thunder, lightning, snow

Well, the forecast called for nothing but sunshine last week, but...

So, last post I wasn't sure when I would leave Bucks Summit - I ended up staying the night and bicycling down to Quincy the next late-morning to catch the mid-day bus to Chester - still a freezing cold downhill, but then had a chance to warm in the sun waiting for the bus.

Bus went via the east shore of Lk Almanor - a lake very reminiscent of Lk Tahoe - a bit smaller, and mts a bit less close up to the shoreline.  Usually the buses I've been taking are mostly empty, this one filled up to SRO at the Sierra community college west of Quincy, all heading to a highschool homecoming in Greenville.

From Chester, I bicycled up the Warner Valley rd then west past Domingo Springs CG to the PCT trailhead where I'd left my backpack.  Locked my bike against some trees & hiked a few miles til Sunset, finding a nice spot on ridge top with last rays of sunset and first rays of sunrise bathing my campsite.  Cold morning nevertheless, frost on my sleepingbag, partly frozen bottles of water.  Seemed to get even colder as the day progressed, partly cloudy morning made for good photoops but afternoon progresssively more overcast and a cold fog developing, unfortunate becasue I would have had some good close views to the north into Lassen, but left with ratehr grey indistinct outlines of peaks.

Thought I must be approaching a logging road hearing rumbling of truchs, and flashes of headlights from those trucks, but it soon became obviously a developing thunderstorm, so I decided to forego a nice campsite at top of ridge near a side trail to Butt mt that would have had good views into Lassen next morning, and continued hiking by flashlight down to Carter creek, where it just felt like I was about to get dumped on, so found the first adequate site and prepared for a wet night, not a minute too soon.  Bright flash of lightning across the whole sky, thunder close by, about a five minute lag and gradual patter of frozen rain drops turning a few minutes later into flakes of snow, about two inches within a half hour then tapered of.

Next morning, and most of that day, a winter wonderland, photographer's nirvana!  Except, in the woods it rained snow-melt all day.  Did get a chance around 2pm in a clearing of a volcanic outcrop to hang out my bag, and socks, to dry in the sun and breeze.

Next few days back to the car were still briskly cold but "dry", crunchy frozen ground dry.  managed to be about a day ahead of schedule to the car, walking down to Bucks summit just at sunset with a full moon superimposed by the sunset against a hazy-pink cast on the ridges south of Bucks Summit.  Photographer's delight.

Drove to Quincy to do my laundry and have a pizza next door while backing up picts, then drove to Chester and overnighted at the trailhead near my bike.  Loaded that in the car first light next morning, drove back to Chester to take a shower, have coffee and a breakfast of eggs & hashbrowns while chatting with diners there, asking about the status of the Warner Valley entrance into Lassen - it may be closed for the winter.   Stopped at the Bike shop and Forest Service center in town to ask a few more questions, still have a few more saved for the Park's visitor center, about to head there with the though of maybe doing a loop hike along the PCT in the park from the Summit Lake area - or see if I can put together something with the bike to hwy 89/44 north of the park from Summit Lake, and get a back country permit to camp within the park.

Unless... I can "get a ride" from hwy 44 (Sierra City area) to hwy 80 (Donner Pass) and finish off that skipped section of the trail while there's a good chunk of sunny weather forecast'
  

About2do Bucks Summit to Domingo Springs abt 6days

Figured a way to avoid bicycling down hwy70 which is too treacherous for my taste, by taking bus from Quincy to Chester, bringing bicycle along (after coasting from Bucks Summit to Quincy) then bicycling moderately uphill from Chester to Domingo Springs (which is just south of the Lassen park boundary.)

I've left my backpack at Domingo Springs (i should say, at the trailhead nearby, since the FS campground is obviously closed due to Gov shutdown.)

Not sure yet whether i will take the afternoon bus today or overnight at Buck Summit and take the morning bus tomorrow.

There's snow on the ridgetops but forecast promises a week more of sunshine.
Will

PCT: completed Quincy-Laporte Rd to Bucks Summit

This was mostly an "out & back" hike starting from the Bald Mt Trailhead Campground at Little Grass Valley Reservior. A "PCT connector trail" branches off of the Bald mt Trail, reaching the PCT in about three miles. starting mid-afternoon, I first headed south on the PCT from there back nearly to the Quincy-LaPorte rd, planning to leave my pack at a "base-camp" point short of the road timed so I could do the rest out&back before dusk, then camp that first night where I'd left my pack.  Only problem was, I made better time than I expected (took fewer picts?) and found myself unexpectedly at the road, pack still on, so I guess I wasted some (food) energy... ended up camping close to the junction with the connector trail.

Next day, hiked north down (waaay down) to the Middle Fork Feather River and up the other side just past Bear Creek. This was a long day, the last 40 minutes being by flashlight simply because the terrain was so steep there was no place flat enough to lay down my biv bag. (I was looking at one possibility above a large tree but I couldn't scramble the steep slope up to it.   Finaly found a large "established" campsite on a shoulder a bit beyond Bear Creek (bypassing another established site right at the creek because those tend to be too cold & damp for my taste.)

Next morning I left my pack there and just a bottle of water and a small bag of "essentials": mixed nuts, a peanut butter sandwich, first-aid  kit, flashlight & batteries, and camera of course, I headed north, making it at 4pm to Big Creek Rd which is 5 miles short of Bucks Summit Rd.  Scurried back, (whistling all the way) to my backpack/campsite, again after dark, about 8pm.  (I've taken to whistling - my own compositions or simple up & down runs to reflect the terrain - after talking to some hunters - several encounters (and more incidents of shots not far in the distance,) telling me that the tan sun-hat I'm wearing looks like a dear's hind-end. In one conversation I suggested I must look like a buck whose head & neck had already been taken as a trophy but was still reflex-walking on his front-legs, hind-end in the air because he couldn't figure out anymore which way was up.

Final day, back across the MBFeatherR gorge and back to the car just at dusk, drove a bit further towrd Quincy t othe same spot alongside the road I had used while scouting the area a few weeks earlier, then next morning (this morning) passed through Quincy with just a quick stop at the Safeway for some fruits & veges etc, (and a hot coffee) and on to Bucks Summit. Sat there most of the morning munching fresh food listening to radio, then bicycled down the west side of Bucks summit rd past bucks lake then up (regaining most of the elevation from Bucks Summit) south & east on Big Creek Rd to the PCT Trailhead which was where I stopped two days earlier, then strolled the mostly level 5 miles back to the car.  Fetched my bicycle, headed to Quincy to do laundry and use the wifi at the Pizza place next door.

Pizza place is about to close. I think I'm heading north to Chester, find a spot to overnight near the southeast entrance to Lassen Park, which I assume is closed, but there were some "dispersed" sites on NF land I've used last time I was scouting that area.  Plan to use the Chester Library tomorrow while it's supposed to rain/snow.  will probably do some of the hikes I had scouted out earlier in that area within the next few days, then head back to tackle the Bucks Summit to Belden section of trail, which will involve a nervey bike ride down hwy 70.

This would only leave one more section I'd like to do this season - the piece from Hwy 80 to hwy 49.  I've scouted out a way to possibly do that it two pieces, the northern half probbaly an out&back, but the southern half possibly involving a long bike ride with significant uphill, to Truckee, then a $50 taxi ride from Truckee to Donner Summit.   I could maybe also this section all-at-once with a long bicycle ride from Hwy 49/Sierra City to Nevada City and another $50 taxi ride to donner Summit.  Or, maybe I could still persuade a friend or family member to make a day-trip some weekend to Sierra City on hwy 49, picking me up there, have a short hike or picnic in the area, then later drop me off at Donner Summit.  hint hint.

Desolation Southern part done, on tp northern part

A bit sooner than expected, probably mainly because last forecast i heard before setting out predicted ridgetop gusts up to 110mph, and it was indeed quite windy. But there,s also a longer story involved, that I'll tell once i am able to use regular keyboard eager than this one-finger smartphone one.

still on track to do Echo Lake to Eagle Falls beginning tomorrow. Did short hike today.

Did a very short 2mile piece of PCT between hwy 50 and echo lake - bicycled down from  the lake to the hwy, then hiked back up.  Hardly worth the effort but had some time to kill today waiting for the weekend when can catch the Trolley to Eagle Falls and hike back to my car at Echo Lake. Also, when I do get another opportunity to do the "big loop" south of hwy 50 from Tuolumne, some time next year, I can "stop" at hwy 50 rather than going another two miles up to Echo Lake.  whatever...

One note about that Trolley. I called today to verify it will run tomorrow and learned that during the summer, it runs all the way up the west shore to Tahoe City.  From my earlier posts you can see that I've been trying to find a way between those two ends.  Not a clue that there was that connection during summer months.  Not quite sure when they stopped running - must have been before the equinox because I was looking before then.

so now what? Desolation Wilderness next..

I think I will now do the Desolation Wilderness portion of the PCT west of lake Tahoe, between Echo Summit and Barker Pass.  I'll do this in two parts, similar to how I did the northern Tahoe section , though the bicycle loop-back will be a bit more strenuous and perhaps risky on a shoulderless road for 10 miles between Tahoma and the Eagle Falls trailhead.

I'll be able to take advantage of the "Trolley" that still runs weekends and goes from S. Lk Tahoe to Eagle Falls, so for the southern part of this I'll leave car at Echo Summit, bicycle down to the "Y" in S.Lk.Tahoe, take the Trolley, hike up to the PCT then south to the car.

