CSERC Blogger

As many people who visit Yosemite in the summertime know, the weather is great, the flowers are radiant… and the crowds are stifling. To be honest, crowds are what keep me from visiting Yosemite as much as I would like, and instead I find myself in the less visited wilderness areas that surround the Park. I have a hard time merging my nature experiences with thousands of people, and would rather take the trail less traveled.

However, a couple of weekends ago I was “forced” to put my feelings aside and took myself on a self-guided Yosemite field class I had enrolled in at my university….. Read on »

It still feels like summer outside, but as I am back at college in the last week it seems more like fall to me, and I find myself reflecting on what a great time I had in the outdoors this past summer. Here are some of the best adventures I enjoyed in our local mountains.

Hiking
There is nothing quite like getting into the outdoors by means of your own feet. The farther you travel into the mountains the more you feel the structure of society falling away from around you, and I am reminded that I was once part of the wildlife I now feel so lucky to enjoy. I really like having a destination as a goal for my hike, and more often than not that destination is a high Sierra lake. Here are some of the lakes I reached during my day hikes.

Chain of Lakes, Emigrant Wilderness Only an hour hike from the trail head, I visited these lakes multiple times this summer and enjoyed the easy to access solitude and scenery.

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How many times has this happened to you: you’re driving home after a day in the forest, rounding those winding corners with the expertise of a seasoned mountain driver, when suddenly a panicked squirrel has decided that the best way to avoid your oncoming vehicle is to run across the road right in front of you. Perhaps you slam on your brakes, swerve your car, or grip the steering wheel with white knuckles, while cringing in dreadful anticipation of the telltale bump that reveals that critters unfortunate fate. Looking back in your rear-view mirror you see that this time the lucky squirrel has been given a second (or perhaps twentieth) chance, and you sigh in relief while muttering a few choice words concerning the apparent death wish of certain rodents.

Does this sound familiar? Read on »

Last Saturday CSERC staff and members, Summerville High School Ecology Club, and Stanislaus Forest employees gathered at Long John’s Meadow just north of Cherry Lake for an incredibly productive day of meadow restoration work. Projects like this are so rewarding for volunteers as they help out in different phases of the project and get to see it through from beginning to “completion”. Here is a little background on this particular restoration project.

Long John’s Meadow has been severely damaged over the years by a combination of environmental effects, from wildfires, to salvage logging, and more. As a result the normal movement of the water table was drastically altered, shifting from moving over the meadow in a wide and shallow flow, to a constricted flow that had formed a deep and narrow gully.

(image by Tracy Weddle, Stanislaus National Forest)
This is the gully in Long John’s Meadow, pre-restoration. Clearly this is a meadow in need of help!

Read on »

As a student of Geography at CSU Stanislaus, a large part of my studies focuses on the subject of sustainability and how humans impact the natural balance of life on Earth. Much of what I read describes the damage we have done to the environment and what we should be doing differently, and I find myself starting to feel hopeless and helpless about our situation. When you look at the situation globally it can feel like there is so much that has to happen to make the shift towards a sustainable planet that perhaps it is hopeless. However, if we focus at a local and regional level we can start to make a difference that can spread outwards as we create the shift towards sustainability.

Here is a list of things that I have come up with that we can start doing right now to make a positive difference in our community. Please feel free to add to it or suggest your own version!

1. Grow and/or buy your food locally

I know this is largely budget dependent for many of us, including myself. But mega-farms employ few people, use tons of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, use excessive amounts of water, and have to be transported long distances by fossil-fuel burning trucks. When you grow your own food or buy directly from a local farm, you know much more about how your food was grown and it was likely done in a more sustainable manner.

Read on »

It’s that time of year where I have to put my skis away for another long summer (sigh). Fortunately, spring is kind to me and sends comfort in the blankets of wildflowers that now cover our foothills, and are beginning their seasonal creep up the sides of our mountains. Stalking wildflowers and reveling in their beauty comes high up on my list of obsessions.

Yesterday, my classmate Mae and I paused outside of Knight’s Ferry on Highway 108 to do some field observations for our Geomorphology class, but were quickly distracted by the rainbows of lupine, poppies, vetch, and popcorn flower to name a few of the flowers that are in full bloom in that location.

