Category Archives: National Forests

National Forests

Portrait of a Giant Sequoia… #NGM

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Imagine if you will, taking a picture of a tree.  Get every branch from the base to the tip in the picture.

Sounds easy, right?

Now imagine that the tree is 3,200 years old, 247 feet tall, has two billion needles and is continuing to grow even as you look at it.  All of a sudden, that little iPhone you’ve got in your pocket just isn’t going to cut it.

The Giant Sequoias only grow in Northern California, and they only grow in one tiny little area: the western slope of the Sierra Nevada.  One of the oldest and largest trees growing there is the President.  It’s 247 feet tall, sports a 27 foot diameter trunk (which is svelte compared to two of other local trees), and has the largest crown of any of the Giant Sequoias in the grove.

So how hard can it be to take a picture of a tree?  It’s not like it’s going to wander off or anything, right?  Well, this particular tree is so massive that it’s never been photographed in it’s entirety.  Ever.

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Activities, Adventures, National Forests, National Parks

Wells Fargo Foundation funds NatureBridge’s Yosemite Summer Field Research Course

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The Wells Fargo Scholars program, generously funded by a grant from the Northern and Central California Region of the Wells Fargo Foundation, gives students from Kings, Fresno, Tulare, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus counties an opportunity to attend NatureBridge’s Summer Field Research Course in Yosemite National Park.

Students have the chance to receive a full or partial scholarship based on the strength of their application, recommendations from supportive educators and community leaders, and the individual’s financial need.

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National Forests, National Parks

National Park Service announces public engagement campaign as centerpiece of 2016 centennial

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

I wrote about this yesterday, but there’s a press release about the shiny new logos for the National Park Service and National Park Foundation, so I thought I’d put the press release up here for you as well:

National Park Service and National Park Foundation Unveil Expanded Graphic Identity

The National Park Service today announced that the centerpiece of its 2016 Centennial will be a broad public engagement campaign to reintroduce the national parks and the work of the National Park Service to a new generation of Americans, inviting them to visit and get involved. The two-year effort will begin in 2015 and run throughout the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary year in 2016. Plans for the campaign, entitled “Find Your Park,” are underway in collaboration with the National Park Foundation, the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service.

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Day Hikes, Goals, National Forests, National Parks, State Parks

Revised Goal: SoCal Six Pack of Peaks

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Since I didn’t win the Mount Whitney Lottery this year, I’ve opted for a different goal.  This goal is actually a series of goals, and will – in theory – help me to train better to get my fat ass into shape to conquer the formidable peak that Mount Whitney is.

There is a series of day hikes known as the SoCal Six Pack of Peaks.

The hikes are all day hikes, so – in theory – I should be able to drive out to the trailhead, throw on my Keens, grab my trekking poles, toss on my CamelBak, and go for a walk. In practice, these are all all-day hikes ranging in distance from 10.4 miles to 17.3 miles. Some have snow that sticks around ’til June, others are over exposed areas that you just don’t want to hike on during the hot summer months without bringing a water sherpa along with you.

I’ve done a bit of research, and think I can put the hikes in an order that will allow me to hike from ‘easiest’ (relatively speaking) to ‘hardest.’  None of the hikes is particularly easy (I’ve already done some of them; I’ve hiked San Jacinto several times, for example, which is supposed to be the most strenuous of the hikes – although only once up Marion Trail; I took the tram the rest of the time).

So. In order, here are the heavy-duty hikes I’m going to accomplish this year:

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National Forests, National Parks

Redwood Poaching causes road closures at night

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

People are fucktards.  It’s that simple.  For their thirty pieces of silver, people are willing to destroy trees that have been around since before this country was a country.

From the National Park Service:

Newton B. Drury Parkway will be closed on a nightly basis starting Saturday, March 1, 2014. The parkway will be closed each day at sunset and reopened at sunrise. The hours of closure will be variable as the time of sunset and sunrise changes. Closure hours may also be impacted if staff is responding to other emergencies. Patrols will also be increased during this time to ensure the protection of our natural resources.

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