to no snow. Think about that for a second: the highest point in the continental United States has little to no snow in wintertime.

I could provide even more examples, and in some cases, even more pictures of what I’ve seen in California’s mountains over the last ten to fifteen years, but there’s no point in providing them here. Either I’ve convinced you – or you were already convinced that climate change is occurring; or either I’ve not convinced you – and you never were convinced that such a thing exists. For me, I am convinced – and I have been convinced for a long time, based on what I’ve seen that the climate is changing. If you don’t agree with me, I will paraphrase Voltaire and state that I agree with your right to disagree. What I will also say is this: even if you don’t believe in climate change, it’s already affecting you – especially if you live in California, from water use regulations, to wilderness use regulations, and expanded and unprecedented wildfire seasons and durations. (More info on the drought here, here, and here).

As for what the future holds, no one – including myself knows. But what is clear in the present is that 2014 will likely be one of the worst – if not the worst mountaineering season in terms of winter conditions. In most areas, climbers will not need ice axes or crampons. What climbers will need, however, is good real time knowledge of conditions as they are now, not as they have been for years. This is something I discussed with @thepeakseeker and @mikburtula on the last episode of IIAWT, and it is something that all potential climbers should be aware of; especially on such iconic routes as the Mountaineer’s Route on Mt. Whitney, or the Avalanche Gulch route on Mt. Shasta, because it is clear that without fresh or new snow, these routes, along with others, may be impassable. In such times of drought and change, more than ever the axiom “be prepared” is and will be particularly applicable; and until it happens, let us all pray for snow, because winter is more than overdue. 

And, If you're scientifically inclined, you can check out the day to day water reports from DWR here.