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I find it interesting that Tuolumne County offers so much in scenic beauty and natural value, and yet remains a relatively unknown region of the Sierra Nevada. Whenever I try to describe where I live to someone from out of town, it seems like 7 out of 10 times the person has never heard of Tuolumne County, and even more so if the person is from out of state. I must admit, I am relatively new to this region, having moved here just over three years ago, but now that I live here I find it hard to imagine living anywhere else. SO… as a patriot to my beautiful region, I thought that I would present a short list that can be used the next time someone is trying to tell a friend what is so great about being from Tuolumne County… from the perspective of a lover of the outdoors!

1. A significant portion of Yosemite National Park, one of the crown jewels of the Sierra Nevada (including the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River above Hetch Hechy reservoir) is located within our county.

Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River

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Finally, it’s winter in the Sierra Nevada again! This is my favorite time of year.

Those of us who live here tend to love it or leave it. Winters in the mountains can be cold, harsh, and dangerous, and many retired ‘snowbirds’ migrate to warmer homes further south, to return after the weather warms. But those who choose to stay are treated to some of the most spectacular scenery of the year. The mountains take on a majestic and awesome presence, with each fold and angle highlighted in white. The shapes of the different kinds of trees become distinctly accented with snow frosting each branch.

And of course, wintertime recreation brings out a completely different way to enjoy exploring our natural environment. Whether by ski, snowboard, snowshoe, sled, or snow mobile, moving on the snow is exhilarating! In Tuolumne County, many people from the Central Valley and San Francisco Bay area are drawn to recreate in the snowy mountains off of the Highway 108 corridor. There are many easy to access locations that both local and out of town people use to recreate. People pay to play at private businesses that cater to winter-enthusiasts, or public land on the Stanislaus National Forest for free or a small fee.

Backcountry trips with friends are a great way to spend time together.

Local skier Damien Johnson catching some air last season.

Over this past Christmas week, we received an incredible present in the form of a massive snowstorm depositing lots of the cold white fluffy stuff for us to play in. Winter seemed to come a bit late this year, so this first storm was waited on by many of us as we anticipated the fun that would come along with it. This was especially clear on Friday as I drove down the busy highway after spending an afternoon at crowded Dodge Ridge, our local ski resort. However, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated on that ride back from Dodge as I saw the throngs of people gathered at a well known sledding hill called Little Sweden immediately adjacent to the highway. Don’t get me wrong, as a person who wants to see a strong appreciation of nature installed in everyone, I am encouraged when people step away from their televisions, cars, etc. to get outside and play. To me, this creates a well-rounded individual while hopefully motivating their desire to see beautiful locations preserved instead of developed, so that they can continueto be enjoyed.

But as I drove by Little Sweden, I entered a chaotic world. Hundreds of people covered the hillside, walked and parked down both sides of the highway, barbecued lunch on their tailgates, and crossed the highway as though it was a neighborhood street. I had one dad and his daughter dash out in front of my truck just a hundred or so feet ahead of me, and the highway was icy!

A family visiting Little Sweden strolls down the middle of Highway 108 last weekend, a common occurence to navigate for those who regularly drive this route.

Cars line both sides of the highway by Little Sweden, despite the hazards and the clearly posted “No Parking” signs.

Since I have lived through many seasons of this phenomenon, I know that the story doesn’t end here. After everyone packs up and goes home, a lot is still left behind. The hills are covered in thousands of pieces of broken plastic sleds that are abandoned. Dirty diapers, broken bottles, cans, and every other kind of trash you can imagine are strewn about the hill. The trash left behind not only pollutes the land and water, but it is dangerous, and it disrupts the natural habitat. Little Sweden is just one of many free locations that people use to play at in the winter, and the story is repeated in each of these locations to some degree or another. Every year after the snow melts, volunteers or Forest Service employees come and clean up the mess that others leave behind in order to help keep the environment from becoming too degraded.

How does a community encourage a higher environmental ethic that promotes caretaking of a natural area versus the attitude that nature is here for us to use however we want? I would love to hear what any readers think in regards to that question.

As far as recreating in such a dangerous area (right off the main highway!) I hope more people start to consider locations such as Leland Meadows, where for a small fee you can sled down their groomed hills, and ride the newly installed rope tows back up.

View of Leland Meadows from above, before the rope-tow installation.

