fivespot cabin

intermittent closure of Generals Highway this winter

Road construction continues in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park. I believe they are replacing a bridge at Halstead Meadow. For fivespot guests, that means the General Sherman tree and trails at Lodgepole will be inaccessible, but the General Grant tree, Hume Lake, Big Baldy, and Big Meadows trails are open and within a 30-minute drive from the cabin. Here's the latest from the Park website:

Generals Highway (Lodgepole to Grant Grove)
Closed on 1/2/2012: From Wuksachi Lodge to Montecito Resort (8 miles south of Hwy 180). 
UPDATE: As of Saturday, 1/7: Due to limited snowfall, the road between the parks will be open only on upcoming weekends and holidays from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. until measurable snowfall closes the road. After snowfall, the road is expected to be closed through April 1.

So, in brief, while there is no snow, Generals Highway is open on weekends and holidays. As of today (January 10) no snow/rain is expected for at least 7 days (this year's La Niña pattern is holding off any moisture). Hopefully that will change soon, and once it does, Generals Highway will be closed altogether until April 1.

Call the Park to get up-to-the-minute information: (559) 565-3341 (press 1, 1, 1) or (559) 335-2856.

new photo album and blog beautification

Pinehurst has finally had a normal wet spring, after 3 years of drought conditions. Garden flowers are blooming, but they haven't had a spectacular showing this year, since spring snows crushed them several weeks in a row. However, wildflowers continue to carpet the green hills with color all the way up to Pinehurst on Highway 180 and Dry Creek Road.

We've been busy taking pictures, especially of the fivespot flowers in front of the cabin. The new banner photo was taken by our friend Elena Keller, who is re-locating to the West Coast from Florida. She is helping us out with spring tasks - including improving the look of the blog with her photography. Enjoy!

above the fog

When it's not snowing, winter brings gorgeous, clear days, and sparkling nights to Pinehurst and the mountains above. From our 4000' perch above California, we look down on an ocean: it's Tule fog. Blanketing the San Joaquin Valley in the late nights, mornings, and sometimes all day in the winter, the fog looks like a vast sea from fivespot. Amazingly, there are islands too - the higher peaks of the Coast Ranges, as far as 140 miles from here.

You can glimpse this phenomenon from fivespot (a sunset view):

 

Bachrun and I (and other friends) often walk from fivespot to the Hogback - an infrequently-traveled county road with wonderful views. Here's what we saw on a partly-cloudy New Year's Day.

View to the southwest: the San Joaquin Valley and the Coast Ranges, with virga (rain that doesn't reach the ground) coming down.

Here are two views to the south of the Tehachapi Range. In the first, I zoomed in on the Tehachapis 150 miles away. In the second, it is as you would see it - no zoom, just a huge expanse of land from Hogback practically to L.A.

 

It wasn't the best day to get a good shot of the Sierras to the east. I will post more blog-worthy pictures of the Mineral King peaks and nearby Big Baldy, as seen from Hogback, soon. And learn more about California geography and weather from links I've posted on the sidebar.