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Thread: PCH in summer? (LA - SF)

  1. #21

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    PCH in summer? (LA - SF)

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2822705/

    https://baynature.org/article/fog-an...ying-the-mist/
    The last link references the first

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  2. #22
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: PCH in summer? (LA - SF)

    Thanks. But that is all pretty generic. Coastal fog is largely marine and seasonally related, and not necessarily affected by drought except in the manner that potential affects the thermals. And how it gets classified or potentially measured the last few years in certain areas could be atypical simply because some of these new mega fires introduce a kind of ash that is lighter, and goes higher and further than natural fires, and temporarily creates a strange hybrid atmosphere here on the coast. Thankfully not so far this year, at least this far north.

    Inland tule fog has a very different cycle. It IS dependent on winter rains. Much of the Central Valley was once vast river networks and marshlands. It rises on clear days when the ground is wet in Winter and can be like a thick gloomy blanket over 1500 feet deep. From either our coastal ridges here, or looking the opposite direction from the Sierras, it can resemble a vast inland sea of white from above. Not soft lovely fog like here on the coast, but oppressive stuff very dangerous to drive through during certain hours. I knew that all too well, for over forty years needing to carefully time my weekend commutes from here on the coast to my place in the mountains. It gets particularly bad not only along extant riverbeds, but near big pollution sources, which vent at night so the public isn't so aware of that. I'd always return via long detours through the foothills and Mother Lode country, bagging 8X10 shots en route, until the fog broke later in the day, and only then I'd cross the Valley. Roman Loranc formerly lived in the Valley and would brave the fog to get his well-known shots of old oaks and so forth in the damp preserves and duck refuges. Risky business; lots of deadly pileups on the roads and freeways under those conditions.

    Since a lot of these reports are selectively geared around the ecological condition or habitat quality of a handful of specifically monitored areas, it's hard to make generalized statements. Drought impact per se is blatant inland this year. I've never seen the San Joaquin Valley so dry in my entire life. The southern Sierra isn't hit quite as hard, but is down about 40% average. Along the coastal margin, like Pt Reyes, the streams are still flowing, and the cloud forest is still as drippy and drizzly as ever for this time of year, and the ridgetop zone per se even escaped last year's fire over there due to localized dampness. But rainwater for farming and residential use, yikes - the reservoirs are virtually mud puddles at this point! The slightly damp bathtub rings left around Nicasio Reservoir in particular turned into fascinating thin colorful line patterns of various wildflowers and grasses, and I carefully timed my color shots to coincide with the progressive shrinkage of the lake.

  3. #23
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: PCH in summer? (LA - SF)

    Just an afterthought. The Coast Guard would keep regular fog statistics, though their interest would obviously be in relation to offshore safety rather than what is transpiring over land. And among their training facilities near here, the more academically and research oriented academy in Vallejo is apparently doing a certain amount of long-term climate-related monitoring of ocean levels and its effects. Long-term impact on shorelines and ports is integral to that.

  4. #24
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: PCH in summer? (LA - SF)

    Is PCH back open after the mudslide last winter?
    Tin Can

  5. #25
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: PCH in summer? (LA - SF)

    It's been at least three weeks, maybe a month, since the slide was fully repaired. There has a been a brief subsequent highway closure due to a nearby forest fire. That's over too; but one should always check official road conditons in advance. Hwy one in several sections, and especially just south of Big Sur, has a long history of problems. An enormous amount of reinforcement of potential slides and replacement of suspect bridges is currently going on all over the coast here further north too. Our worst section, near the appropriately named "Slide Ranch" just north of Muir Beach, was redone two years ago.

  6. #26
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: PCH in summer? (LA - SF)

    Good

    it is a great drive
    Tin Can

  7. #27

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    Re: PCH in summer? (LA - SF)

    Great advice so far! Made it to Santa Cruz today.

    San Francisco was great, although after 3 hours of waiting to capture the golden gate at or after sunrise (was there at 6:30 this morning) I finally gave up. The fog concealed everything.

    It looks like Big Basin Redwood park is closed and burned almost entirely last year. Any other stands of redwoods in the area we could check out that are open?

    Also, I thought there was a gallery somewhere here or in Monterey/Carmel that has a bunch of Ansel Adams work, but haven’t been able to figure out what it’s called or where exactly it is.

    Can anyone tell me?

    Thanks!

  8. #28

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    Re: PCH in summer? (LA - SF)

    Off the top of my head, there are:

    Photography West Gallery
    Weston Gallery
    Center for Photographic Arts.

    I was in Carmel about a month ago, all were closed, but would open "by appointment".

  9. #29

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    Re: PCH in summer? (LA - SF)

    Quote Originally Posted by Dugan View Post
    Off the top of my head, there are:

    Photography West Gallery
    Weston Gallery
    Center for Photographic Arts.

    I was in Carmel about a month ago, all were closed, but would open "by appointment".
    I was able to walk into the Weston gallery without an appointment in early July. There just happened to be someone there.


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  10. #30
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: PCH in summer? (LA - SF)

    Ha! If you want golden sunrises and sunsets at the "Golden" Gate, you need to wait three more months, not three hours! But last year, you would have just gotten smoke instead of fog later in the year. Summer is heavy fog season. That's what I love about this area, natural air conditioning and natural soft box lighting.

    There are some redwoods in the Big Sur area south of Carmel; but there's been a lot of fires there too. I think the trails in Julia Pfeiffer State Park opened back up. That's a lovely spot for trees upstream, and for the beach and its waterfall downstream; but ask locally because some fire cleanup might still be involved.

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