For the northern part, Ill park car at Barker Pass, bicycle down to the Tahoe lake shore and south and along the ten miles of shoulderless road. (or maybe just halfway through that section, to DL Bliss State Park, where there's a foot path for about 5 miles to Eagle Falls.  Then again up to PCT then north to car.

roughly two or three days hiking each portion.

Timing-wise, I'll probably start Saturday morning to catch the weekend Trolley first.  Should be done with both by next weekend.

Then on north to either tackle the hwy 80 Donner Summit to hwy 49 Sierra City section, or further north, the Quincy-LaPorte Rd to Hwy 70 Beleden section, and then maybe Belden to Lassen.  For the latter I think I can put together a set of bike/bus loopbacks, but for the other two sections I'll probably have to scrounge up some car-shuttle help, though a partial bike-down & get picked up by 2nd car may avoid some excess driving.

ALMOST headed for Tuolumne following last-minute modified plan

This morning I was still thinking as follows:.

So it's too late to execute the previously described plan.  Have concocted a last minute variation. It's a bit scaary mainly due to not having a clue on the weather two weeks in the future. Anyway, I could:

Do the bus trip S.Lk Tahoe to Lee Vining NOW (start this afternoon by 4pm or early tomorrow morning by 7:AM.)  I would: Leave my backpack at the Tahoe Valley Campground near the "Y" in S.Lk.Tahoe,  leave my car at Echo Summit (rather than Sonora Pass) and Bicycle down to the TVCG. Overnight at the campground (unless I'm there and "ready to go" by 5pm today which seems unlikely.)  Friday morning, take the 7:15AM "50" bus from the "Y" to the east end of town (Stateline or Kingsbury Transit Centers), catch the "20X" from there over the hwy 207 Kingsbury Grade to Gardnerville on 395 in Nv.  Hang around there from 10am til 2:55 PM when I catch the ESTA Reno-to-LonePine bus to Lee Vining (I've called to verify it's still running, and the driver will be expecting me there in Gardnerville) arriving in Lee Vining at 4:50.  There's a campground in town I would stay the night.  Saturday morning, I'd catch the YARTS bus from Lee Vining to Tuolumne Mdws.


Called to verify YARTS is running from the Lee Vining side, and learned incidentally that the west side YARTS bus (from Merced) runs year-round.  Hmm... So maybe I could still  beyond this weekend take Amtrak from Truckee to Merced then YARTS into the valley, then the free Yosemite shuttle to Tuolumne - if that was still running...  More calls and NO, the free shuttle has stopped running, so no way to get to Tuolumne by transit from the west.  Also, I learned that everything except the ranger station at Tuolumne is closed: store, campgrounds, lodge.  Hmm...

I went food shopping, filled the bear canister, added my tent to stuff in my backpack, verified my camera batteries are charged, etc, stuffed still dirty closes into pack (hoped to still do laundry tonight)  ...and then realized the campground closed at 4pm and I would need to leave my backpack there before driving up to Echo Summit and bicycling back down before dark.

Would need to commit immediately.

I just wasn't sure yet, and wasn't sure I would be ready within the next few minutes, without forgetting something important for a two week backpack..

So,  No Go!  

It's possible! The "big loop" between Tuolumne and Hwy 50, via Carson City by bike and bus

This is sort of my Holy Grail of a PCT section hike...

As you recall, the Rim fire scorched the possibility of hiking the section between Tuolumne and Hwy 50 in two steps, first from Sonora Pass (where I'd leave my car) north to hwy 50 (or just short of there at Carson Pass) where my friend Sandy would pick me up on her way to Las Vegas via her planned layover in the Mono lake area, where she could drop me off at Lee Vining where I would catch the YARTS shuttle up to Tuolumne, where I would hike north back to my car at Sonora Pass.

Well, then there seemed to be a second chance to do this in conjunction with a vaguely possible 2nd Camping trip lead by Peter W to the Mono Lake area, but that possibility has kind of faded due to lack of other potential camping participants with time on their hands, and then Peter became busy with new contract work.

I had been ready to settle on the "smaller" loop - bicycling down Sonora Pass east to 395 then south with a long-ish uphill to Bridgeport where I'd catch ESTA's Reno-to-Bishop "airport" shuttle one stop south to Lee Vining, where I'd have to overnight to catch the YARTS bus up to Tuolumne, before hiking for a week back to my car.  This would leave the section between Sonora north with no easy loop back possibilities, so might require a second car (and both would have to drive the steep hwy 108 to/from Sonora Pass, though I could bicycle down to the Kennedy Meadows resort just west of the pass so the pickup vehicle could avoid the steepest grade.)

Meanwhile, I had also been trying to find an alternative way around bicycling the dangerous and strenuous section of hwy 89 in the Emerald Bay area to complete the section of trail through the Desolation Wilderness south of Barker Pass, which is not serviced completely by either of the two transit systems in the Lake Tahoe area: TART on the north services only between Tahoma on the southwest to Truckee on the north, while Blue Go's Nifty Fifty Trolly's northernmost stop is at Eagle Falls, leaving a 10 mile gap that unfortunately coincides with the only section of the West shore that has no bike path, and instead is a hilly windy narrow but busy road (Route 89) that the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition designates as "CAUTION - Little or No Shoulder Widths" on their Lake Tahoe Bikway Map.  So I've been looking at a bus connection all the way around the east side of the lake.

Google maps directions does not reveal any public transit connection between the north and south sides of the lake.  It does show a $45 connection via North lake Tahoe Express to the Reno airport from either Truckee or Squaw Valley, and then either RTC-Ride's INTC bus or ESTA's Reno-to-Lone Pine bus from Reno to Carson City.  Google maps doesn't show a connection between Reno and South Lake Tahoe nor between Carson City and S. Lk Tahoe.  But wandering around the BlueGo website (S.Lk.Tahoes bus system) I discovered this: http://www.tahoetransportation.org/images/assets/transit/valleyandlakebluego.jpg  which does show routes to Carson City.  Haven't yet sorted that all out, but it looks like I could connect those 10 miles via probably a half dozen transfers, some walking, and half a hundred dollars.

But also, that link shows a more direct connection between S.Lk.Tahoe and ESTA's Reno-to-LonePine bus that I was thinking to catch from Bridgeport after a long bike ride from Sonora Pass, to ultimately connect with YARTS to Tuolumne in Lee Vining.  The connection would be from Gardnerville which is on 395 a bit south of Carson City at the east end of hwy 207 Kingsbury Grade Rd from Stateline S. Lk Tahoe. Trouble is, it would probably be about two overnights due to the unfortunate connection timings.  Working backwards, the YARTS bus leaves in the morning from Lee Vining but ESTA's Reno-LonePine bus arrives at Lee Vining around 5:30 the previous evening.  That bus leaves Gardnerville Lampe Park at 2:55pm. But the Eastbound 20x BLueGo bus arrives Gardnerville at 9:40 in the morning. (The next one is an evening bus arriving at 4:45 which would mean a layover in Gardnerville.)  But the morning 20x leaves the Stateline Transit center at 8:35. To catch that I'd need to take the route 50 BlueGo bus that arrives an hour earlier, at 7:35, which leaves the "Y" transit center (west side S.LkTahoe) at 7:15AM.  To get to the "Y" I'd have to bicycle down Hwy 50 from Echo Summit where the PCT crosses (or hitchhike down)  about an hour earlier, at sunrise or before.

Not likely, so I'd be descending the previous day and probably booking a hotel room or campground with showers & power (will have to recharge my camera batteries and copy photo's - oh, so I'll need to backpack with my small eeePC netbook along) in S Lk Tahoe.  Also to resupply food. Then board the buses next morning.  Or do the layover in Gardnerville.  Either way, two overnights in "towns".  Expensive.  But possible!  (Probably good that I'll have three places to "wait" - three opportunities to finish charging batteries, copying photos, and resupplying food.)

One other complication.  I'd have my backpack with me bicycling down hwy 50 from Echo Summit, and will need to have my bear canister for the Tuolumne-Sonora section. The canister is optional north of Sonora, and I'd rather not for the Sonora to Echo section. So I might want to stash it somewhere at S.LkTahoe or Lee Vining.  If at Lee Vining, whould mean more driving.  Will need to find a place in S.Lk Tahoe.  Could leave my EeePC hidden in it.

So, this should be my "next step".  It's about a two-week commitment only the first week of which I'd have a clue about the weather.  The longer I wait, the less daylight, more likelihood of inclement weather.   The other sections still on my agenda this fall: Desolation Wilderness from Hwy 50 Echo Summit to Barker Pass, Donner Summit at hwy 80 to hwy 49 near Sierra City, and from the Quincy-LaPorte road to Belden on hwy 70, are shorter hikes so I can choose the timing between storms more easily.

Likely I would try these in the order mentioned.  Since I've already been researching in detail (and have discussed above) the logistics of the section south of Barker Pass, let me just dwell on that just a bit further here:  the "long way round the lake" showing itself to be absurd to avoid a 10 mile gap, I think maybe I can instead venture a few miles south with my bicycle on that 10 mile gap to, say, the D.L. Bliss State Park (thay I stopped at for a shower and short hike the other day.) There is a foot path that goes from there to Eagle Falls. I could hike the Eagle trail up from there past Eagle Lake to the PCT and hike north to my car at Barker Pass, then do the southern half of the Desolation Wilderness by parking car at Echo Summit, bicycling down hwy 50 to S.LkTahoe, take the Trolley to Eagle Falls, again take the Eagle Lake trail up to the PCT then south to the car.

Anyway, my picts are now backed up and the storm today turned out to be a dud and the upcoming forecast calls for a week of sunshine at least.  I should get going.

