Monterey, Pacific Grove, Point Lobos And 17 Mile Drive

Dale Matson

Click On Photos To Enlarge

We were unable drive to the east side of the Sierra because the smoke was worse over there and the Inyo National Forest trails were closed because of the smoke. So…we decided to spend a couple of days (Monday/Tuesday) on the central coast. From Fresno, we went north on Highway 99 to 152 to 156 and then south on Highway One to Monterey. It takes about 2.5 to 3 hours depending on traffic. 

The town hasn’t changed much over the years and we kind of knew our way around. We parked at the city lot near Fisherman’s Wharf and headed toward the Wharf for lunch. I think it is now called “Scales” but used to be called Fisherman’s Grotto. We got nice outside seats upstairs and had clam chowder in a bread bowl. After lunch we had a chocolate desert from a candy store just on the other side of the wharf. 

We then headed to Point Lobos (the whales are currently not migrating by). Point Lobos (poison oak aside) is a huge location with lots of trails along the ocean with some going through Cypress groves. If you want to see Pelicans, this is the place, although they migrate in the winter to Baja California (Mexico).

There are also harbor seals and sea lions on the rocks with other costal birds. Many of the rocks are white with guano from the birds. 

The sound of the ocean surf reminds me of an endless lullaby. The ocean also has its own smells. Drying seaweed mixed with dead marine life. The sound helped dull my Tinnitus. It was fun to take off our shoes and socks and let the surf run up our ankles as we walked along the beach. Some folks would call this “Grounding” or “Earthing”. I love the various shades of blue and green the ocean calls forth and the waves crashing against the rocks.

We had brought a sack lunch with us from home so we had that for dinner at the historic Martine Inn in Pacific Grove. There was no coffee until breakfast at 8am so we walked up the street to the “First Awakening” coffee shop at 7am. 

After breakfast, we checked out and headed to 17-mile drive. After that we went back to the wharf in Monterey for lunch and had the same lunch had more candy at the same places again. Then we headed home to Fresno. 

Sharon On Beach At Asilomar

Lone Cypress

  

California Department of Public Health Guidance for Private Gatherings

State of California—Health and Human Services Agency
California Department of Public Health

October 9, 2020

TO:

All Californians

SUBJECT:

Guidance for Private Gatherings

Summary

This guidance provides an updated plan for Californians to gather outside their household and replaces the prior gatherings guidance issued on September 12, 2020 and March 16, 2020. It applies to private gatherings, and all other gatherings not covered by existing sector guidance are prohibited. Gatherings are defined as social situations that bring together people from different households at the same time in a single space or place.  When people from different households mix, this increases the risk of transmission of COVID-19.

Mandatory Requirements for All Gatherings

All persons planning to host or participate in a private gathering, as defined above, must comply with the following requirements. Local health jurisdictions may be more restrictive than this guidance. Refer to your local guidance for what is allowed in your area.

1.    Attendance

• Gatherings that include more than 3 households are prohibited. This includes everyone present, including hosts and guests.  Remember, the smaller the number of people, the safer.
• Keep the households that you interact with stable over time. By spending time with the same people, risk of transmission is reduced. Participating in multiple gatherings with different households or groups is strongly discouraged.
• The host should collect names of all attendees and contact information in case contact tracing is needed later.

2.    Gather Outdoors

• Gatherings that occur outdoors are significantly safer than indoor gatherings. All gatherings must be held outside. Attendees may go inside to use restrooms as long as the restrooms are frequently sanitized.
• Gatherings may occur in outdoor spaces that are covered by umbrellas, canopies, awnings, roofs, and other shade structures provided that at least three sides of the space (or 75%) are open to the outdoors.
• A gathering of no more than three households is permitted in a public park or other outdoor space, even if unrelated gatherings of other groups up to three households are also occurring in the same park or other outdoor space.  If multiple such gatherings are occurring, mixing between group gatherings is not allowed.  Additionally, multiple gatherings of three households cannot be jointly organized or coordinated to occur in the same public park or other outdoor space at the same time – this would constitute a gathering exceeding the permitted size.  

3.    Don't Attend Gatherings If You Feel Sick or You Are in a High-Risk Group

• Anyone with any COVID-19-like symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, night sweats, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tiredness, muscle or body aches, headaches, confusion, or loss of sense of taste/smell), must stay home and not come into contact with anyone outside their household.
• Anyone who develops COVID-19 within 48 hours after attending a gathering should notify the other attendees as soon as possible regarding the potential exposure.
• People at higher risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 (such as older adults and people with chronic medical conditions) are strongly urged not to attend any gatherings.

