My Green Life

On May 14th, James and I logged onto reserveamerica.com just before 7:00 am in order to secure a campsite for our September trip.  We actually were not able to get our first choice campground, but Upper Pines worked out just fine. Five months later, we arrived in Yosemite after an early start on Friday morning. We arrived in the park around 11:00 am, and I was just completely amazed by the scenery. The first glimpse we had of the park was of Half Dome in the distance towering over the valley. We slowly made our way further into the park, passing El Capitan and its sheer, massive cliff face.

Then we arrived at Upper Pines Campground to check into our site (002). We set up camp, ate some lunch (crackers and salami) and then headed off to the Mist Trail to see one of the few waterfalls in Yosemite that runs year-round. We hiked on a well-paved concrete trail to Vernal Falls where there were swarms of people dressed in everything from hiking gear to khakis and polos. Once we got past Vernal Falls, the trail turned a little more rugged and the number of people thinned out. After another couple of miles, we reached the top of Nevada Falls and took in the amazing views including the back side of Half Dome. Fun fact about Half Dome– even though it looks like there was at one time a second half of Half Dome, it actually was formed the way it currently stands. We returned to our campsite to prepare some dinner and enjoy the warm weather! We hung out by the fire talking about internet security and “salting your hash” and of course we enjoyed some s’mores! While we were chatting, we heard a lot of commotion and a number of park rangers circled around with lights and noise-makers to scare off a bear that had wandered near the campground about a hundred yards from our campsite.

The next day, we had a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage, and veggies before departing on the shuttle for Upper Yosemite Falls. We knew it would be a strenuous hike, and it didn’t disappoint. We were amazed at the lack of preparation from some of the people we passed. James and I were decked out with sunscreen and hats and about 5 liters of water, but we passed individuals with one small store-bought bottle of water and no sun protection. We also chatted with a family with 3 boys all under age 12 who were really having to power through the fatigue to make it to the top. They built a lot of character in those 6 hours so, James and I celebrated with them once they made it to the top! The way back down was a little easier, but I was very glad when we reached the bottom. The only thing that kept me going was the promise of ice cream at the end! An ice cream cookie sandwich never tasted so good! The remainder of the afternoon was spent relaxing and reading until we started the foil packs (which we ended up just cooking in the pot on the stove, but they still tasted amazing!). And of course, we had round two of s’mores over the fire!

On Sunday, we were pretty wiped out, so we checked out the visitor’s center and then decided to head back to the city. Overall, it was an amazing trip and one of my favorite places I have visited in my life. Next time, we’ll have to go back in the spring when the waterfalls are flowing!

It is that time of the year again– time for James’ office to have their annual camping trip. We were supposed to go to Big Basin Redwood State Park, but a little snafu (the organizer had reserved handicapped only camp sites) there was a last minute change to head north instead to Samuel P Taylor State Park in Lagunitas near Point Reyes. We had group site number one reserved for the 15 of us on this warm (in the 80s) weekend, and it only took six hours to get there!!! The plan was to meet around 9:30 (so everyone arrived by 10:30, naturally) and then we headed off to Safeway to load up on about $500 of food and drinks and then continued on to get oysters. After arriving at the oyster shack, we found out that very few people in the group actually liked oysters so we defaulted to sandwiches instead. As we waited by Tomales Bay for the rest of the group to catch up, we enjoyed the bay views and sunshine.

Then at last, we arrived at the campsite around 3:00 to set up tents and get settled in. There was a swimming hole a mile away so we headed there to cool off (James and Xavier were the only ones who went fully in) and skip rocks. Once we arrived back at the campsite, we prepared a pretty delicious pasta dish with salad and garlic bread followed by s’mores (of course!) and chatting late into the night.

The next morning we woke up to the sun shining (a first for us this year as we usually have had to wait an hour or two for the sun to hit our camp) and donuts! We headed back to the water for some more sun and relaxation before heading home. On our way back we stopped for burgers at Marin Sun Farms where everything is locally grown and the cattle is grass fed… and the sweet potatoe fries are amazing! That was topped off by some ice cream and a drive back into the foggy city of San Francisco. Overall, it was a fun trip and I would definitely want to go back to this campground and stay at the family camp sites.

James and I decided to spend our anniversary weekend (May 4th-6th) camping this year in Big Sur. We had planned to go with a couple of friends, but ultimately it ended up being a quiet romantic weekend for just the two of us. We headed out on Friday to beat the traffic and arrived at the campsite (number 108) in time to make a pasta dinner on the stove and relax for the evening.

