Each day I poke around the internet for items of interest to John Muir Trail hikers, all in hopes of finding ideas for blog posts. Often I find tidbits that are deserving of mention, but do not warrant an entire article. Today, and from time to time in the future, I’ll toss them together, mix in some comments, and present it for your consideration.
(By the way, these odds and ends will not necessarily be about the trail itself, but if you’re interested in the trail, it’s likely you find these interesting as well.)
Here we go.
~ “Lorraine Miller, 89, said she was driving to her novels class, part of a college emeritus program for seniors, when she learned …” that a full-grown mountain lion was prowling the courtyard of the building in which she was taking her course. Now, you’re probably thinking that that sort of thing might be common in Boulder, Colorado or perhaps at the University of California in San Luis Obispo. This was in Santa Monica, a city with miles of urban sprawl to its east and miles of Pacific Ocean to its west. Sadly, the event did not end well (at least for the cat; Ms. Miller, presumably, eventually made it to her novels class).
~ In the spring of 2010, my step-daughter, Malia, and I set off for Yosemite National Park to climb Half Dome. It was to be one-half confidence builder and one-half an attempt to instill a love of hiking. Despite all the best predictions regarding when the Half Dome cables would be installed, they did NOT make it up in time. We decided to go to the top of Yosemite Falls instead, which is just as strenuous (if not quite as scary). The confidence boost took – success! The love of hiking? Not so much. Anyway, the Half Dome cables will be up today. Hope you have a permit!
~ In “Planning Your Thru-Hike of the John Muir Trail” I touch, briefly, on Leave No Trace principles. Philip Werner of the Section Hiker blog has a pretty good article that drills down a bit beyond “do-this-don’t-do-that” approach. Take a look at the comments as well; there’s some good stuff there.
~ I’m from Hawaii, so I think everyone should come here on vacation and spend as much as possible. (That might help keep our atrocious taxes from going even higher!) That said, if you’re looking for an inexpensive family vacation, look no further than the Sierra Nevada!
~ Do the climbs to the eight major passes on the John Muir Trail seem to be getting harder every year? Do you think it’s because you’re getting older? Not true! They’re getting higher!
Good hiking, Ray
Fun post. Thanks for sharing.