Indeed I should get moving - just looked at the date.  End of month is approaching too fast!  I may NOT be able to get to Lee Vining in time to catch the last Yarts bus this year!  Oh no! This may have to wait til next year!

PCT: Tahoe area hike-bike loops with some snow and Ironman race mixed-in

Oops - though I posted this already...

I know I know, missing lots of updates since my last post - I have some drafts hidden but need to clean them up and fill in missing details before publishing them.  My intent is to post this today ( a brief rainy day) and save the otehr unfinished business for a some longer rainy spell.

Meanwhile... 

Last Friday I completed a nice three-day loop between Donner Pass and Alpine Meadows (Five-lakes trailhead.) As usual, I'm consuming a disproportional amt of gas investigating and then setting myself up for this: Started on Wednesday about mid-morning (taking a bit too long to pack my pack...) 

a night Wednesday first stash my backpasck at the Five Lakes trailhead, then park my car at Donner Pass (where the trail crosses hwy 40.)  Then a nice bicycle ride down past Donner Lake and down hwy 89 (I guess it's south but a bit more up than down, nothing significant) to the Alpine Meadows Road intersection, where I took about an hour break at the Crest Cafe (had an ice tea and two water refills) before the final two mile uphill to the Five Lakes trailhead, where I swapped my bike for my backpack.  Hiked up - stopping at two of the five lakes, and on a few more miles til dark, camping relatively low-down before the gradual climb up to Granite chief.  e 

Next day (Thursday) I took the short detour up Granite Chief, and continued through to the shoulder right next to Tinker's Knob.  The wind from the upcoming cold front was just beginning to pick up, and I was camped in a small grove of trees at the ridgeline, so it was a bit of a windy night, but it was the perfect spot to catch the last rays of sunset on the ridge, and the first rays of sunrise to wake and warm me up the next morning.  Did the early climb up Tinker's Knob (a vertigo-inducing rugged volcanic plug) with very blusterry winds adding to the excitement.  Fought the wind all that day hiking along the crest of a long volcanic ridge, underscoring why all the plants at ridgetop were all tightly hugging the ashey gravel or snuggly huddled within protected nooks of the basalt outcropps alternating with cobbly conglomerate.) I also took the Mt Judah loop detour, and climbed Donner Peak, with it's photogenic cedars against blocky granite (with rock-climbing bolts littering the top.)  Made  it back to Hwy 40 by 6pm, stopped at the McD's at the hwy 89/80 interchange to check the weatehr and promptly drove south to fetch my bike, before returning to overnight at the north side of the Boreal Ski Area interchange off of hwy 80, checking out my tent that I had newly retrieved from storage lsst time I was in Santa Rosa.

Spent some time back at the McD's this  morning, (with heavey rain outside, maybe snow above 7000ft)  then headed south to Tahoe City, stopping at the Visitor Center, where I learned the details of the road closures to be expected for the Ironman Race tomorrow. I'll be able to bicycle on the road but not the bike trail along the section of hwy 89 north of Tahoe City, which is part of the races bike-loop, then part of the run. 

I'm planning to stash my backpack tonight at Alpine Meadows (securely wrapped in garbage bags from the rain expected to end by midnight.  I'll park my car at Barker Pass, then hopefully very early in the morning, bicycle to Tahoe city, then decide whether it's still early enough to catch the tail end of the swim portion of the race at the east side of Tahoe City, before continuing on to Alpine Meadows.  I'll probably have enough time to make it up to the Five Lakes where I'll probably camp nearby, maybe exploring the other three lakes the next morning before continuing south on the PCT back to my car, probably two days hence, the last day of which may also is forecast to be rainy/snowy.

In my plans beyond this loop, I'm still holding out hope to somehow resume my "main hike" from Tuolumne Meadows. to take advantage of YARTS, I will need to do this before the end of this month, since YARTS stops running at the end of the month.  But there also may be an outside chance I may be able to "leverage" "a friend's" possible camping trip to the Mono Lake/Eastern Sierra in early October if that friend plans to return via hwy 120.  In that case I may even be able to first hike from Sonora Pass to Carson Pass or Echo Summit, camping in the Eastern Sierra a few days before getting dropped off at Tuolumne Meadows.  Of course I'll be trying to divine the long-term weather and/or be prepared for rain/snow/wind during a 7 day hike Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass, possibly preceeded by a four or so day Sonora to Carson or Echo Pass hike with a few days camping somewhere in in Eastern Sierra inbetween. so, a two week weatehr-prediction challenge.   And, though I've been able to leave my bear canister behind for the last few weeks hiking north of Sonora Pass, I'll need to pack the canister for the Tuolumne/Sonora section.  Should be fun putting together all the logistics...   

       

Labor Day weekend wanderings

In my last post midday Friday sent from Downieville I thought I still had time to drop my backpack off at Wild Plum, drive up to the Saddle north of the Sierra Buttes and bicycle back down to WP and start my hike that day.  But heading back to the car I noticed some kids rinsing themselves off with a hose provided by the town, presumably after a dip in the North Yuba River, and then just before arriving at Wild Plum CG to drop off my pack I saw more people cooling off below the bridge across Haypress Creek, one of Yuba's tribs, and then, further up hwy 49 toward Gold Lakes Road, I again passed that intriguing roadside falls, (here: 39.596716, -120.610646) labeled "Big Springs" in Delorme's N Ca map book which seems to just flow out of the rock layers like a miniature Burney Falls, though in this case I think it's just the road cut that exposed the flow.  This time I stopped the car and looked around. There seems to be a fen or mire in the steeply sloped forest just above the fall which might have some interesting plants to find, but it would be a scramble to scale the road cut in that area and I "saved that for later".  Instead, I crossed the road looking for the outflow which I hoped I could just stand beneath for a cold shower.  Not quite such luck.  The flow actually split into two culverts one of which spilt onto a slope of riprap and the other a 3ft drop onto some algae-covered rocks. Not convenient enough. And the North Yuba on closer look was quite nutrient-rich with brown algae coating everything thickly and loosely.  Moved on.

...thisWasAdraft-rest2BeReconstructedFromPhotos...

in Sierra City No, in Downieville, Ttrying to set up a shortish hike to Sierra Buttes

Friday Aug 30 1pm update from Mt Creek Restaurant in Sierra City.

After leaving the Pizza Place in Quincy yesterday evening I headed east on
hwy 70 toward Gold Lakes Basin Rd but managed to not see an obvious route sign in the dark resulting in a bit of wasted gas - I initially took a turn that was signed
to the Plumas-Eureka Sate Park, but because  i didn't see the hwy89 sign nor a mention of Graeagle, after doublechecking the map I
concluded it was one of several shortcut roads heading southwest before the main hwy 89 turnoff So i continued on hwy 70 abt 10 more miles to Beckworth
before realizing I had missed my turn.  Backtracking, I saw the hwy 89 sign
from the other diection - on the same road I had originally thought was
wrong.  Ordinarily this would have been another photoop for me, but in the dark, just a waste of gas.  made it to a hill-top side-road informal campsite
again and listened to some news programs I had downloaded to my laptop
earlier in Quincy till the battery got low.

Next morning (today, Friday) I headed to Packer Lake road (which has
trailheads to the Sierra Buttes and the PCT) but took the branch to lower
Sardine Lake, the paved rd ending at a resort and jeep trail with a small
interpretive nature loop trail around some small ponds. Parking there I
grabbed my camera but out of habit, locked the doors - then realized I'd
left the keys in the ingition with the radio on. All the windows were closed
tight.  Cell phone charging inside.  Well at least there was civilization a
few steps away, went to the resort, had a cup of coffee, bought an area map,
and borrowed their phone to call AAA.  Got a call back from driver in
Downieville, about a 45 minute wait.  Since I had my camera (what luck), I
walked around taking picts of the lake and ponds, both backdropped by the
Sutter Buttes.   Got my car opened an hour later and headed off to the
Packer Lake Rd branch, which did lead up to the ridgetop and PCT trailhead, and
further down, TH to the Sutter Buttes lookout, verifying that it would be a
straightforward downhill on bicycle to, ultimately, the Wild Plum CG where I
could catch the PCT for a one-night backpack past the Buttes back to my car
at ridgetop.
So, I'm planning to set myself up to do that tomorrow. This will entail
first leaving my pack at Wild Plum, hopefully with the CG Host there,
driving back up the ridge at Packers Lake Rd, bicycling back down to wild
plum & starting my hike.

But frrst, I wanted to check email for any "takers" to my "invitation" to
hike with someone this weekend at Sutter Buttes, and let everyone know I've
thoroughly scouted out the area...  I thought I'd have to go to Downieville
for that, but thought I'd check the library in Sierra City first. It was
closed with no wifi evident, but this Restaurant further down has wifi, so
decided to splurge on a nice Salmon salad while I worked on my laptop for a
bit.  Except, their wifi is set up mainly for outside use, and I'm inside
with no connection, so I'm just typing this into notepad for later upload
when I'm done with the salad I,ll  briefly go outside on battery power to
check email and send this.
Then, if inbox shows no interest in joining me, I'll probably have time to leave my
Backpack at Wild Plum and do the bike-commute this afternoon, and be on the
trail today, finishing tomorrow evening.  Then I'll again overnight in the
area and figure out logistics for a longer hike in the area.  I'm not quite
ready to bicycle on hwy 70 during a big holiday weekend, but unless I can
put together something more substantial, I may do that on Tuesday to hike from the Bucks Lake saddle to Belden.

Wellll... after moving to the patio to send this, turns out their internet connection is down.  Could connect to the wifi locally, but no IP address available.  So... drove to Downieville, walked around there a bit - has some nice ammenities for tourists enjoying the river such as hose to wash up, and here I am on the bench in front of the theatre with a free wifi connection.