4.    Practice Physical Distancing and Hand Hygiene at Gatherings

• For any gatherings permitted under this guidance, the space must be large enough so that everyone at a gathering can maintain at least a 6-foot physical distance from others (not including their own household) at all times. 
• Seating must provide at least 6 feet of distance (in all directions—front-to-back and side-to-side) between different households.
• Everyone at a gathering should frequently wash their hands with soap and water, or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available. A place to wash hands or hand sanitizer must be available for participants to use.
• Shared items should not be used during a gathering. As much as possible, any food or beverages at outdoor gatherings must be in single-serve disposable containers. If providing single-serve containers is not possible, food and beverages must be served by a person who washes or sanitizes their hands frequently, and wears a face covering. Self-serve items from communal containers should not be used.

5.   Wear a Face Covering to Keep COVID-19 from Spreading

• When gathering, face coverings must be worn in accordance with the CDPH Guidance on the Use of Face Coverings (PDF), unless an exemption is applicable.
• People at gatherings may remove their face coverings briefly to eat or drink as long as they stay at least 6 feet away from everyone outside their own household, and put their face covering back on as soon as they are done with the activity.
• Face coverings can also be removed to meet urgent medical needs (for example, to use an asthma inhaler, take medication, or if feeling light-headed).
  

6.   Keep it short

• Gatherings should be two hours or less.  The longer the duration, the risk of transmission increases.

7.   Rules for Singing, Chanting, and Shouting at Outdoor Gatherings

• Singing, chanting, shouting, and physical exertion significantly increases the risk of COVID-19 transmission because these activities increase the release of respiratory droplets and fine aerosols into the air. Because of this, singing, chanting, and shouting are strongly discouraged, but if they occur, the following rules and recommendations apply:
• All people who are singing or chanting should wear a face covering at all times while singing or chanting, including anyone who is leading a song or chant. Because these activities pose a very high risk of COVID-19 transmission, face coverings are essential to reduce the spread of respiratory droplets and fine aerosols;
• People who are singing, shouting, chanting, or exercising are strongly encouraged to maintain physical distancing beyond 6 feet to further reduce risk.
• People who are singing or chanting are strongly encouraged to do so quietly (at or below the volume of a normal speaking voice).
• Instrumental music is allowed as long as the musicians maintain at least 6-foot physical distancing. Musicians must be from one of the three households.  Playing of wind instruments (any instrument played by the mouth, such as a trumpet or clarinet) is strongly discouraged. 
  

Words Like Forbidden and Mandatory sound like this is more than Guidance. 

 

My Favorite 20 Sierra Nevada Day Hikes

Table of Contents

01. Birch Lake

02. Cattle Mountain from Mammoth Trailhead

03. Chocolate Lakes

04. Cottonwood Lakes Basin

05. Day Hike to Brainerd and Finger Lakes

06. Day Hike to Lower Horton Lake

07. Hike to San Joaquin River at Temperance Flat

08. Hike to Sentinel Dome and Taft Point

09. Lake Genevieve from the Laurel Creek Trail

10. Lower and Upper Lamarck Lakes

11. Mitchell Peak Hike

12. Mt. Whitney as a Day Hike

13. Ostrander Lake Yosemite

14. Panorama Trail to Illilouette Falls

15. Rock Creek Trail

16. Split Mountain

17. Tamarack Lakes Day Hike 

18. Treasure Lakes

19. Twenty Lakes Basin

20. Yosemite Mono Pass Hike

This Book is available on Amazon in both paperback (Black and White) and Kindle (Color) Formats

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L5P3JQD/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=dale+matson&qid=1602639330&sr=8-4 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KZ8QYQ6/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=dale+matson&qid=1602639488&sr=8-2 Paperback