There are locations designated by Stanislaus National Forest that are actually for winter recreation that provide off-road parking, some services, and access to excellent snowy backcountry, such as Pinecrest or the Snow Park at the Highway 108 winter closure point.

All negativity aside, winter in the Sierra Nevada is amazing. It has a way of drawing people to the outdoors. Share with us a story of one of your favorite wintertime adventures, and we’ll share ours!

Julia Stephens
Environmental Associate

Most people that have visited or lived in the Sierra Nevada mountain region have observed that the climate pattern of this region tends to be warm and dry in the summer time and cooler and wetter in the wintertime. But have you ever noticed that this is rather unusual in comparison to most weather patterns throughout the world? If you looked at a seasonal precipitation map for the planet, you would likely observe that the majority of the earth receives most of its precipitation in the summertime. As it turns out, a large part of California is considered to be a Mediterranean Climate; one of only four locations in the world other than the region for which this climate is named in southern Europe and Asia (See Figure 1).

Figure 1

Only 2% of all land on Earth is considered part of a Mediterranean climate! All the incredibly diverse grasslands, wildflowers, oak woodlands, and even evergreen forests have adapted over millions of years to be able to grow in this specific climate region. So why is that, and should you care? Let’s take a look at the why, and through this a sense of caring and pride just might sneak up on you, if it hasn’t already!

Figure 2

Through an ongoing interaction between the sun, air, ocean, land, and life, climates as we know them are formed. How do these interactions create California’s Mediterranean climate and how can we see these processes? Let’s start with those hot, dry summers that make us so unique. Why so hot, why so dry? If you look at Figure 3 you can see that in the summertime a huge high-pressure mass of air sits directly off the coast of California.

Figure 3

This air mass is part of a global circulation pattern that creates different pressure systems (high and low) which is driven by differential heating of the Earth’s atmosphere by the sun from the equator to the poles. Check out Figure 4 to get the big picture on how this generally operates.

Figure 4

California’s high-pressure system (called the “North Pacific High”) is dry, warm, and (this is the key) pretty stable which results in very little opportunity for other wetter systems to displace it. All Mediterranean climates are located between 30-40º north or south of the equator, where the sun’s rays penetrate the atmosphere enough to create a lot of heat; not as much as at the equator, but much more than at the poles.

Another big role-player in the formation of climates are ocean currents. Mediterranean areas have a cold current that parallels their coast, and like all currents they are driven by the wind. Prevailing winds in California come from the northwest, and the cold “California Current” is brought down from the north in a clock-wise direction. The cold water is from upwelling cold-water coming from a deep ocean-floor current. Check out Figure 5 and 6 to see the ocean currents and winds that are described. This cold current serves as one more barrier for moisture reaching inland in the summer via the westerly winds; any moisture that may have managed to gather in the North Pacific High condenses into fog when hitting the current as the westerly winds blow across the ocean and onto land.

Figure 5

Figure 6

So, now the basic processes have been covered that create the dry and warm summer climate that draw so many people to live and visit California! But what about that winter rain? What has changed that allows moisture to reach our thirsty land? The amount of heat received by the sun is the main force behind the shift. As summer turns into fall the intensity of the sun shifts to the southern half of our planet, which in turn weakens the high pressure system that is so prominent in the summer, and shifts it south. This makes room for the polar jet stream to bring moist, unstable air masses further south and with it precipitation. Almost 80% of precipitation falls in the wintertime in regions that are Mediterranean! The moist air has an additional assistant in ensuring that the rain is dropped in our region and not pushed further inland by the westerly winds in the form of the Sierra Nevada. When the wind pushes an air mass into a mountainous barrier it moves the air up hill. The higher the elevation the cooler the air, and cooler air has less ability to hold moisture, and when it reaches its capacity it drops much of it in the form of rain or snow! Check out Figure 7 to get a basic visual of how this “Rain Shadow Effect” works.

Figure 7

Figure 9
All the rain and snow melt that runs down the mountain not only provides one the major sources of drinking water for California, they also provide the water needed to make the Central Valley agriculturally productive. Before humans started irrigating and damming these mountain rivers, the Valley seasonally flooded which did two major things. First, massive underground aquifers that lay below the valley were refilled. Secondly, nutrient-rich minerals that were broken down from the rock materials of the mountains were washed down into the Valley floor, creating an incredibly fertile soil that built up over centuries. Although these natural processes can no longer occur anywhere near the extent that they formerly did because of irrigation, the aquifers and soil resources still are still available and utilized today, although both are being depleted at a rate much faster than they are being replenished.

