12 days and counting...
Heading to HF today to grab some tarp for them critters. Apparently, they figured out how to climb over the chicken fence.
12 days and counting...
Heading to HF today to grab some tarp for them critters. Apparently, they figured out how to climb over the chicken fence.
"Sex is like maths, add the bed, subtract the clothes, divide the whoo hoo and hope you don't multiply." - Leather jacket guy
OK I have a tip for those going... Before reaching the top, stop and open the filler cap to relieve the atmospheric pressure that builds up in your gas tank. Or. Don't top off the tank just before heading up (leave a little room for air in the tank). I once had to get a tow truck up there to assist when my carburetor flooded ('84 Honda Accord 4-cylinder).
Over the next few years living in Camp Nelson with that car, the same thing would happen to me when I stopped to pick up my mail... when I had filled up and not opened the gas filler cap. It was a combination of going from sea level to 5,000 feet very quickly, at a steep grade, and then stopping the engine.
The built-up pressure apparently forced gasoline through the jets of the carburetor (or through the charcoal vapor recovery canister - I never really figured out which)... But the carburetor would flood, cylinder walls would get wet with gasoline and wash the oil out of the rings. The engine would "seize" when I tried to crank it over, and I'd have to rock the car back and forth in gear to get the engine to turn over.
After I learned the trick to "not quite fill up" I never had that problem again.
The reason I think it's relevant is that there are not many trips like the road to Mineral King, where you go from sea level to alpine region in such a short time. (Camp Nelson from Porterville is like that too.)
Looking forward to this! Bring warm clothes. It's supposed to be quite cold at night!
Any more word on the "critter" issues?
I've heard last week there were lots of thunderstorms...
Mineral King valley should be pretty safe. Just have a raincoat and sweater in your pack, and stay away from the middle of the meadow if lighting seems imminent
there. Up on the ridges and passes is a completely different subject. But those are several thousand feet higher. Generally you want to get of out Dodge before
noon. But once the sky starts blackening, look around. Bare prows on slopes with burn marks on the junipers etc is a pretty good indication of a frequent strike zone. The nice thing about Mineral King is that it offers plenty of photographic opportunities without taking chances. That certainly doesn't mean the surrounding
high country isn't tempting. It's magnificent. But monsoonal weather dictates common-sense planning.
Well, it's been a bit since I last posted on this thread. I have to say that I had a great time up in Sequoia. The camping was great and the photo ops were many. I didn't take as many images as I had hoped but being up in the mountains with great company was more my goal. I shared with the group that went, even if I hadn't taken a single image, to me the trip was a success because of the folks who came. Each day and evening, there was great conversations about all different subjects. Hopefully we can do something like this again.
For those who did go, remember when I took off very early Saturday morning. I hiked out on one of the trails with my "monster" box. Below is the image I was able to come away with. Enjoy!
R/
Dave
Dave, nice. Wish June and I could have been there.
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