My Favorite Backpacking Areas In The Central Sierra Nevada

My New Book

My Favorite Backpacking Areas In The Central Sierra Nevada

I have listed sixteen of my backpacking experiences that I have found to be in areas of the Sierra Nevada that are rich in beauty. In my earlier days, being from Fresno California, I approached the Sierra Nevada from the Western side. More recently, I have found approaching the Sierra from the east opens even more opportunities. This requires me to drive highway 120 through Yosemite most of the year and down around Bakersfield the rest of the year when highway 120 in Yosemite is closed.If I were to pick one town that is the epicenter of my more recent hiking and backpacking experiences, it would be Bishop California. Line Street (highway 168) out of Bishop takes you to South Lake, Sabrina Lake and North lake. Out of these lakes alone, one can spend years on different hikes, overnights and beyond. Bishop is the gateway to the wilderness for me. Glacier Lodge Road out of Big Pine (14 miles south of Bishop) is also an opportunity for views the Palisades and their glaciers from the eastern side. The Palisades are a group of fourteeners that take your breath away. There are many glacial lakes green from the glacial silt in this area.If I were to pick one national park in particular in California, it would be Kings Canyon National Park. Whether one goes over the Sierra Crest from the east side or approaches it from the west side. Most Fresnans have no idea that much of the park is in Fresno County. I was a “Yosemite guy” for a decade before I discovered the beauty of Kings Canyon. As a 12-year volunteer on the Fresno County SAR team, I learned beginning in 2004 that Kings Canyon is as wild and beautiful as Yosemite. Hopefully you will use this book as a primer to some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.

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In Paperback

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JVK4HNZ

Also available in Kindle Format in Color

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08K6RXF76

The Creek Fire

Dale Matson

What is left of our former cabin that we sold 3 years ago

The Creek Fire is both a wildfire and a forest fire. As of this writing it is over 245,000 acres and 18% contained. It is the 10th largest fire in California history at present. It has destroyed over 800 structures and endangered 9,500 others. There are approximately 3,000 fire fighters working this fire. All of the national forests in California are closed. The SQF Complex fire in Sequoia National Park 123,000 acres (12% contained) to our south is contributing to the smoke we are enduring in Fresno. The estimated date for containment is mid-October for the Creek Fire. There are 38 active wildfires in California.

This is a perfect storm of circumstances with millions of dead and down trees. The last 5 of 6 years were drought years with the pine bark beetle finishing off the trees already stressed by drought. In short, there was an over-abundance of fuel for the fires. Combine that with decades of poor forest management and we also had a record 22 consecutive triple digit temperatures this summer. And if you agree with Governor Gavin Newsom one can throw global warming into the mix also. As of this date, no human has perished in the fire. 

There is an enormous area of trees alone in Yosemite, Sierra National Forest, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Sequoia National Forest which are essentially contiguous areas. I believe this is the most wildfires in California and burned acres ever in one year.

These fires are so hot they can form what is called a Pyrocumulonimbus cloud.We built a cabin in the Sierra National Forest 10 years ago and sold it 3 years ago. The new owner contacted us to tell us that it was one of the structures destroyed. We built it according to the strictest standards and codes. We had 100’ of defensible space around the cabin. We had an extra 2,500-gallon water tank with a hydrant connection for a firehose dedicated to fighting a fire. We had tempered windows, concrete siding and a steel roof. We had 75 trees cut down that had died on our 7 acres. Every house/cabin on our road was destroyed in moments. Imagine the wildlife that have perished! Imagine the human sorrow! This is only one story among thousands.

At age 76, if I still owned the property, I would not rebuild. I don’t believe the insurance companies will now insure this kind of property or if they do, the cost of the insurance would be prohibitive. Additionally, I am too old to go through the process of building a place from scratch. Finally, I’m not sure if it is a good idea to build a dream cabin in the forests in California.

These fires have been predicted because of the available fuel and now they are happening. I believe the federal and state government needs to rethink their policies to avoid this from happening on such a large scale in the future.

The Cabin Before 

Panoramic Point and Park Ridge Fire Lookout Trail: Kings Canyon

Dale Matson

         For the particulars on this hike see Here:

 

https://midsierramusing.blogspot.com/2015/07/park-ridge-fire-lookout-trail-kings.html

        

Hike Route
 

 

         I did this hike August 12^th of this year as my final warm up hike before a big hike in the eastern Sierra Nevada. I did the hike twice before but did not have the big lens I used on this hike. I used the Sony 200-600mm with my A7R4. I also used the 1.4X TC and shot cropped to give me about 1,200 mm.

         The air was partly smoke filled which meant that I was magnifying bad air but it was amazing to see some of the major features from the west instead of the east side of the Sierra.

         The hike is about 5.5 miles round trip with considerable climb and descent as the trail generally follows the ridge. It is about the same elevation (about 7,500’) at Panoramic Point as it is at the fire lookout. The fire lookout is closed due to Covid this year. I had a leisurely pace and took about 4 hours round trip. There is one place where the trail is somewhat overgrown with buck brush and Manzanita and two places where the trail follows the service road for a time. I missed the turnoff to the right and hiked further on the fire road than I should have so I hiked an extra mile. You can see my error on the map.

Middle Fork Kings River

Palisade Crest North Palisade High Point Center

Hume Lake

Buck Rock Fire Lookout

Mount Goddard