I think thre's still time to start my bike ride this afternoon, so I'm going to rush back up to Sierra City to get myself set up.

Last week got Smoked Out, now Planning 2 hikes: around Sierra Buttes & Bucks Lk to Belden

It's been a while...

For now I'll just summarize here... though I hope to later post-date more detailed accounts under the appropriate days (maybe moving whatever I start out stuffing here to there...)

My planned "ride" from Sonora Pass back to Tuolumne Meadows to start a ten-day hike between those two points "bailed" for good reason - the Rim Fire.  I was intitially really "burned" by her "renegging" on our agreed upon plan for reasons that seemed to me at the time to be an overreaction.  However, her overreaction was lucky for me, else I would have been choking in smoke most of this past week hiking from Sonora Pass to Carson Pass - directly downstream from the Rim Fire - committed to meeting Sandy at Carson Pass this Saturday Labor Day weekend.

Instead, packed & ready to leave Santa Rosa last Friday afternoon (after a morning trimming some of ML's hedges and then a 2pm Dr's appointment that got scheduled "last minute" the day before, I overnighted at Steve&Gina's in Alameda, had a "free lunch" the next day (Saturday) at Laura's with Aiden & Patrick there, then headed by "default" toward Sonora as per my original plans.

Approaching Sonora on hwy 120 from the south-west, I could see the plumes of smoke rising from woods at medium distance from the road, with a low "stratus" of smoke over the whole area, though not quite at ground-level so visibility was still good.  Stayed a while at the McDonald's in Sonora still trying to figure some alternative logistics for my original hiking plans in that area, (and hoped for some replies to emails sent earlier trying to coordinate something with ML's planned Woods Lake campout for the weekend following labor Day.)  Eventually retreated for the night  to my side-road camping spot just inside forestland on hwy 108 east of Sonora, noting a silent flurry of ash-flakes falling on my windshield and a definite thickening of the smoke, like sitting downwind from the campfire.

Woke up the next morning (Sunday) to very dense smoke, and thought I might try finding out how to "volunteer" or even find a paid job supporting the firefighters in the area.  Stopped at the Forestry Visitor center but it was closed. Browsed the web for a while at McD's and found a bunch of interesting state jobs via the Calfire site but for more "routine" positions with prisons in the area etc - I'll check those out again later........ (yeah, maybe I'll cancel my retirement....)
Then (somehow forgetting to followup on the Volunteering option...) I headed north, via hwy 49 to 4 (over Ebbetts Pass - to check out the extent of the smoke (it was still smokey) and the feasibility of a bicycle loop-back from there, and the PCT trailhead parking - (I've taken a day-hike north from that pass at the end of one of the CNPS campouts at Highland Meadows a few years back now... so I didn't stop this time.)
I continued east & then north on hwy 89 then west on hwy 88 over Carson Pass (costs $5 to park at the Visitor Ctr/PCT trailhead there - whahhh?) getting there about 4:30, about a half hr before Vis Ctr scheduled to close - except it was already closed "due to smoke", except it was quite clear at the time. Walked around a bit then headed east down to the Woods Lake Campground - hoped to ask Campground Host wheterh I could leave backpack or Bear Canister there in case that would help my logistics (I could hike without bear canister north of Sonora to Carson but if then looped back to Tuolumne, would need cansiter again in Yosemite Park.)   No CG Host in sight, so just continued on back up to Carson Pass, further north to hwy 50 then east into S.Lk Tahoe, stopping at a bank to check my bal & get some cash before continuing north along west shore, to Barker Pass Road, and up to the PCT Trailhead at Barker Pass.  It was crystal clear at the time, somewhat gusty, but walked around to take some good picts of views east to the Lake & general Pano's of the smoke-free skies, and overnighted there at the trailhead.  I tentatively planned  to do a morning hike up the peak [name?] just off-trail north of the pass before scouting out  a possible loop-back from Alpine Meadows or Squaw Valley, or Donner Pass.

Next morning (Monday) it was smokeed-in, so I skipped the morning hike & headed back down to the lake shore and north to Alpine Meadows. Nice Bike paths alonf the lake, and gentle uphill on 89 to Alpine meadows which is about midway between the lake and Truckee, but a steep grade up Alpine Meadows road to the trailhead to Five Lakes and the PCT.  Though, I could abandon the bike lower down and road-walk the last mile.
Continued north on 89 (stopping at a McD's near the hwy 80 interchange to check on some potential Bus routes in the area, etc.) then west past Donenr Lake to the PCT trailhead at the pass there, checking out the bike loop-back potential - it's a steep downhill - my brakes will need to be reliable, but otherwise, quite bike-friendly most of the way.
It was still smoke-free, and I considered doing an out & back hike on the PCT north from there to the Hwy 80 PCT crossing, but then decided to to the hike from the HWY 80 trailhead parking area (at the Boreal Ski Area exit just before the Donner Summit Rest Area, because it offered some shade not available here, so I headed west to 80 then east on 80 to the next (Boreal) exit, and did the 7 mile out&back hike in about three hours, with nice photo-ops under slightly hazy afternoon skies.  Planned to explore the PCT area north of hwy 80 the next day, so I just drove across the hwy to the north side and overnighted at the Andesite Ridge Rd Trailhead.

Tuesday morning I was smoked-in, but it seemed to clear as the sun rose so I kept to my plans, left my car there, bicycled back across hwy 80 to the PCT trailhead I was at yesterday, locked my bike there & hiked east along the "loop Trail to the PCT then north under hwy 80 and generally north-west along a small lake adjacent to the west-bound rest area (lots of kids romping around the maze of trails there - I can imagine some of them getting lost...)  going a bit further up thePCT than intended, missing an unsigned link shown on the map but maybe the map was wrong...  Back at the car, I decided  to hve 2nd look at the bike route down from Donner Pass, so headed back west on hwy 80 then east to Donner Pass... then remembered I left my bike back at hwy 80. So back to fetch bike then back to the pass and down to Donenr Lake, then anotehr stop at the McD's to backup picts & check more bus options (trying to find transportation between S Lk Tah & Echo Lake and seeing how schedule changes after Labor Day...) Finding nothing suitable online I thought I'd ask someone at the train depot in Truckee, got some info there (no real good news.)
Now mid-afternoon it seemed late in the day due to heavy smoke, so I decided to get $20 of expensive gas and head further north on hwy 89 to the Sierra Buttes area, stopping first at the PCT trailhead at Loves Falls, which has poor parking possibilities, then east to the Wild Plum Rd Campground which has good access to the PCT with trailhead parking.  Not quite late enough in the day yet to camp, I continued on to have a look at Sierra City, then backtracked east a bit (stopping at an odd set of waterfalls by the road with an oversized parking turnout and a memorial to a police officer, then on to the intersection with Gold Lake Rd at Bassetts, which has a quaint single pump gas station still operable though the place just closed a few minutes before I arrived. Drove north on Gold Lake rd a mile or two to a side road to overnight under clear skies.

Wednesday Aug 28 still smoke-free though somewhat hazy, partly cloudy, I continued north to the Gold Lake Boat ramp and 4x4 staging area.  Leaving with camera but no pack or water just intending to take a quick look at the condition of the road, I walked the rough cobbly jeep road westward along the south side of the lake, past some occupied camp sites along the lake, and up the ridge toward a junction with the PCT at ridge-top. got somewhat hazy views of the lake, passed by little Gold Lake and a picturesque meadow, up to a newer cabin next to the burned ruins of  an older cabin with spectacular views of the lake, and up to the PCT crossing at a saddle with poor views. Returned from this 3.5hr hike by noon. Continued north to Graeagle (where I filled my tank with gas oddly at a 10cent per gallon discount for using my Safeway card.)
Driving on, stopped at a local burger stand at the Johnsville-LaPorte Rd intersection (which as a PCT crossing) to ask about the condition of the road (it is gravel most of the way.) Decidied to bypass that for now, headed on to Quincy, shopped for some fruit & vegs at Safeway, then drove on to the Bucks Lake Summit PCT trailhead. This looked promising, steady bike downhill from there back to Quincy, hopefully hwy 70 bikeride is feasible. Headed back to Quincy & westward on Hwy 70 to Belden, picking up a young hitchiker on the way (he was out of work moving from one family member to another.)  Stopped in Belden (an old hotel & cabins & campground compound hidden on south side of a 1 lane bridge crossing the Feather R.) Asked the bartender wheterh I could leave backpack there overnight, they are all set up for PCT kikers with shed for hiker's resupply packages, etc, and open late and "campsite host" available all hours.  I said I may be back next day.
I wasn't quite ready to commit to doing that hike, Hwy 70 would eb a very treachurous bike ride, NO shoulder, big trucks & cars going hwy speeds on windy single-lane rd with lots of blind corners. Very suicidal!  On the way back up to Quincy, I devised a way to possibly survive this by being ready to stop & dive into ditch or hug the cliff wall if oncoming car and car behind or blind curve behind me.  Also, will want to adjust my back brake 1st which at the moment is slightly weaker than front brake is.  also, two mirrors, one on handlebar & one on helmet. also, I have three flashing taillights - have them all powered up...
From Quincy, I decided I'd check out the PCT TH on the Quincy-LaPorte Rd, driving up this paved but windy hilly rd til dusk, overnighting on a ridge-top at 6pm with good reception of KPFA evening news.