Saturday we headed out for a short 3-4 mile hike that turned out to be a little disappointing as I was expecting phenomenal views like we witnessed on the drive down CA-1. But, it was a good chance to get some fresh air and enjoy the beautiful 70 degree weather. We meandered back to the campground for some lunch and R&R for the afternoon. I was craving some beach time so I drove a couple miles down a very windy one-lane road to a beautiful view of the ocean with cliffs jutting out and arches worn through the rocks. The only problem was it was so windy that the sand pelted my skin and I only lasted on the beach for about 30 minutes before calling it a day. For dinner we had the traditional foil packs and James called it an early night while I stayed up to enjoy the peaceful evening by the fire.

Sunday included a short hike to the waterfalls and a lookout point over the valley followed by the 4-hour drive back into the city. Overall, it was a good relaxing weekend. The campground is huge and seems to go on for miles. Next time, we’ll have to aim for a site along the stream (176, 179, or 180). Click here to view our pictures!

March has been a busy and rainy month and will continue to be so I have decided to use this month for planning future camping trips.

Anthony Chabot: Just a quick 45 minute drive from San Francisco in the Oakland area, this would be perfect for a quick, last minute camping trip. There are a number of available campsites in the next couple of months and it got good reviews on Yelp. Here is a good link for the various trails near the campground. This location would probably get pretty hot in the summer months so it might be a good escape from the summer San Francisco fog.

Mount Tamalpais: This is a short walk-in site campground with only 7 sites. It is booked on the weekends for the next couple months. This is where James and I camped in January 2011 and got poison ivy. It’s a nice secluded campground, though, with lots of privacy.

Samuel P Taylor SP: This campground is about an hour north of San Francisco, and has some availability through April but it is booked the last weekend of April and all weekends after that for the next several months.

Angel Island: Booked all Saturdays from now through the summer.

Del Valle County Park: Looks like a decent campground with a lot of sites. The campground is pretty open with few trees, but it’s only an hour and a half drive from SF. The central focus of the park is the lake that has numerous water activities and visitors can rent paddle boats, kayaks, and canoes. Reservations can only be made 12 weeks in advance so this might be a good spot to head to in July as those weeks will become available shortly.

Half Moon Bay: Highly booked, but it would not be at the top of my list because beach camping doesn’t really excite me. I’d rather have hikes and trees and grass around me when I’m camping.

Portola Redwoods: Near Big Basin, this park is scheduled to close indefinitely July 1, 2012.

Butano SP: Booked all weekends. Also close to Big Basin.

Henry Cowell Redwoods: Located near Santa Cruz, this campground has some open sites especially later in the summer. It has 15 miles of trails and the forest has been fairly untouched over the last 200 years.

That is the majority of campgrounds in a two hour radius of San Francisco, and fortunately, it looks like there are some pretty good options still available for us. We already have May and June booked at Big Sur and I want to go to Yosemite in September once the crowds have hopefully died down, so we’ll just need to fill in a few months in between. This should be a good start!

Mt. Diablo is located about an hour drive east of San Francisco and provides some amazing views of the city and surrounding hillside.

“From the Golden Gate to the Farallon Islands, from the High Sierra to the Central Valley—this is the sweeping panorama you can savor from atop Mt. Diablo. Geographers claim that hikers can see more of the earth’s surface from the top of Mt. Diablo than from any other peak in the world with only one exception: Africa’s legendary 19,340-foot Mt. Kilimanjaro.”

We were able to get last minute reservations two days in advance at the Juniper Campground in one of its 36 sites. This campground is located about 2 miles below the summit and is had some spectacular views. There are two other campgrounds lower in elevation that are a little smaller. We got to select our site once we arrived so we chose number 7 overlooking the city and providing some privacy for our group of 5. We had the pick of the campground, though, as there were only about 5 other families in the campground. Later we found out why there were so few campers…

…the Santa Ana winds were blowing, hard. On Saturday afternoon, we got a short hike in before nearly being blown off the ridge, and we quickly retreated back down to shelter where we made some hot beverages to warm up. Then night came, and the winds were probably gusting up to 40 or 50 mph. Now, I’ve been camping quite a bit in my lifetime, and I have never had to resort to sleeping in a car (at least to my recollection). However, the winds were so loud and blowing our cheap Walmart tent onto our faces every 30 seconds, that Emma and I decided to retreat to sleep soundly in the car. In the morning, the wind died enough that we were able to make the short trek to the summit to check out the views.

