Giant sequoias and snow, a crazy year
‘Snow play’ area at Sequoia may open by Memorial Day
Volume 1, Number 43 - Monday, April 3, 2023
Now twice a week — Monday and Thursday!
Perspective
YOU KNOW IT’S A CRAZY YEAR when you read that the snow play area at Sequoia National Park is still closed but may be open by Memorial Day!
It’s fair to note that there have been plenty of places to play in the snow in the Sierra Nevada this year, but the storms that brought epic snow to the mountains have also damaged roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
People who live in mountain communities are still struggling, as are many small businesses that rely on visitors. Still, efforts continue to reopen national parks and the lower elevation visitor areas on national forests.
Meanwhile, people in other areas of California are looking toward the mountains with hopes of vacation excursions — also because of the threat the massive snowpack brings, flooding.
I’ve shared a recent photo of the General Grant Tree here (courtesy of the National Park Service). Relatively few people actually get to see giant sequoia trees in the snow, and I can tell you it is an exceptional experience.
But for now, I’m thankful that the Big Trees are getting a rest and that snowpack is melting into the ground that nourishes their roots.
The rest of the story of this epic year remains to be seen. I’m hoping for the best — and will be back on Thursday to share more.
Wildfire, water & weather update
After a bit of warmer weather, we’re having a “cooling trend” in Central California this week. But overall, temperatures have been rising, and the snow is melting. The foothills of the Sierra Nevada are abloom with wildflowers; at least for now, the grass is green. The Fresno Bee has a story and photos HERE.
The Chronicle reports at this GIFT LINK that areas in the northern part of the state may receive some light rain in the coming week.
The best Sierra Nevada weather forecasts can be found at NWS Hanford, HERE, and NWS Sacramento, HERE.
Drought update: Last Thursday’s California drought map is here. No severe drought, not even in Death Valley!
Wildfire update: I noticed this in the Predictive Services report HERE — “A pattern change is likely to transpire through the rest of spring into early summer, with near to below normal precipitation forecast for the West.” I had to laugh because a “pattern change” is normal for California. Still, fortunately, the report shows that the wildfire potential in the Sierra Nevada through July is below normal.
Here’s an image Yosemite National Park shared on its Facebook page on April 13:
From the Yosemite National Park Facebook post:
“The April 1 snow surveys in the Merced and Tuolumne River basis showed snowpack (based on water content) was a little over 240 percent of average, which is a record. There are an estimated 139 billion gallons of water in the form of snow in the watershed that feeds Yosemite Valley.
“This will make for spectacular waterfalls... maybe too spectacular. There may be some periods between late April and early July when Yosemite Valley is inaccessible due to flooding. River-related recreation, like rafting, swimming, and picnicking in picnic areas along the river, is likely to be unavailable until sometime in July even when Yosemite Valley is open.
“At the same time, Tioga, Glacier Point, and Mariposa Grove Roads will open much later than usual. So, if you're planning to visit during this time, be prepared to be flexible and arrive early to avoid traffic and full parking lots.”
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Giant sequoias in the news
• Not about giant sequoias, but good news for small businesses in some gateway communities, massive runoff from snowmelt promises an epic whitewater season. The LA Times has the story HERE. And an excerpt:
California is on the brink of a whitewater rafting season for the ages.
As the record Sierra snowpack begins to melt, it is sending immense volumes of water cascading through some of the most storied and beautiful rafting rivers in the world: the Kern in the southern Sierra, the Tuolumne, which flows out of Yosemite National Park, and the American flowing out of the mountains near Lake Tahoe.
This “big melt” could wreak havoc on the towns and farms that line the rivers and irrigation channels interlacing the Central Valley. But for whitewater rafting guides, whose small, often family-owned businesses have struggled to stay afloat through years of punishing drought, the deluge is a godsend.
“We’re going to have excellent flows and a really long season,” said Evan Moore, 27, who started kayaking when he was 4 years old. Now he manages Sierra South Mountain Sports in Kernville, a rafting company his dad started in 1985.
Each year, the Moores hope to stay open from early April through Labor Day, but California’s prolonged drought made that all but impossible. Last year, they had to close for the season in mid-August. In 2021, they shut down July 10. And the year before that, the pandemic shut them down for much of the season.
This year, they’re hoping to stay open through Halloween. So they’re hiring guides, drivers and clerks. All told, the staff could number about a hundred.
• Among reports of damage to infrastructure in the Sierra Nevada from epic storms this year is THIS from YourCentralValley.com about the 85-year-old Dinkey Creek bridge that is featured on the National Register of Historic Places and part of Camp Fresno, the city of Fresno’s camp near Shaver Lake on Sierra National Forest. The wooden bridge was originally a highway bridge to carry McKinley Grove Road over Dinkey Creek was closed to vehicles in 1965 and has been a footbridge since then.
• Calaveras Big Trees State Park will celebrate Earth Day in collaboration with Prairie Creek Redwoods and Mount Tamalpais state parks with events that can also be accessed remotely. More information is online HERE.
Historic photo of the week
A car motors along Generals Highway in Sequoia National Park in this 1937 photo. — Unknown photographer, National Park Service.
Thanks for reading!