So this morning, Thursday Aug 29, continued on looking for PCT crossing but missing it, ending at Little Grass Vly Reservoir, a gravel rd on SW shore to the dam, poor views of lake through trees except at the dam, then back up to find the PCT crossing. Ended up going back & forth a few times finally recognizing it un-signed from the rd at a "T" road intersection with the trail "split" with short road-walk inbetween inconspicuous trail tread and faded PCT emblems on trees set back abt 50ft from road.  Why so discrete here?
Backtracked a bit to take the other end of the Johnsville-LaPorte gravel rd that I'd asked about the other day at the burger stand. This turned out to be quite a rugged road with varied surfaces and slopes, with some very picturesque vista's along the county border past some of the most prominent peaks in this region [name them.] First gear most of the way abt 25 miles [confirm length] took most of mid-day to get back to the burger stand on hwy 89/70.  I then headed back northwest to Quincy, to do my laundry and have some pizza at the place next door, where I've been all this afternoon typing this.

I was intending to head south on 89 from the burger joint intersection, to check out in more detail the Sierra Buttes area, which seemed like a potential day-long loop hike or LaborDayWeekend longer loop hike that I could invite some of YOU-ALL to join me in this coming weekend (alass it's a bit late  now - again... last such intention I frittered away the opportunity to setup was the Rae Lakes Loop hike in the high Sierra from Kings Canyon Roads-End, a few months back now it seems?)  I guess I'll leave that exploration for tomorrow.   I'll be heading back in that direction now.  
 

  

 

feasible logisticts for upcoming 170 miles next 3 weeks

I hadn't been able to find a hitch-hike-free plan to loop-back from Sonora Pass to Tuolumne.

ML's proposed CNPSer's camping trip (possibly with Ann, Ben, Betsy, Betty, Mae, Pat, Peter, and Imp) to Woods Lake Campground just west of Carson Pass on Hwy 88 the weekend after Labor Day might yield a potential ride, although to Sonora Pass this would be quite out of the way.

But today I learned that Sandy was planning to head east over the Sierra this Labor Day Weekend, via Hwy50 she was saying, thinking of lingering around Mono Lake for a day or two, on her way to meet friends exploring Az & Ut for the coming several weeks.  Hmm...

I thought I might try persuading her to take Hwy108 over Sonora Pass instead of Hwy50, a slightly longer drive, and indeed this afternoon she seemed to warm to the idea, provided I could find some on-the-way campgrounds and interesting short day-hikes we could do along the way.  I immediately suggested the campground at Kennedy Meadows just west of the pass with a potential hike to Relief Reservoir or to Kennedy Lake, and later with a map I scouted out some short-ish two-car shuttle loops including bits of the PCT on either side of Sonora Pass, like south along the PCT to the junction with Tungsten Road then east to a 2nd car at Leavitt Lake, or north on the PCT then west to 2nd car at Clark Fork Rd.

But I was also thinking I really "should" get some hiking in before the Labor Day weekend, and I might be able to leave as soon as this Friday afternoon (after doing some chores for ML Friday morning) and checked a map to see what pieces of PCT north of Sonora Pass I could do.  From Sonora Pass to Hwy4/Ebbetts Pass is 33 miles, Ebbetts to Hwy88/Carson Pass is 30 miles, and Carson to Hwy50/Echo Summit is 12 miles.  All those 75 miles I could do in 7 or 8 days at my usual 500photos/day pace.  Those 4000 Raw files would consume only 5 of my now 8 32GB CF cards, and now I have 7 camera batteries which should last me 8 or 9 days if I'm careful.)

So, I could head for Sonora Pass this Friday afternoon, begin hiking Saturday morning, and be at Hwy50 just about when Sandy was originally planning of passing by there!  Although, I might try persuading her to take Hwy88 to the Carson Pass area which I think has more interesting camping & hiking opportunities (such as the Woods Lake campground, though unfortunately it would be a week before the CNPSers would be there) than does the Hwy50/Echo Summit area.  That would give me at least one day of slack to meet up with her.  I could then ride with her to the Mono Lake area, we might camp around there for a day before we part ways at Lee Vining where I would catch the YARTS bus to Tuolumne, then backpack 95 miles north to Sonora Pass, arriving at my car there just about when ML's planned CNPSer's camping weekend ends - I might be able to drive to Woods Lake before the last CNPSer has left, thus able maybe to persuade one of them to return home a bit circuitously via Hwy50, dropping me off at Echo Summit for a southbound day-hike or overnighter on the PCT back to my car left this time at Hwy88/Carson Pass. I would complete that hike with plenty of time to make it back to Santa Rosa for my Dr's appointment 9am Thursday Sep 12.

We'll see what Sandy thinks of this idea.

Agnew to Tuolumne Meadows completed, yet another "break" ahead with additional complication

It took me an extra day to get to Tuolumne from Mammoth... it seems I "got sick" on the first day.  Actually threw up on the trail while talking to another hiker. I had been resting because I was feeling sick just about an hour up the trail after getting off the bus at Agnew Meadows and this hiker carrying a little guittar came by, I did mention I wasn't feeling well, and we had told each other where we were heading and I was mid-sentence about taking the YARTS bus back from Tuolumne when out it came...   He sort of awkwardly asked if I was going to be OK and I assured him I would now probably start to feel better, and he (I'm sure relievedy) continued on.

Actually I started feeling like I had "food poisoning" from a McDonalds Big Mac I had the evening before I left, at least that seemed to be "stuck" in my stomach along with the next morning's breakfast. But then, maybe it was the salad dish I had at Car's Jr earlier, or Vons'cherry tomatoes or blueberries I had eaten earlier as well...

Or maybe it was something altogether different and seemingly unrelated  to what I was eating:  all the sitting on hard chairs I had been doing the previous few days had I think cut off the circulation in my legs such that the big ugly varicose vein in my right leg seemed to have clotted up completely from my shin around the inside of my knee and up the inside of my thigh. It was feeling very "bruised"... more so than has ever happened before... although this has been a growing problem for me the past few years and my response has been twofold - to go to the (VA) Dr. and at one point had these veins "mapped" in preparation for "removal" (they said they'd just "yank them out") but an odd thing occurred while they were doing that "mapping" - some person from Washington DC happened to be "auditing" the activities of the VA that day (so I was told ...this was during the time the VA was under some political pressure to "improve" their service efficiency or responsiveness ...) and that person started asking me a bunch of questions as to why I wanted to have that procedure done - implying that it would be just for "cosmetic" reasons...)   in any case the intimidation, if that was the intent, worked, and I just postponned a decision as to when I would go through with that procedure, since apparently it wasn't likely to address the main issue I was "imagining" I should be concerned about - blood clots "spinning off", as I imagined, from this "backwater" in my circulatory system, to my brain (although, apparently the most likely such destination would be the lungs.... Anyway, mostly I've been dealing with the problem by minimizing how long I sit down on hard surfaces especially, and taking frequent hikes, since the "massage" from the walking seemed to mitigate and "cure" the occasional odd swelling of my foot and "bruised" feeling in those veins after I'd been sitting too long. So, although this time that vein felt significantly more seriously "clotted", I still assumed after a few days of hiking I'd be fine again, so onto the bus to Angnew Meadow I went last Friday morning.

And indeed it did improve somewhat over the next few days of hiking.  That first day I only made it tile about 3:30 in the afternoon, only managing to hike for about 40 minutes at a time with 20minute breaks in between, nevertheless getting a good way towards Thousand Island Lake only because I was taking fewer pictures...  I had "re-filled" my stomach with some granola & fruit bars and water, but neither the water nor food seemed to get past my stomach and just sat there and I was just so tired during each break I would snooze off... typically wakened by other hikers passing by, most seemed not even to notice me though I was typically sitti ng in full sun since I was also feeling very cold, like when one has a fever, which I may have had.

Next morning though, I felt a little better, my stomach contents manged to pass on down, and I replaced it with granola and more fruit bars and water.  That day I seemed to have my normal energy back for pictures and the scenery was impressive, I was happy not to have gone further the day before I would have missed most of it as  if I was a thru-hiker just seeing the ground trying to make some distance.   I managed to take a wrong turn and ended up going half way around Thousand Island Lake, almost decided to go all the way around but there was a trail branching off to the north which I assumed would "cut off" further up the trail, although it turned out to double back to the trail that circled the lake, but  then I took another small spur trail that seemed to head north but it then petered out at a seried of camp sites, bu t I just continued off-trail northeastward along a ridge-line knowing I would eventually hit the main trail again, which I did just about at Island Pass. All in all it was a pleasant detour and yielded lots of picts.

Even though my energy was back, my leg was still quite sore, but it did seem that the "walking massage" was the appropriate treatment.  I did quit a bit earlier than I normally do (normally I've gone on til the sun is gone, when the photo-ops begin to fade.  But I quit within a mile of Donahue pass where I would have stopped the first day if I had put in a full 10-12 miles, on a ridge with spectacular views facing east that would be lit early the next morning so I'd be up early.  I did take some night-time shots of the sky that night trying to capture some of the meteors I've been seeing, but in about a dozen 30second exposures, I'm not sure I captured any, though a few occurred in other areas of the sky while I was exposing...  

Next morning was Sunday, and indeed the morning light was spectacular going over the Donahue Pass by 10am, where I think I got a nice video of some Grouse as I was trying to angle myself for a good shot of the pond just north of the pass, and beyond there had great views of lingering snow on the peaks to the west and views north down into Lyell Canyon, passing stream after stream merging further below as I descended into that broad flat-bottomed green meadowed valley incised by the meandering Tuolumne River.  That day I stopped just short of the "no-camping" limit a bit beyond the Evelyn Lake trail junction, further than I had planned  to go concerned I'd risk encountering a bear.  but I camped on an out-of the way knoll away from any "established campsites" and was only bothered by an annoyed squirrel and some wandering deer.

