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Thread: Where/when to go in Yosemite in February?

  1. #21

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    Re: Where/when to go in Yosemite in February?

    I put a tarp over the hay this morning. The cows were still standing, none of them were "down" but the hogs had bedded down in thier whatchamacallits.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  2. #22

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    Re: Where/when to go in Yosemite in February?

    I just stepped outside. The wind is coming from the South and the clouds look ready to cry
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  3. #23
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: Where/when to go in Yosemite in February?

    This afternoon, right before the storm, would have been an ideal time to drive up, set-up your tent in Camp 4 (if you're camping) on dry ground and put the chains on. The valley is super photogenic immediately after a major storm blows through and you will be ready to take advantage of it. So if you can, try to time your visit in February correspondingly. There will be snow on the ground in Camp 4 by then but, hey, on one trip while digging down about a foot to clear the tent site I struck gold! Well, not really gold but a $20 bill a previous occupier dropped and the snow covered.

    I love stormy weather, always have. With an impending hurricane approaching the City and its inhabitants took on a different “outlook” on life that was positively refreshing. The same thing happened in San Francisco during the Loma Prieta earthquake. Back home I would go out to Lake Pontchartrain to “watch” the storm roll in. It was safe on the lake front since a trash can lid or whatnot would have to be blown over open water from Slidell before it could strike you. Slidell is the nearest land and its 27 miles away! Just sitting there feeling the full force of the storm as it grew in intensity is an experience you'll never forget.

    Thomas

  4. #24
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Where/when to go in Yosemite in February?

    It's a bit questionable how much snow if any will reach the Valley floor during this
    particular storm episode. But there's likely to be some up on the rim and a good
    dusting on the Clark Range etc. I too love storms in the mtns; but it can be a bit
    frustrating if one get constantly interrupted to dry photo gear off, or if it's just too
    wet and windy to shoot at all. I deliberately spent a night in 100+mph winds atop the summit of an 11000 ft Sierra peak one Memorial Day storm, wedging myself
    inside a big crack in a boulder and holding onto the walls of my tent all nite long.
    The reward the next morning when it was calm at dawn was the sight of massive
    8 ft long icicles running straight out horizontal from the cliff face. And yes, I did have a view camera along.

  5. #25
    Vaughn's Avatar
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    Re: Where/when to go in Yosemite in February?

    The 60+ MPH windstorms thru the redwoods are interesting, too. It was interesting to hear things falling from 200 to 300 feet above me. I had a view camera with me (just a day hike), but never got it out of its case!

    My Sierra backcountry storms have just been limited to thunderstorms -- Dusy Basin was always dependable for some good ones.

    Vaughn

  6. #26

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    Re: Where/when to go in Yosemite in February?

    Its been sprinkling in Fresno for most of the evening. No heavy rains...yet.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  7. #27
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Where/when to go in Yosemite in February?

    Vaughn - I haven't been to Dusy for awhile. It's gotten a bit too popular. But the last
    time I was there was in an Autumn storm. The sound of lightening richoceting off those
    vertical walls of the Palisades is always memorable. Then it cleared and a nearby coyote pack had their chorus howling echo again and again off those walls. Their
    version of yodeling. About two in the morning a couple of guys tripped over my tent lines. They were totally weirded out, having spent the nite tied to a tiny ledge up on
    appropriately named Thunderbolt Peak. Cheap thrills, I guess.

  8. #28
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: Where/when to go in Yosemite in February?

    The first Tuolumne Meadows Winter Report of the season is now posted:
    http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisi..._307668=470246
    and guess what? We have new winter rangers: Kathy and Jeff have been replaced by Laura and Rob! I enjoyed reading their posts for years and Jeff was a nice guy to meet. I can only hope that that the new are as good as the old.

    Note this this is the latest closing of Tioga Road since records were kept in 1933 and the dryest winter on record so far.

    Thomas

  9. #29
    Vaughn's Avatar
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    Re: Where/when to go in Yosemite in February?

    Quote Originally Posted by Drew Wiley View Post
    Vaughn - I haven't been to Dusy for awhile. It's gotten a bit too popular...
    My last time was about 1974 while on a trans-Sierra hike (Florence to South Lakes). The thunder rolled around the basin until in got inside one's head. My years as a wilderness ranger in the Yolla Bollys kept me out of the Sierras since then....that and the draw of our other local mountains (Trinities, Marbles, Russians, King Range, etc).

  10. #30
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Where/when to go in Yosemite in February?

    I grew up with the gal that runs the Florence ferry, store, and Muir Trail Ranch up the
    river, and my brother grew up with her husband. She and her sister would spend
    entire summers in the backcountry on horseback and live off fishing. Their winter
    ranch was just over the hill from our place - a minor hike with a 2500 ft 6o-degree grade with a dead vertical 300 ft cliff at the top. I had a secret ledge. The summit
    has some of the most incredible wildflower shows anywhere in March in the vernal
    pools. I've hauled my 8x10 up there quite a few times. Good exercise. But I'd like to
    visit those North Coast mtns sometime too.

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