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Half Dome cables update 2/17/2012

The webinar summary by NPS from last week is not completed yet, but there were over 60 people on-line. They will be answering the remaining questions in writing and sending a complete report to all registered participants as well as posting the webinar Q and A on the Half Dome EA page. I’ll provide it here.

The head ranger managing the cables is the Wilderness Manager, Ranger Ed Dunlavey.

Ed’s a great guy and has been a big help in interpreting the new procedure. He was on the webinar and will be contributing to the Q&A. Only 3 months until the first group can go up in 2012. Time to get serious about getting back in shape if you gorged on Oreos all winter.

Unrelated thought worth quoting: “Hooray I awake from yesterday; alive but the war is here to stay. So my love, Catherina and me decide to take our last walk, through the noise to the sea. Not to die but to be re-born. Away from a life so battered and torn.” – 1983 (A Merman I Should Turn To Be) – Jimi Hendrix 

*MrHalfDome™ – Rick Deutsch – www.HikeHalfDome.com

One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half …

Cables lottery article

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2012/01/25/2205883/half-dome-hikers-need-to-win-permit.html

JOSHUA EMERSON SMITH is the reporter. I’ve talked with him and he is picking up the Half Dome cables as a focus. This is good. Other papers are picking up his article. Also look for an AP article coming out by Monday on the cables, 2012 process and the Stewardship Plan.

Unrelated thought worth quoting: “Who wants yesterday’s papers? Who wants yesterday’s girl? Who wants yesterday’s papers? Nobody in the world.” - Rolling Stones

*MrHalfDome™ – Rick Deutsch – www.HikeHalfDome.com

One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome…

Half Dome bungee jump

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VAupx-9jRU

And don’t throw Frisbees off it either.

Unrelated thought worth quoting: “I fought the law and the law won.” – Bobby Fuller Four  and “It ain’t me babe.” – Sonny & Cher 

*MrHalfDome™ – Rick Deutsch – www.HikeHalfDome.com

One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome…

Snowback is grim

The California Department of Water Resources snowpack survey showed the average Sierra mountains are at 19 percent of average for this date. Good time to drive over to Tioga Pass. After the morning chill it should be decent hiking. No precip sighted for many moons. Gosh, Global Warming? Say it isn’t so!

Does this remind you of the splotch on the face of Half Dome from yesterday? This was NOT taken at Yosemite. BASE jumping is not permitted. But since when did rules stop anyone? The valley walls are only 3,000 ft up – not a whole like to air to sail down. Seems most of this “sport” is done in Scandinavia where laws are a lot looser.

I’ll be out for 2 weeks – getting a free cruise to Caribb/Canal by giving talks. Entries may be spotty as Internet is $$$$. If I hear anything about the cables permits I’ll post it.

Unrelated thought worth quoting: “If you ever plan to motor west, travel my way, take the highway that is best. Get your kicks on route 66.” – Nat King Cole 

*MrHalfDome™ – Rick Deutsch – www.HikeHalfDome.com

One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome

 …

Last Half Dome blog for 2011

Hello America!

Here I sit waiting for the ball to drop. A really silly thing to do – watching what happened 3 hours ago in New York City.  I actually went to Times Square when I was in college at the U. of Maryland. (Last Century) 3 of us had no dates (a common occurrence) and we drove the 3+ hours with no plans. We got on the subway and headed north. I knew I’d get mugged, so I hid my money in my socks.

We arrived at the Sq at about 10:30 pm and no one was there, so we found a bar and waited. It was not until about 11:20 that the place filled up – people came out of the cracks in the pavement.  At midnight we all looked for ladies to kiss. By 12:30 the place was empty. Really. A LOT difference today.

So what did we do? No room, so we started to walk back heading to eventually get our car at the Staten Island Ferry and head home. But about 6 blocks later we passed a hotel and heard college kids yelling. We counted what room it might be and headed up. A real …

Electrolytes

Since we’re talking about water – let’s discuss what you should put in your water. It takes about four to six hours for your body to deplete its reserves of minerals and electrolytes, so this is one hike for which you should ingest some sort of energy product. Your body needs things like sodium, calcium, potassium, chlorine and magnesium to keep the furnace burning. You get all these from your normal diet, but on an extended endurance event, you may use up your stores. Dehydration will ruin your day. You may “hit the wall,” have poor judgment and be unable to continue the hike.  A good tasting fluid will encourage you to drink more often. Dehydration impairs human performance whenever your body fluid level falls below 98% of normal.