Figure 10

Climate has changed many times shifting and evolving throughout the history of earth. The Mediterranean region in California has at different points in the past been warmer, colder, more humid, and dryer than it is now. These changes have happened gradually over time, but recently much validation has been given by an overwhelming portion of the scientific community that a global warming trend that is occurring is happening at an accelerated rate and is likely being caused by pollutants being released into the air (atmosphere) from human activities. How much climate change will affect the climate that we are accustomed to here in central California is still unknown. However, now that an overview of the amazing weather patterns that define the Mediterranean climate has been covered, you have to admit, you can’t help but appreciate a little bit more how specific, unique, and complex our little corner of the world is.

Did anything you read in this blog create any questions you’d like to know more about? Is there anything that seemed inaccurate? What is your favorite part of the central Sierra Nevada region? Why don’t you comment and tell me?

*All images were obtained through www.creativecommons.org .

Julia Stephens
Environmental Associate

Half Dome is one of the most iconic images of Yosemite National Park and of the United States. It’s spectacular to view from the floor of Yosemite Valley and offers amazing views from the top of the dome as well. At 14 miles roundtrip and a few thousand feet of elevation gain (and then descent), it’s a challenging hike to reach the top, but not extreme. Needless to say, this hike is popular.

Last weekend, a few friends visiting from the east convinced my boyfriend and me to hike Half Dome. They planned it for September 27th, a Saturday, and while I expected crowds, I thought that it wouldn’t be nearly as crowded as during the height of summer. We started on the trail at 8AM with dozens of others that got off the shuttle bus with us and the race began. We started hiking quickly, passing several slower parties, but if we stopped to take off a layer, we were quickly passed by dozens more. When the trail bottlenecked, 10 or more folks would quickly file in behind the slower hikers. The patient would wait for the slow hiker to pull over, while the impatient would ask to pass.

For the first six miles of the hike it was like this, until we reached the top of the ridge with the view of the final climb ahead of us. Up until this point, we had been making pretty good time, hiking at this point for just under 4 hours, and hoping to make it back down well before dark to enjoy with some pizza and beer. We were naïve. Ahead was an impressive sight—lines of people like ants following the switchbacks up to the cables that assist the final steep push to reach the summit of Half Dome. Our pace was forced to a slow crawl, as we hiked for 15 feet, then stopped to wait for some descenders to pass on the narrow switchbacks. At the top of the hump just below the cables, you are almost at the peak—it’s just a final push to climb up the steep slab that’s protected by some sturdy cables to help your climb. At the base of the cables, we encountered a large swarm of people waiting at the base of the cables. Convinced on reaching the top, we got in the unmoving line. An hour later and 30 feet farther, we reached the base of the cables. Now it was only a few hundred feet to the top but we were at a dead stop.

There are two parallel cables that run up the steep slab to the top. If people climb on the outside of the cables and use one cable as the ascending line and one cable as the descending line, the pace would move smoothly and quickly. But people get scared with the exposure and steepness (understandably!) and instead, climb in between the two cables. When an ascender meets a descender head-on, one person has to step aside to the let the other pass, and the whole line halts. Thus, we were looking at another hour to climb a few hundred feet of cable. At this point, my boyfriend and I lost patience, and moved to the outside of the cables, quickly passing everyone on the inside. My east coast friends were a bit reluctant to leave the safety of the two cables however, and arrived at the top quite a bit later than we did.

After a quick snack, we began the descent. Again, the outside cable line moved quickly but the inside line was at a standstill, even at 3PM! There were several folks that were not going to make it down before dark. The rest of the descent flew by, and we made it back to the car just before dark, but hours after our estimated time of arrival. The pizza and beer tasted even better though.

Yosemite holds some fantastic treasures from the domes surrounding Tuolumne Meadows to El Capitan and Half Dome. But don’t expect to enjoy these sights in John Muir style solitude!

Have you experienced the crowds of any national park? Do you think there are better ways that the park staff could manage these crowds?