Monday morning then I made it the remaining 6 miles to the store west of the meadow on hwy 120 by about 1pm, stopping to "do my laundry" via a "fully-clothed" refreshing swim in the Tuolumne just short of the trail junction with the Lodge, in a sandy pool just below a falls over a broad granite outcrop, which served as a good screen to wait for me and my clothes to dry in the sun with a slight breeze, while I ate some lunch.  Only one couple passed by on the use-trail along the river while I was drying, though I must have seen a hundred people hiking by on the main trail that day about equally in both directions.  This section of JMT/PCT from Agnew Meadows to Tuolumne in eitehr direction is a very popular three day hike for weekenders, as is a two-day out&back to the Thosand Island Lake area from either direction.  The second-most popular "weekender" section of PCT was the "Rae Lakes Loop hike from either Kings Canyon or Kearsarge Pass.  In terms of hiker traffic though, it's southbound JMT hikers that I've encountered most.

At the Tuolumne Meadow Store I had more lunch, a double-hamburger, bought some grapes and some V8 juice and sat at one of the picnic tables chatting with various people until the YARTS bus back to Mammoth arrived at 4:15.  The time went quickly, but it was again a  long sit on a hard surface that didn't do my leg much good.  That night back at my usual car-camping spot off of the Scenic Loop road above Mammoth Lakes, my "clotted" sore veins feld not much improved from when I'd started.

So now I'm doing more sitting on hard surface in the library, having tried to contact the VA clinic with oddly serious audio connection problems on a call-back from the VA "advice nurse", so I've gotten no-where there, I've researched some nearby VA clinics I might be able to visit - one is in Sonora, which I plan to pass through in my way back to the Bay Area, since my next "stop" on the trail is hwy 108 at Sonora Pass, so I'm also continuing to work out my loop-back logistics to Tuolumne after staging my car at Sonora Pass.

I've had some problem verifying that there is a southbound bus from Reno to Mammoth/Bishop that stops at Bridgeport and Lee Vining as I described in my plans previously, much less where in these towns they stop.  I've verified with the driver that I could take YARTS from Lee Vining to Tuolume - for $2 Sr. fare.  The YARTS bus to Mammoth stopped in three places near Lee Vining, one at the gas-station/cafe on Hwy 120 near the 395 intersection, one on 395 in town, and finally at the Mono Lake Visitor Center (oddly at the far side of the parking lot there, and that just a sign-post, torture during hot afternoons!) YARTS then took the whole long June Lake loop.  On this late afternoon trip, 8 people boarded the bus at Tuolumne, no other passengers boarded or deboarded til one couple left at the McDonalds stop in Mammoth and the rest of us at the ski area where we all must have left our car 3-4 days ago to catch the shuttle to Agnew Meadow.

Rather than looping back via 395 as I've been doing, I may this time also consider heading west to Sonora from the Pass (maybe bicycling to Kennedy Meadows Resort which is about 10 miles west on hwy 108 from the pass) then arranging a hitch from KM to Sonora, then taking the YARTS bus from Sonora to Crane Flat (for $6 Sr. fare) and then the free park shuttle from there to Tuolumne. I'll also need to arrange to stache my backpack at KM, or maybe at Sonora. I may still consider leaving a "contingency-resupply" in a bearbox at Twin Lakes west of Bridgeport on the "east-side" (ought to do that before I head to the Bay Area this afternoon or tomorrow or whenever, to save some unnecessary driving...)   but I've also just ordered two additional camera batteries and CF cards to try to extend that constraint on my hiking range, to allow a non-stop Tuolumne to Sonora hke.  This order is supposed to ship tomorrow and take 3-4 days so hopefully will see it in my PO box in SRosa by Monday.  That is a bit longer than I would ideally have liked to have to hang out in SRosa before resuming my hike, but my leg issue may now delay that even further, depending...
Depending on whether I can get through to them by trying again with my WiFi Google-phone connection here from Mammoth, (or maybe I should try Skype... keep forgetting about that option) whether I decide to "bite-the-bullet" and buy-into another ATT SIM card pay-as-you-go plan (did I tell that story about my expired SIM card?) ...or whether I just try to "show up" at the Sonora clinic and talk to someone in person there...  At the moment I'm inclined to "get moving" and investigate the Twin Lakes area and re-explore  the Sonora Pass area, though it would be more efficient for me to continue sitting here on this hard surface and do some more online research and re-try my Google-Phone communications.
Either way, I'll cut off this lengthy blather now and get on with it.  



,

Mammoth to Tuolumne up next, peering beyond to Sonora

So looking forward...

It just so happens that it was just as well that I've been wrestling these past few days with all these technical puzzles I wrote about earlier, because it ensured I wouldn't be arriving at Tuolumne Meadows during the weekend.  I was actually expecting to be back on-trail mid-day today, and just go a little ways this afternoon, in which case my ETA at Tuolumne would have been Sunday afternoon.  I'm now planning to leave tomorrow morning (Friday Aug 9), but hike for the full day, so the eta is still the same.  I'll be starting from Agnew Meadow, hiking somewhat short of Donnahue Pass so I can do the pass Saturday morning before the thunderstorm risk in the afternoon.  Beyind the pass is Lyell Canyon, and there are two constraints about where I can camp in that canyon, one is "legal" - I can't camp closer than 6 miles from Tuolumne Meadows/hwy 120; the other is practical - from all I've read and heard, bears become more likely to be a problem the further down into the canyon I go. So, I plan to camp about ten miles from Tuolumne Meadows, so I can easily hike the distance to hwy 120 on the last day, Sunday.  Yep, it's just three days from here to Tuolumne.  There's a walk-in hiker's campground at Tuolumne near the general store I'll be staying there Sunday night.
I plan to take the YARTS bus on Monday to get back to my car at Mammoth.
Then I think I'm heading for the Bay Area to check my mail and try to connect with friends & family, maybe even somehow arrange a ride from sonora pass where I hpe tp leave mhy car next, back to Tuolumne Meadows with my backpack to do that longish section.
My basic plan for that section sans help ould be a somewhat more strenuous bike trip up a few hills east of Sonora pass before a long downhill to hwy 395 and 15mile mostly-level pedal along 395 to Bridgeport, then thye "Reno-to-Lone-Pine" bus from Bridgeport to Lee Vining, then YARTS from Lee Vin ing to Tuolumne Meadows to start my hike.  I would first have to leave my backpack at Bridgeport or Lee Vining, or Tuolumne Meadows, to make the bike ride feasible.  This would be a timeconsuming trip.
I've been  looking at alternative logistics of that next section and more generally future sections, mainly with an eye on my main constraint at the moment - camera battery range.  I've got 5 batteries, each lasts me about a day.  I'm carrying a solar charger but that maxes at about 4watt while the camera battery charger with 12-24V adapter I have says it requires 8watt minimum. Obviously I could buy more batteries, (and a few more CF cards) but they also take some time to charge them all, and time and laptop power to  back up the cards for reuse.  Also, need to download tracklogs.
It occurred to me I might be able to store a car battery (and my eeepc and del laptop and cables & inverter, in one of the bear boxes, and then be able to leave my car further up-trail.  Still need to work out all the details, and evaluate whether this will indeed help...
In the case of the Tuolumne to Sonora section, I might be able to leave the "battery-cache" at the Twin Lakes trailhead SW of Bridgeport, and my car at Sonora Pass. This would be a 10mile one-way detour off the pct, about midway along the pct between Tuolumne and Sonora, similar to the Bishop Pass detour that was about midway between Independence/Kearsarge Pass and Mammoth Lakes/Reds Meadow.   My thought is that with just the batteries etc there, that would be more like my recent stop at VVR, rather than splitting the section entirely into two full "loops" requiring an additional trip along the road to twin Lakes.
At any rate, beyond Sonora Pass, there seem to be a lot of options including some day-hikes to negotiate the sections with many roads crossing the pct north to hwy 80.  This is also fairly close to bay-area. Maybe I can persuade some of you to join me on a weekend walk late August or September.      

Been hanging in Mammoth Lakes wrestling tech issues after 11 day hike from Bishop Pass

