Category Archives: Outdoors

Activities, Adventures, Offroading - General

CA 4WD Association’s Sierra Trek 2015 – August 6-9

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

California Four Wheel Drive Association, Inc. is holding their annual Sierra Trek this August. It’s a great adventure!

Sierra Trek registration closes July 24, so get head over to the website today!

From Cal4Wheel:

The 48th annual Sierra Trek is a Cal4Wheel event which is located in California’s beautiful Tahoe National Forest. This family oriented event is geared toward stock 4x4s on guided historic and slightly challenging tours, toward mildly modified vehicles on the Saturday Outer Limits run and off-road enthusiast on the extremely challenging Fordyce Trail.

Stock vehicles should consider signing up for the Wednesday/Thursday Overnight, the Saturday Historic Run and the Saturday Outer Limits Run.

Moderately modified vehicles will love the beauty and the challenge of the Bear Valley Loop on the Saturday Outer Limits Run.

We welcome the ATV/UTV community for a day run out of Meadow Lake on Saturday morning. Continue reading →

Offroading - General

Marine Corps announces Johnson Valley closure for military training

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

From the Bureau of Land Management:

The Marine Corps recently notified BLM of their plans to utilize the Johnson Valley Shared Use Area for military training from August 1-30, 2016, and of the associated temporary closure. BLM is working with the Marines to address issues associated with this military training/closure, and to keep the public informed.

BACKGROUND: On December 26, 2013 the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 (NDAA) was signed into law, authorizing the Marine Corps to occupy the Johnson Valley Shared Use Area (SUA) for two 30-day periods annually during which time the area would be closed to the public. See attached Johnson Valley Subregion map.

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Adventures, National Parks, News

Google’s Vertical Street View of El Capitan

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Google, not satisfied with street views that occasionally show very interesting images, has now set their sights on the skies above places like Yosemite National Park. Specifically, El Capitan.

From Google’s Official Blog:

Today we’re launching our first-ever vertical Street View collection, giving you the opportunity to climb 3,000 feet up the world’s most famous rock wall: Yosemite’s El Capitan. To bring you this new imagery, we partnered with legendary climbers Lynn Hill, Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell. Read more about the project from Tommy Caldwell, who completed the world’s hardest climb in Yosemite in January of 2015.

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Activities, Adventures, Conservation

Long Meadow Back Packing Trip – High Sierra Volunteer Trail Crew

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Back Packing trip, rock work.

Event Date: 07/19/2015 – 07/25/2015
Cost: FREE

This is not any easy trip, high altitude and 5-7 mile long hike into and out of base camp. You are encouraged to stay over Saturday night at the trail head to acclimate. Please provide you own food for Saturday night and Sunday breakfast. Food will be provided Sunday lunch thru Saturday lunch. Crew will hike in the morning and should come out to trail head Saturday afternoon the following Saturday. This event is located in the in the Golden Trout Wilderness. An experienced crew leaders will train volunteers in general trail maintenance techniques and safe usage of hand tools. We will be removing brush and trees, repairing water bars, and installing water diversion structures. This is a beautiful area high in the Sierra, at least 6,000-7,500 ft. The nature of the topography, the distance of the hike into the base camp usually 5-7 miles and the work performed will make this a strenuous trip. There is no charge for this event, week long back packing trips usually cost at least $5,000 with 15 people participating that equals $300 per person. Please consider making a donation online or bringing a donation to the event. More detailed information will be sent to you after you sign up. Continue reading →

Conservation

Big Meadows Base Camp – High Sierra Volunteer Trail Crew

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Family-friendly camping with multiple projects for people of all ages.

Event Date: 07/09/2015 – 07/12/2015
Event Type: Vital Trail Maintenance (VTM)
Trip Type: Car Camping Base
Cost: FREE

You are encouraged to stay over Thursday night to acclimate. Food will be provided Thursday night through Sunday lunch. Volunteers can work Friday, Saturday and Sunday, you do not have to be at the event for all three days. This event is family friendly, we will have volunteer work available for all ages. There are many attractions in the Sequoia National Park and Forest that you can easily visit before or after the event. Experienced crew leaders will train volunteers in general trail maintenance techniques and safe usage of hand tools. We will be removing brush and trees, repairing water bars, and installing water diversion structures on the Deer Meadow and Kanawyer Trails, along with The Rowell Meadow, Weaver Lake and Jennie Lake Trails within the Jennie Lakes Wilderness. A primitive solar shower setup will be provided. There is no charge for this event, base camp operations usually cost at least $3,000 with 30-50 people participating that equals $60 to $100 per person. Although we receive grant money for these trips it is often not enough to cover operating costs. Please consider making a tax deductible donation online or bringing a donation to the event. More detailed information will be sent to you after you sign up.
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