The main cause of dehydration is fluid loss through sweating. Sweating is a good process, since it releases heat generated by working muscles to the air. It is the body’s cooling mechanism.  It’s been known for decades that the performance of athletes is hampered by a loss of fluids, electrolytes and carbohydrates. Dehydration strains the cardiovascular system by reducing blood volume. For every liter of fluid lost during prolonged exercise, body …

Mechanical water treatment

Continuing the focus on water, a really good quality mechanical water treatment pump makes filtering easy, and they are not very expensive. The three types of mechanical devices to treat water, their effectiveness and Micron rating are:

1. Filter – Removes Giardia, large protozoa and some bacteria. (1.0 – 4.0 micron)
2. Microfilter – Removes microorganisms, including protozoa & bacteria. (.3 – 1.0 micron)
3. Purifier – Removes microorganisms, including viruses. (< .018 micron)

Read the box carefully. The nomenclature can be confusing. The street name for these devices is “water filter.” However, as you can see above, the technical name implies distinct capabilities. Filters can remove bacteria and protozoan cysts. Purifiers can do this and remove viruses. In most American and western Europe water sources, viruses are not present. The US EPA requires that a device labeled as a “purifier” remove viruses (with a rigorous EPA documentation proceedure). Be sure to read the literature to make sure if Giardia, Cryptosporidium and other microscopic pathogens (disease-causing agents) will be removed. Giardia will be your biggest concern at Yosemite. A 0.3-micron pore size or less is regarded as the optimum. The sales staff at your outfitter can help you sort this out. There are many …

Chemical water treatment

Following up to the last post about the type of pathogens we can run into when getting water “au natural,” today we’ll cover one common way to remove the Blue meanies from your water.

Since World War I we have used iodine to treat water. The iodine kills many, but not all, of the most common pathogens present in natural fresh water sources A major drawback at Yosemite is that iodine is not effective against Cryptosporidium. It does have medium effectiveness on Giardia and a high effectiveness on bacteria and viruses. Iodine can be extremely dangerous if used in incorrect quantities, if used over an extended period of time (more than a few weeks) or if the hiker is pregnant or has a thyroid disease. This could lead to serious hyperthyroidism. Iodine based tablets only have a usable open bottle life of 3 months. The CDC recommends against using iodine as your main water purification/treatment method on a multi-week long distance backpacking trip. In fact, the European Union has banned the sale of iodine water purification drops or tablets.

That aside, the way iodine or other chemical products work is to place a tablet into the water then wait …

Hydrate or die

Water is the most important factor on a Half Dome hike. You do not want to skimp on drinking. Dehydration will sap your energy and cause you to think irrationally. It can also have severe medical consequences. You will see unprepared hikers with one or two 12-ounce bottles of water. When I ask why, they reply “I don’t drink much.” Why? Your choices are two: (1) bring all the water you’ll need or (2) treat the water along the trail.

With alternative (1), you’ll need to haul up a LOT of water. How much should you bring? I weigh about two hundred pounds, and I drink seven quarts all day.

I don’t like alternative (1), because water is heavy—about two pounds per quart. Why carry this extra weight for all those miles? And how do you carry it? In a backpack, this weight would really cut into your shoulders, and your back will be soaked with sweat. Water weighs 2 pounds per quart. The bladder-type backpack systems are popular, but I don’t like them because you’ll have a lot of weight on your back. You are limited as to how much water you can carry. The biggest bladder I’ve seen …

Water Filtration

Did you get that special gift for Christmas? The pony? The BB gun? The train set? How about a water filter?

The days of dipping your canteen into the closest stream for a refreshing drink are pretty much gone in today’s world. The most common health risk on hiking trips is infection by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and protozoa. Contaminated water can cause serious illness or even death. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that nearly 90 percent of the world’s fresh water is contaminated. Giadiasis is a concern in Yosemite. It is caused through infection of the intestine by the single-celled parasite, Giardia lamblia. Another harmful parasite called Cryptosporidium may also be in the water.

If ingested, these parasites live and reproduce in human or animal intestines. Once in the intestines, they attach to the inside of the intestinal wall, where they can disrupt the normal function of the intestines and compete for nutrients. They can survive for a long time in soil or water until they are injested by another host. Giardia is spread by contact with the fecal matter of deer, rodents, bears, birds and people. The risk is that you may end up with a …