Highlights of this trip include playing BS in the guys’ tent while the wind was howling, hanging out with good friends, resolving to buy a new tent that won’t cave to strong winds, and of course we had s’mores.

I have decided to slightly alter the focus of this blog and, with inspiration from my mom, create somewhat of a travel/camping journal. My goal for this year is to go camping once a month. And, I am not one who easily remembers things, so I have decided to try to capture the highlights in blog form. So far, we have camped in January and February so we are on the right track! My report for the January trip we took will be posted shortly.

This weekend, James and I explored Big Basin Redwood State Park. Big Basin is California’s oldest State Park established in 1902. It is located in the Santa Cruz mountains 2 hours south of San Francisco and it has 80 miles of trails to explore. We arrived at the park around 11:00 am on Saturday and heading out on a trail the park ranger recommended. It took us up the Skyline to the Sea Trail over on the Meteor Trail and down the Middle Ridge Fire Road back to the Park Headquarters. The trail takes you through thick redwood forests, up to more arid scrub and then back down through new growth Douglas fir and oaks. In total the hike was about 6 miles. James and I decided to race up a steep hill at one point and he smoked me; that was a bad idea to race him.

We then checked into our campsite at Sempervirens Campground (appropriately named after the redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)) and found our site: 169. This was one of two sites still available on Monday when we reserved the campsite so we weren’t too picky. We found the best sites in he campground were 185 and 168 so those will be the ones we try to reserve next time. The weather was nice but chilly in the evenings. Weather.com claims it was 60 degrees as the high and 46 as the low, but I think it’s lying. Going into the weekend, it was predicted that it would be 36 and that’s closer to what the evening felt like. But, the air was still and there was no rain, so we were happy campers (pun intended).

There were several noteworthy highlights of the trip. First, our new Mountain Hardware 6 person tent is amazing! It’s so roomy and surprisingly easy to set up. Second, we tried a new breakfast recipe now that we have our amazing Coleman stove. We cooked small pieces of sausage beforehand and then whipped up some eggs (uncooked) and put them both in a ziplock bag to freeze overnight. In the morning, we threw the ziplock into our cooler and on Sunday morning, we pulled them out and cooked them up in about five minutes. It was so simple and delicious! Lastly, I learned that I get much less queasy on winding roads when I drive.  And of course, we had s’mores

It is impossible to turn on the news or open a newspaper (or web-page) without being bombarded by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. And, the news just keeps getting worse. They now estimate it will take 90 days to shut down the oil spill. Marine species are threatened and livelihoods of fishermen are at stake because of the massive leak. However, the silver lining that could surround the incident is an increased interest in offshore wind farms instead of oil rigs. Obama seems to be flip-flopping back and forth between keeping his campaign promise not to increase offshore oil drilling and giving into the “drill, baby, drill” mentality. Merely one month ago, on March 31, 2010, Obama stated that he would open up 500,000 square miles of US coastal waters to oil and gas exploitation. It has been 20 years since this type of exploitation has been allowed. Obama claimed it was a concession necessary to convince the Republicans to support the climate change and energy legislation in Congress.  Fortunately, in the wake of the recent oil spill, Obama appears to have, at least temporarily, flopped to the other side where he has put on hold all new exploratory drilling along the US continental shelf. So, in order to a) support Obama’s most recent decision and b) uphold my Earth Day resolution I will be writing a letter to my representatives regarding this issue. If you would like an easy way to do so as well, click here for a letter to which you can simply sign your name and click “Send.”  This letter focuses on stopping Shell from drilling in the Arctic circle where an oil spill like the one in the Gulf could be catastrophic.

Which leads me to an obvious alternative: If you are going to set up machinery offshore to harness energy, why not make it renewable, clean, energy like wind? To me, it seems like a no-brainer, but then again I’m not being swayed by millions of dollars that gas companies kindly placed in my pocket.  Stay tuned for more on wind power’s pros, and possible cons, in the next post.