I've actually been hanging around Mammoth Lakes again for a few days now since Monday Aug 5 when I got to Reds Meadow after taking 11 days to get here from the South Lake trailhead above Bishop.
That was actually quite an eventful trek, and eventually I plan to post the "back-dated" details on this blog, but for now I'll just summarize to say I dodged some lightning over Bishop Pass, endured a full night of steady rain, got caught in a hailstorm, had my nose, lungs and photo-ops tarnished by smoke from the Aspen fire most every afternoon and some mornings as well, encountered dozens of southbound JMT hikers each day while leapfrogging a few times with only two northbound PCT hikers in this whole section, charged my camera batteries at "VVR" (Vermilion Valley Resort on Lake Edison) which is what allowed me to stay away from my car/civilization for 10 whole days.
But I still had plenty of good photo-ops to fill up all my CF cards forcing me to ration my memory use by scaling back from full res Raw files to half-rez "SRaw" files for the last three days.
Unfortunately I unknowingly also turned off generating jpg files when I made that switch on my camera, which later caused me some grief and wasted time here in Mammoth while trying to "recover" files I thought I must have overwritten at some point between copying them to my backup disk, and "reorganizing" them on that disk.
That wasn't my only technical problem though:
- The "selection" button on my camera continues to be intermittently unresponsive although I now understand the problem better: in dry, hot conditions it seems that some kind of damaged O-ring or something designed to function like a spring, becomes "mushy", and when I press the button while it's in that state, the button stays "depressed" for several minutes and during that time won't respond to further direct button presses, but will indirectly make "random" selections when I turn the selection-wheel that this button is at the center of, causing unintended menu selections and sometimes changes to camera settings.
- The on/off switch on my Holux GPS data logger broke: the plastic "knob" on the surface just slides loosely back and forth without engaging the underlying switch.  I haven't tried prying it off altogether to try to directly access the underlying switch, because fortunately it is currently permanently in the "on" state, and I can just remove the battery at night or during extended breaks to keep from draining the battery.  I've contacted Holux Tech Support and they referred me to the US distributer for possible repair ... I haven't yet followed thru with them other than to verify that when I bought the unit via Amazon, the order was actually fulfilled by this vendor.
- The proprietary "ezTour" software that comes with the Holux is frustratingly glitchey! There are unexplained very long delays (tens of minutes...) where the program becomes unresponsive (so says windows.)  The program has trouble finding the right usb-com port number - the "auto-locate" option never works, and there seems to be some kind of hide-and-seek game going on where it waits until I manually select a port number, then activates itself on "the other" port number (usually between com3 and com4.) I can then cause the log data to download, and it gives a running count of the amt of data downloaded, and then it says the data is successfully downloaded, but before I can choose one of several options to save the data to disk, I have to wait a few dozen minutes of unresponsiveness while it does some processing to display the tracklog on a Google Map.  (There is no option to skip this. I can then save the whole "project" which I assume saves the data in it's "raw" format that may be a semi-proprietary binary compressed format, or I can save it as GPX or NMEA or a number of other formats. But no matter which option I choose, the program then goes into yet another "unresponsive" state for another few dozen minutes - even when just saving the "project". Not very conducive to quickly getting back on the trail!  Still, I've so far been able to eventually get a log file saved as a GPX that checks out using another small independent program that I've been using (ezGPS) just to check that I have useable data current to my last day of use - even after my current broken-switch workaround of removing the battery.  So eventually I should be able to use these logs to geotag my picts (except for those early glitches that I've described earlier.)  Oh, also, snooping on the internet I've read of another similar product using same chip-set, and learned of an open-source program able to read and control that chipset, (it uses GPSBABEL behind the scenes for data-format translations, possibly even for the chipset-reading - not sure at the moment.)  I've downloaded it and tried it and it actually seems to be downloading the data, and I've got a "raw data" file stored, but for some reason wasn't able to produce a GPX from that program, not sure why.  Will try again when I have more time to play.  Am hopeful this could solve the "unresponsiveness" issue of Holux's "oficial" ezTour program.  
- The valve of my Katadyne water filter "sticks" so that when I try pumping water it doesn't shut to switch the flow from intake hose to the filter chamber. I've tried "cleaning" it by more violently forcing water through that area where the "ballbearing-valve" is, and added fresh silicone grease to the O-ring on the plunger as recommended, though not to valve part because it seems to me there shouldn't be grease there... I'll play with it some more later but meanwhile can manually constrict the intake hose at the right time though that is very slow...
- still getting confused by the camera file numbering that "rolls over" after 9999, compounded by the various date fields in the file metadata (some of which change when files are copied, looked at, etc..) and which of these dates gets displayed and used to sort the folder lists on my Linux EEEPC and broken Dell laptop running windows XP, and on a few windows terminals at the library. (Missing my big laptop with Lightroom that I've come to rely on to firstly sensibly rename my photos by date-taken to avoid any serial-number-rollover confusion and date-field confusion, then add location data via my tracklogs, then exposure-adjust etc the images before evaluating/selecting/uploading them.)

All this is to excuse my lack of pictures to present, and why I am taking so much more time off-trail than I would like, while I doublecheck to make sure I've got all my photos backed up before I reuse my CF cards. Why just this morning I was thinking I was done but while trying to remind myself via my photos where I had stayed the 2nd night after Bishop Pass while starting to write this blog entry, I discovered I had about 1100 photos missing, which turned out to be on two CF cards that I had misplaced!  Yikes! No technical glitch, that.  

PCT: shuttle fee $60 hmm...

After I left my backpack in the bear box at the Bishop Pass trailhead at South Lake this morning, I stopped at the Parchers resort along the road just below South Lake to take a shower and to see whether I could get some info about the "trail Angel" contact named Ruby Allen that I vaguely remembered being told by the person at the Bishop Visitor Center worked there. The guy at the little store didn't know about her, but mentioned there was a pack station just next door... and did mention that they sometimes offer shuttle service to/from various places nearby ...for about $60.

So I inquired at the Pack Station and they indeed did know her - the owner, apparently, and they did take my info, as the phone number I was given was for the Pack Station.

So I just noticed a phone msg a half hr ago from a Lindsey Allen who sounded like the person I talked to there, informing me that they do indeed offer a shuttle service to South Lake for $60.

OK, so I guess $60 beats the uncertainty of hitching... and the person at the visitor center did say the "trail angel" did expect a fee... and I did indicate I was willing to pay gas money and such, and evidently $60 seems to be the going rate...

I guess the road up to South Lake is a bit steep (though when I bicycled down it the other week it actually was not as steep as the road from Onion Valley was, or the road from Walker Pass.  But it is a long road.

I'm probably committed to accepting the ride, at this point.

Now to move from this Library which is about to close to Carl's Jr where I'll try calling her back, hopefully 6:30pm not too late to reach her at the pack station... I guess otherwise I'll try again tomorrow morning after I get to Bishop.

PCT: FINALLY about to hit the trail again after incredibly long delay...

Yes  well... I'm spending more time off the trail than on...  At the moment in the Mammoth Lakes library while there's a thunderstorm raining outside.

But, I am now committed to returning to the trail via Bishop Pass tomorrow morning.  I'll be leaving my car at the Mammoth Mt ski area very early in the morning (before the free shuttle to town starts running) and bicycling down the hill to catch the 6:30 AM bus in town heading for Bishop, (I'll probably bring my bike on the bus and leave it at the Bishop KMart/Vons bikerack again, because there are no bike racks near the bus station in Mammoth Lakes - somewhat ironic since otherwise Mammoth Lakes seems very bike-oriented for Rental Bikes - lots of bike racks filled with bikes to rent in various places in town, and the town shuttles have bike trailers with room for dozens of bikes - but all the bikes are safely secured inside overnight.)

Then I'll try to hitch up to the Bishop Pass trail-head at South Lake (unless I manage to connect with a "trail angel" willing - for gas money etc - to give me a ride up to South Lake - I'm still trying to contact her though - she's the owner of a pack station near South Lake.)  I've got my backpack and food and boots etc in a bearbox there at the trail-head.  That afternoon I'll probably just hike to one of the lakes before the pass, since there's a 50% chance of thunderstorms tomorrow - I should avoid the exposure in the afternoon - the thunderstorm risk has been that way all week. Will jump the pass Saturday morning, and probably make it back down to the PCT/JMT before nightfall.  It'll take me another 6 or so hiking days to get to Reds Meadow where I'll catch the shuttle bus back to my car.  But I may take an extra day mid-way through this section, at the Vermillion Valley Resort where I could "restock" on snacks at the store and maybe take a shower and even do laundry although I doubt I'll bother to do laundry.

Hopefully the smoke from the "Aspen Fire" http://www.inciweb.org/incident/3552/ and other fires started by the lightning strikes just a few days ago in the Sequoia NF and Kings Canyon NP southwest of here won't totally obliterate my views of the peaks or vista's from the passes I'll be climbing over during this coming week.  I've got some picts of a deep-orange sun behind thunderclouds from where I've been camping the last few days.

So, I've mainly been staying in the Mammoth Lakes area, because it's cooler at this higher elevation than in the Bishop area.  I've done a bit of hiking in the Lakes Basin and in the Reds Meadow area - doing the PCT/JMT from Rainbow Falls to Agnew Meadows as a half-day-hike  (so when I get to Reds Meadow a week from now, I can skip these few miles and resume hiking northward to Tuolumne Meadows from Agnew Meadows.)  I started that half-day as a late-morning bus ride from the Mammoth Mt ski area to Devil's Postpile, from where I hiked around the Postpile area then south to Rainbow Falls then north along the JMT/PCT which traverses the ridge on the west side of the creek (the Middle Fork San Joaquin River) with nice views down onto the Postpile area.  I was a bit rushed needing to make sure to make it  to the bus stop at Agnew Meadows before the last bus around 7pm.  I think I made the 2nd last bus shortly after 6pm. The bus was packed like a sardine can.  I was the last passenger on, standing with a dog at my feet, one arm on a handle, the other braced on the ceilling, as the bus careened around the tight curves of the mt road.  I just barely managed not to topple over onto the dog or the driver or into the front windshield.

I then had to dash back to my car and back to my "dispersed" camping site along a dirt road off of the Scenic Route north of town, before it got dark, because I had been having headlight problems.  (I've been having headlight problems for the past two years now - have been swapping bulbs at about $20 per bulb on both sides randomly every few weeks it seems... the Auto Parts store people all say -ah yes, Subaru's seem to blow their headlamps all the time.  The CHP officer that gave me a fixit ticket for that same issue just a few weeks ago (only three burnt-out bulbs ago now...) said the same thing.  So, all you other Subaru owners out there - what's really going on????   Is it a big secret to keep up the resale value long enough to get rid of our lemons??? Is there a recall on that issue????  (OH, no need to inform me about not handling the glass bulb, though more info on whether & how to use dielectric paste would be welcome...)   Anyhow, I did spend the next day fiddling around making the problem worse - the connector to the lamp had been brittle - partially broke, so I broke away the remaining plastic exposing just the connector, trying to find out whether the wire to that connector had an intermittent break. I decided to buy a replacement connector, but then needed a butt-end connector and the right tools... so I spent some time wandering around the local towns - Mammoth Lakes and Bishop, trying to find a Suabaru-savvy mechanic or at least one with the tools - couldn't find one willing to just splice in the new part... meanwhile now the high-beam on that side wouldn't work either.  Finally realized that was a blown fuse, replaced that, and both low & high beams now work... have two spare low-beam bulbs for, um, next week when I have to go through the whole routine again?

