Today I flipped the switch on a new Theme for this blog. I’m pretty happy with it so far, but because I only have limited preview functionality (I don’t have a test or staging server, for example) there’s still much to do. Or attempt to do, anyway. I have eight items on my list to tweak/code/hack/whatever, and I’m sure there will be more.

I’d like to work on the long-overdue revision of the rest of the site, and properly integrating it with this blog area, but I’m not sure I can dedicate that much time to the site right now.

In any case, I’d like to encourage feedback on the new look. Do you like it? Hate it? Ambivalent? Underwhelmed? Giddy and covered with goosebumps?

Give your feedback any way you like: a reply here, email, tweet, DM, Yahoo Messenger, face-to-face, snail mail, smoke signals… Just let me know.

Double Rainbow

We made a group “early season” backpacking trip to Chilnualna Falls in SE Yosemite in early June. Our destination above the falls was around 6,200′ if memory serves, and most of the snow had melted at that elevation. The river and falls were still raging from the runoff at the higher elevations, which was very scenic although it meant we’d probably not be able to make a crossing, were we so inclined.

Antony and I carpooled in his Taco, and met up with the others at the wilderness station next to the Wawona lodge in southern Yosemite. It was nice to be there again after several years.

The hike up to camp – and it was up – was just under 5 miles. The 2,400′ of elevation gain was overall pretty mild, although it wasn’t like flat terrain either. I’d not hike much the previous few months (just two very short hikes) and with the pack weight, I found my legs bothering me up beyond the falls. They both cramped badly at one point, so I had to sit and rest for 5 minutes or so, at which point they were working properly again and I could make it the short distance to camp. That was disconcerting, but they gave me no further trouble over the weekend, nor at all on the next couple of hiking & backpacking trips.

Once in camp and set up, we spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying the wonderful setting and fresh mountain air. Some of the guys fished (not catching any of the stubborn fish though), I took photos, and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Wawona Dome from the trail

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Wow, the most-overdue 12 of 12 yet… Sorry about that. July was even worse, when I forgot 12 of 12 entirely! It was a busy month, though mostly in good ways.

As noted on the gallery index page, this was a challenging 12 of 12 from a philosophical point of view. How does one create a 12 of 12 when you’re already taking a gazillion photos for a larger gallery at the same time? And on a day when pretty much nothing is normal?

I decided that the answer was to have a “behind the scenes” 12 of 12, a sort of gallery that emphasized candid and spur-of-the-moment shots, as well as scenery that was more ordinary than the spectacular display of nature that is Yosemite.

I came to that conclusion quickly, but unfortunately it was *after* I’d returned home. Next time this happens, I’ll know better. The thought behind these 12 of 12s is part of the appeal to me.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the 12 of 12 gallery.

Cheers!

Hooray, I can check off another overdue “to do” list item: this post and the associated gallery!

For the last few years we’d introduced Allison to camping by doing overnighters at Grant Ranch during Independence Day weekend. This year we wanted to attend our annual block party again, and while I enjoy camping at Grant, I was looking forward to trying out Uvas Canyon this time ’round.

Uvas is one of my favorite Santa Clara county parks. It’s small but it’s mostly very wooded, with streams, waterfalls,  and narrow trails. It’s also the least-used park in the SCCP system, which also very much appeals to me. It contrasts nicely with Grant Ranch, which is on the other side of the San Andreas and is more open grasslands and magnificent old oaks.

So a couple of weeks later than usual, I packed up the Jeep and we made our way to the park and the campsite I had targeted ahead of time as my favorite. Unfortunately, the earliest check-in time is 3pm (What is this, a hotel? Do they have maids that need time to make the beds there or what?!?) so that greatly limited our hiking options.

No matter, as the girls weren’t interested in any long hikes anyway. The late summer sunset meant we had plenty of time for the short stream loop, and Allison could frolic her little heart out in the water for an hour or two, which is exactly what she did.

Even though the campsites were all full, the noise and such was pretty mild for the most part. Still, I’d like to try camping here in the off season sometime, although I’d have to make sure I had a rainfly for our big tent by then. But I’d also like to camp someplace different next time, and work our way through all of the local drive-up camping options, as well as the backpacking ones.

The gallery for this one is on Facebook.