I have been doing some reflecting the past couple days in anticipation of Earth Day and apparently so have others as evidenced by the fact that the earthday.org website is experiencing heavy enough traffic that navigating their website is impossible.  I knew that Earth Day would be the perfect excuse to get another post written since I’ve been slacking a bit lately. In my excitement, I did some research and googling and I came across a quiz that is supposed to show what your eco-footprint is, or in other words, how much you like the planet. Now, I consider myself a pretty eco-conscious consumer who recycles, tries to minimize gas and water usage, enjoys camping and the outdoors, uses fabric bags at the grocery store, and generally is pretty aware of the Earth. However, after taking this quiz, I found out that if everyone on the Earth lived like I do, it would take 4.4 Earths to sustain the population. This shocked me, and initially I had no intention of revealing this unflattering statistic to the blog community. But, as I was thinking about it, and as a co-worker of mine took tons of magazines and dumped them right into the trash in front of me, I realized how far we have to go in becoming “environmentally aware enough.” My scolding comment was probably not enough to change that co-workers habits, but it’s a small step in raising SOME awareness in a small town where everyone who goes to the dump heads straight to the trash bin without a second thought about the recyclying bins just steps away. But these two incidents got me thinking how many “Earths” we actually would need to survive. I feel that, as a society, changes will come slowly. And although I think it is important for individuals to take responsibility, I think, ultimately, it will come down to scientific breakthroughs that will prevail. Finding algae that converts tons of CO2 to oxygen or solar cells cheap enough to provide all the energy necessary to sustain a home of business. These are the discoveries that will have to happen to really make the difference that is needed.

However, until those discoveries are revealed, I will continue trying to do what I can to protect the Earth. So, on this 40th anniversary of Earth Day, like New Years Eve resolutions, I would like to make an Earth Day resolution to become more aware of legislation being passed and to write my representatives urging them to vote with an environmental focus. My goal will be to write a minimum of one letter a week. I’ll be reporting back periodically on the success or failure of this mission…

As I am thinking more and more about my pursuit of attending grad school, I have become increasingly aware that I need to become more aware of the marine biology research being conducted currently. In an effort to do so, I have found it difficult to find articles available on-line that I am able view without paying hefty subscription costs. However, I did find one site (and will be looking to highlight others in the future) that contains open access to several scholarly journals. After listening to multiple harangues by a computer programmer regarding the importance of open source programming as a way to collaborate and access a greater source of information, I now have a brand new appreciation for the ability to access other scholar’s works for free. I found one article from an open source journal of particular interest.

The article is titled The short-term impact of dolphin-watching on the behaviour of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in western Australia. The focus of this paper was to determine whether or not the presence of dolphin-watching tour boats influences the behavior of dolphins. For a “control”, an investigator boat was sent out to note the dolphins’ behavior under “normal” circumstances. The scientists then sent an observation boat out with the dolphin-watching tour boat to determine whether dolphins acted differently with the tour boat present.  After reading the paper, I was reminded of the concept in quantum physics where a photon acts like a particle when an observer is present, and it acts like a wave when an observer is not present. The simple presence of an observer greatly influences how a photon acts. Which made me question, “Does simply the presence of an observer in a scientific experiment ever alter the intended results?” Now, in this case, it was found that the dolphins’ behavior was altered when the tour boat was present vs. when it was not present. But, if the presence of an observer affects the results of an experiment on a microscopic level, could it also affect the results on a macroscopic level as well? If there had been no observer boat present, would the behavior be altered even more significantly? The dolphins’ behavior was, most likely, affected minimally by the observer boat’s presence, but it is a factor to consider. More than anything, this article made me recognize the importance of making connections and coming up with the questions that will take an observation deeper.

Each year, 250,000 loggerhead sea turtles and 60,000 leatherbacks are caught in longline fishing gear according to a study conducted by Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences and published in March 2004. Both turtle species are on the federal endangered species list, but even after warnings of their populations’ decline, the Obama administration has recently moved to triple the amount of sea turtles that can be caught off the coast of Hawaii by fisherman. In the Gulf of Mexico, sea turtle bycatch will increase 700 percent! As someone who has worked closely with sea turtles, I am very concerned about this action. The population is declining steadily due to habitat encroachment, hatchlings disoriented by bright lights on the beach, marine pollution and debris, and incidental take from commercial longline fishing and dredging. Most turtles fall victim to longline hooks that are meant for swordfish and other edible marine life. Turtles end up as bycatch, are caught by accident, and then they are dumped off the side of a boat.

Instead of increasing the amount of turtles that can be caught, I would suggest Obama’s administration implement some positive changes like using circular hooks instead of the typical “J” hook or altering the type of bait used. To take action in an effort to reverse the decision to increase turtle bycatch click here and send a letter to President Obama encouraging him to reconsider.