What else have I been killing time on? Well, I bought two new books and read four - well, parts of four... first got most of the way through the way-too-verbose Mountain Weather book- I may try to sell that one back to a used book store in Bishop - the one next to the Galen Rowell Gallery.  I usually hold on to my books, but this one was just too irritatingly chatty - written by a TV weatehr reporter - I need to get rid of it out of spite!   Then I picked up the Eastern Sierra Natural History "text" (forget the exzct name - its in the car - I'm nit the library) which includes a plant section written by Ann Howald, alththough I've mainly read the Geology section and the "introductory" sections on Plant Communities.  I've also just picked up the second of three parts Guide to the PCT by Jeffrey Schaffer - this one for Northern California, beginning from Tuolumne Meadows north. (I should be there in two more "hops".)  This series includes good descriptions of both the Geology and the Plants that can be found along the trail.  So, I've read the first section described in that 2nd part - from Tuolumne to Sonora Pass - this will be about 85 miles, the longest segment I think I've done without resupply.  (There is the possibility for me to "bail" to the Twin Lakes area, but I'm not planning to do that.)  The final book I've been reading is one I've had for quite a while - the Conifers of California.  I've considered this a nice "picture book" but it's actually a very helpful ID guide to the major trees.  I may actually now be able to more confidently name some of the Pines & Firs I'm photographing...

What I still haven't yet done much of, ironically, is review my picts.  I still need my big laptop for that, and I've left that with Stephen (bacause last time I left Santa Rosa I forgot to leave it in my storage unit there.)   What I have with me I'm really only barely able to offload my picts from my CF cards so I can reuse them - onto a 1GB hard drive.  I'm able to look at very low-res images and I'm just spot-checking some of those to verify that I'm not totally screwing up.  One think I've been able to discern this way is that the picts I'm taking with my fisheye are only marginally acceptable in terms of sharpness - somehow either my focus is off or DOF is worse than I would expect, or the lens just isn't up to the quality I would expect of a Canon lens- it is a "refurbished" lens - maybe I should have it "checked out" at any rate - I think I may go back to stitching together pano's from multiple shots with my trusty big 24-70.

My camera is also acting up on my at times (seems to depend of temperature or humidity or something...). The "selection" button (in the middle of the "big wheel" on the back that in manual mode controls the aperture) but which I need to "delete" a pic I'm reviewing or reformat the CF cards, sometimes refuses to react.  I've taken a knife to the button while in a rage to try to make it work in the field, because I normally have been only formatting my cards "last minute" in order to maintain a "backup" as long as possible.  This time, though I've formatted all my cards so I won't need to use that button in the field.

OK, so I've justified all this killing of time while listening to the weather forecasts that have been progressively upping the chance of thunderstorms in this area (although it's been "drying out" west of the Sierra's for the last few days, the crest and eastern Sierra has continued getting moisture from the south - though beyond this Saturday now it promises finally to dry out, reducing the thunderstorm chances.  I'm probably being overly cautious, but din't like the idea of being a matchstick getting blamed for yet another lightning-caused fire...  I mean, I'm not even bringing a stove, not bringing any food that needs cooking - bad enough to have to carry my food in a bear-canister - hm.. are there any faraday-cage canisters I could walk around in?  

 

PCT: Back in Bishop

So I'm back in Bishop after getting off the trail earlier this afternoon, fetching stuff I left at Onion Valley where I started hiking last Friday, taking a shower and doing my laundry in Big Pine, fetching my bicycle in Bishop, shopping at the Von's there, (including a whole cooked chicken that I wolfed down on the spot along with a package of cherry tomatoes, some yogurt, and some grapes, and now at Carl's Jr I'm having a milk shake and starting to copy my picts to my backup drive.  I probably won't finish that tonight because i'ts way past my normal bedtime these days, and I want to sleep.

Sleep will be along Buttermilk Road, the same place I overnighted with my bicycle last Thursday night after coasting half-way down the road from the Bishop Pass trailhead where I had left my car, before catching the bus Friday morning. Buttermilk Rd had been recommended by someone at the Visitor Info Center in Bishop, it's the nearest public land to downtown Bishop and enroute to the pass.  This time it'll be with my car though.

The "commute" from Bishop to Independence went well.  It turned out that I arrived at the bus stop at the Vons shopping center in time to catch an earlier bus (7am) whose existence I wasn't aware of, a more local route between Mammoth Lakes to only part way down the Owens Valley.  Got to Independence by 8am and waited about an hour with very low traffic on the road to Onion Valley. Finally got a ride from a young avid hiker very familiar with that area and, when he noticed I was reading a book on "Mountain Weather", I got an ear-full of practical tips such as how to estimate hrs before local sunset by counting outstretched-hand-widths between the sun and the ridgetop.

For the first few days I seemed to be dragging a bit, as I had feared, due to my week-off back at sea level and worse, my sitting around the whole time staying up till wee hrs in the morning getting just a few hrs of sleep each night, to get this blog "up and running". This double-whammy "de-acclimated" me to the altitude, and de-conditioned me to that level of exercise.  By the final few days, though, I was feeling much more up to speed (or actually what I would call my "productivity" as measured as the product of picts per minute and meters per minute - note that often the first ratio was larger than the second.)   

Lots of incredible scenery to photograph, of course, and the bloom seemed to be at it's peak, although it was evident that this is a very dry year.  Normally-boggy areas were so dry I could kneel without even getting my knees wet!  Virtually no snow on the trail, about the only snow I've seen were bits of glacier-ice - and I wonder whether any of these will remain by the end of this year.  

This section of trail was essentially a series of V-shaped climbs to a pass, then down to a major stream crossing, then up to the next pass.  The slope of the trail was constant at it's maximum specified standard, just traversing the flank of the ridge or folding into switchbacks as needed.  There were a few exceptions when crossing a flat plateau, usually dotted with a series of lakes and bogs.  These areas of course slowed me down even more due to my frequent stops to kneel down to capture the plants while trying to also include the background context.  Hopefully one of these months I'll have a chance to share some of these...

....

So I guess this place is now closed, I'll continue tomorrow...        

    

PCT: Scurrying about to resume my hike - catch the bus tomorrow AM in Bishop

It's been a long series of distractions and frustrations off the trail, but now it's a matter of getting myself situated to catch the 8AM bus from Bishop after leaving my car at the Bishop Pass trailhead ASAP this afternoon and trying to bicycle most of the way back town the hill ASAP soon thereafter this afternoon (hope to dodge any of the thunderstorms threatening - according to forecasts and just looking at the sky...)

I've found out about some open space near town (along Buttermilk Rd which is off of the rd I'm bicycling down) that I plan to overnight at tonight . Then tomorrow morning cycle the rest of the way into town, parking my bike in the rack by the bus stop at the KMart/Vons shopping center that the bus leaves from.  I had run around seeking and following some alternative suggestions - Visitor Ctr suggested police station, police station suggested a bike shop, bike shop doesn't open til 10am - too late so I'll risk leaving it at the bike racks by the bus stop between the two stores...)

So I'll take the bus back south to Independence and hitch back up the hill to Onion Vly, where I've left my backpack - except this time I'm keeping my sleeping bag with me so I won't have to book a hotel like last time no matter what...

So then it will be four or five or maybe six days for me to get back to my car.  I'm now no longer acclimated so I will take my time getting over Kearsarge pass from Onion Vly, probably will overnight on both sides of the pass before getting back to the PCT.  Them I'm faced with Glen Pass, then a few days down one stream till it meets another then up that and finally climb steeply out of that valley and over Bishop Pass. That one is a biggie - about 4000 ft just from the trail and another 3000ft down the other side to the trailhead at South Lake where my car will be.  Most thru hikers wouldn't take this pass to resupply, but at my photography-determined pace I don't have enough camera batteries and won't be carrying enough food to make it to the next "on-trail" resupply point at Vermilion Valley Resort (besides, I haven't mailed myself anything there - though they do have a store so I could buy "snacks"...)

Off trail, I've been wrestling with a number of things - um - actually mostly getting to a "stopping point" on this blog.  Then a bit of trouble trying to respond to a FastTrak fine for driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, which you can't pay for anymore (unless you've anticipated things by setting up an account.  Trouble is, I was supposed to get an invoice mailed, but didn't get that!  Seriously, I'm SURE I didn't get it this time, because I was looking for it in my mail.  All I ever got was a violation notice.  And I spent all day trying to pay (or protest) that using their web site.  But I wasn't able to enter the violation number properly, and web site gave no clue that they didn't want the first letter "T" nor the last 4 digits after the dash.  This I found out today after giving up and just paying the fine over the phone.  And, that wasn't easy either because I was having problems getting any of my several phone options to work.  The little app that I have been using has just stopped working after an update, and there's no TMobile service in Bishop, and my ATT SIM card has apparently expired completely for lack of use.  And, my Google Phone app has suddenly refused  to work??!!!  I did mange to set up my Skype account again.  

Anyhow, I now need  to get going.