Weekend in Paradise

It was a promising weekend. Two days and two nights camping in Yosemite, with a potential for snow in the valley. My friend and I both have new tents, so here was a chance to test them out, and test our mettle a bit. It was probably going to be freezing or below on both nights.

Sunday Skiing. 6 miles total, out to the Bridalveil Campgrond on Glacier Point Road for about 6 miles total. In the afternoon it snowed enough to get us a little wet and slow down our skis.

Monday we went for a hike out to the Snow Creek trailhead and back from HappyIsles, for what I think is about a 6 mile trip. It rained continously on Monday, including all the time of the hike and all the time spent pack and all the time traveling home.

Drying out my gear in the living room. I burned a crapload of calories this weekend, and I am still hungry.

King's Canyon, Nevada

I was up in Reno and Carson City for a few days connecting with old and new friends. There was about an inch of snow overnight the first night.

Met up with Jeff Moser of Bike Carson and his son and we went for a short hike in King's Canyon. It was cool to meet him and see his bike collection (I counted 26). Very fun. After the hike we had pho ... which I couldn't really eat because of the waffles.













Jeff, son and 3 dogs.

Pool Shoreline
I used photostich to put this together.

Wild Crazy Snow -- Yosemite Valley -- Day 4

The Buried Table


My Truck, Also Buried


Well, by Tuesday, it has been snowing for three days. The people left in the valley are talking of cabin fever, and I am starting to feel a general dampness creeping into everything. I went down to the Village Store and out to the Mountain Store for some gloves and a more convenient hat. Later, I would abandon photography altogether in favor of a hot shower compliments of the Curry Co. I walked back to camp from the Village after lunch and managed to find a few shots. It was getting harder to stay warm, keep my camera from getting fogged up, and stay focused on photos.


Efforts to Save the Black Oak


Shot from the Meadow


South Face of the Valley Wall

I've Been to the Desert ...

It snowed, which was nice.

WFR Classroom

Cyclist Riding in Snowy Flagstaff

A Fork in the Trail

... I took the road less traveled. That's pretty cliché. Cliché is a French word that means snapshot. The French maybe don't quite have it right. What makes a cliché is that the image is effective, so it is subject to a bunch of agreeable use. It's widely understood and oft used, and we all know what it means.

Yawn. Now that I am free, I am going to run out to Arizona, for a few days. I'll spend the New Year Holiday in the Superstitions with the Happy Hiker Guy, and our friend Dale. We are going to Reavis Ranch for two days and I'll be in the Phoenix Metro for a few days. currently temps in Mesa are about like the are here, but promising to drop0 to freezing over the next few days. It will be cold at night in the superstitions at 3-4000 feet.

After a few days in Phoenix (looking for a job.) I'll spend about 10 days in Flagstaff, where it's snowing and the temps are ranging from 4 degrees F. to 25 degrees over the next couple of days. I am taking my bikes and gear and plan to try to ride a bit around Flagstaff while I am there. So I developed a little checklist for my gear for riding in winter with snow. Since I'll be a rodie in Mesa and a Snow Biker in Flagstaff, I'll have 2 bikes. The Trek mountain bike and the Marin San Marino.

• Spare platform pedals (so I can wear my boots).
• Gloves (2 pair)
• Cycling shoes (2 pair)
• neoprene booties
• rain pants
• long underwear (capilene or merino wool)
• Wool shirt
• Scarf
• Jacket
• Raincoat
• Socks
• helmet
• balaclava
• Pump
• Toolkit
• Spare tires
• Water bottle
• patch kit
• tights
• bike bag

I'll be getting ready.

Hello and Greetings

Today was spent preparing for a trip to Bishop CA, securing hotel, looking for sites to shoot and re-connecting with contacts in the area. I am eagerly awaiting the return of my Canon from the shop, as it seems the sensor is dirty from the last trip. This week has been a mixture of taxes and cleanup from my recent trip to Zion Canyon and Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in Southern Utah. After 5 or 6 days of snow, rain and mixed snow and rain, I bailed out at the suggesting of the park gatekeeper to head for Death Valley to see the wildflowers.



Photograph Copyright Shawn Kielty 2005, all rights reserved.


Canon 20D with EFS 17-85mm Zoom. It was wet under these falls and messy but the camera performed admirably. Notice the drops of water falling everywhere in front of the camera.



Photograph Copyright Shawn Kielty 2005, all rights reserved.


Canon 20D with EFS 17-85 Zoom.