dave54
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Joined 22 years ago
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Re: 99 or I-5?
The outside lanes of each get beat up because the trucks are limited to that lane unless passing. The 55 speed limit is a joke and no one drives that slow. 65 gets you the middle finger as all the trucks pass you. However, if I tow faster than that I can visibly see my fuel gauge drop. IMHO I-5 is faster. Maybe it just seems faster because that is the way I normally go and am used to it.393Views0likes0CommentsRe: Forest Service may not hire any summer help 2025.
The people keep demanding Congress cut spending to rein in the deficit. Congress did cut spending. This is the result. If Congress fully funded every government agency the deficit would skyrocket. The alternative is to raise taxes on everyone. So they make priorities on which agencies to fund and which to cut. The Forest Service lost.552Views1like1CommentForest Service may not hire any summer help 2025.
Not sure who has been following this. The US Forest Service has sent a letter to all Regions and subunits not to hire any non-fire seasonal help for 2025. This would apply to campground maintenance, trail work, wildlife crews, and fisheries. Firefighters can be hired (Maybe. The firefighter pay and work issues are another ongoing problem, and internet rumblings of a firefighter work action like a mass sick call-in). The preliminary budget in Congress (not yet passed, but the proposed amount is already set) will not be enough to cover salaries of seasonal workers. Probably not enough to cover the permanent staff, but laying them off is more problematic. The agency has been running a deficit this year. Appropriated budgets from Congress have not kept up with inflation. How this will affect National Forest campground availability next summer is unknown at this time. Some may close completely, or all may forgo services like trash pickup and restroom cleaning. Trails won't be cleared of winter tree blowdowns, and road maintenance will be iffy. Staff at Visitor Centers will be sharply curtailed and hours reduced.682Views0likes5CommentsWhimsical cryptids to watch out for while boondocking :)
Bigfoot is old hat. So is Tessie, the prehistoric creature in Lake Tahoe (and the tongue-in-cheek spinoffs of Elsie of Lake Elsinore and Allie of Lake Almanor). The Lemurians of Mt Shasta are well known. I collect tales of cryptids and mythical creatures (for entertainment purposes. I neither believe nor disbelieve any of them. Readers can decide for themselves). Here are some of my favorites from California. Some are the result of tales from the mining or logging days, when people sat around the evening fire and entertained themselves with stories. Cactus cat of the Mojave Desert — large cat (~2 ft at shoulder) with porcupine or cactus-like spines. Uses its claws to rip open cactus and eat the flesh. The Whintosser. Really Central America to Mexico. Reportedly seen in extreme southern California. Hunts in packs, has 10 legs that can be shifted around its body. Sharp claws that enable it to climb trees and cliffs. Very aggressive hunter, with the pack known to attack humans for fun. Found in Mexican folklore. Rebobs — Flying monkeys in the Napa/Clearlake area. Not known to attack humans. One version has them as a military experiment gone awry — a bat/monkey hybrid. Riverside lizard monster — lived in the hills around Riverside. First report in 1958. 6–7 feet tall, humanoid, skin is either lizard like scales or small feathers. This one is believed as a fictional creation by Charles Wetzel, who has reported discovering several cryptid creatures and monsters while hiking in the hills and woods. The Tripodero is an odd creature, 1 or 2 feet high, pale white, gray, or cream colored body. An elephant like head with a long trunk. 2 legs that the creature can shorten or elongate at will, from withdrawing the legs completely within its body to long stork-like legs for fast running. Harmless to humans, it emits a shrill high-pitch whistle when startled or agitated, then will form mud into small balls and hurl them at you with its trunk as it flees. Lives in the central valley and Sierra foothills. This creature has no origin in native folklore. It mades its first appearance in the mining camps. Dingmauls are a very large (horse sized) cat-wolf hybrid with a spiny spiked tail. Not known as a human predator. Lives in rocky high mountain areas. Native legend. The Billiwhack lives in the Santa Paula/Simi Valley area. Half man/half goat. The legend has its origins as a World War II experiment by the OSS (which allegedly had a secret laboratory in the area). Enough of the 'secret military experiment' trope! C'mon hoaxers, get some new material. The Roperite is a human sized bird like creature, similar in appearance to a large roadrunner. Except it has a long flexible appendage on its forehead that is similar to a rope. It will tie the appendage into a loop, run down, then lasso its prey. Generally regarded as a whimsical tall tale. The Terrashot is a 6 legged herbivore with a body described as ‘casket-shaped’. It sways side to side as it walks, due to its gait of moving all the legs on one side of its body at once. Lines in the higher peaks and crags of the southern California desert ranges. Exists in native lore and journals of 19th century settlers. The Honawewe exists in Paiute and Washo native lore. Reno and northern Nevada area. A shape shifting lizard-human creature. Not much information on it, as the native elders believe even talking about it is inviting misfortune. The local name for Sasquatch in the Modoc and Achumawi tribes is (roughly phonetically translated) Ma Tek Ge Mee. In the ancient Tibetan language, the Yeti is sometimes called Matah Kammi. Interesting that half a world apart, two similar creatures have similar sounding names in native languages. Coincidence? An urban legend, not a cryptid, is Penelope. A tall naked woman, with long matted and tangled blonde hair. Basically a feral woman. Lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains, with sightings ranging from the Grass Valley area to Sonora, and east to Bridgeport. So she really gets around. One version of the story has her a survivor of a car wreck, where she crawled to safety, and took shelter in an old chemical drum from the mining days. The toxic residue turned her into a crazed flesh eating monster. That is one version. Tracking down the story to its earliest forms has no toxic waste (an overused trope), and she is not a vicious cannibal at all. Rather, she lives in the forest, foraging for food, and avoids people. There are credible sightings, and reportedly some video from wildlife cameras (unable to confirm). The first report has her as a young woman in 1960 and the most recent sighting is an old woman in 2014. That timeline fits. Not a cryptid, but a ghost. Instead of a haunted mansion or old hotel, this ghost is a cowboy and horse (a ghost horse?) in the Caribou Wilderness and nearby forest. Period clothing and old gear. A number of sightings, including a reasonably credible sighting from a Forest Service employee. The interesting part is there really was a ranch hand that disappeared without a trace while looking for stray cattle in 1890. Sightings range from the 1920s to about 20 years ago. I haven't heard of any recent accounts. Not all cryptids are predators that hunt humans. Many are quite benign and avoid people when possible. The Dark Watchers of the California coastal ridges are a good omen in native folklore and protect travelers. So lets hear from others of local tall tales from their areas. I'll keep an eye for them on my travels.626Views1like1CommentRe: Bypsssing grapevine
The 'Grapevine' is the section of Interstate 5 north between Los Angeles and Bakersfield. Specifically, the north side of the pass between Tejon Summit and Bakersfield. A long grade, but well within the safe capacities of any modern vehicle and trailer combination. The old highway, before the interstate was built, was called the grapevine for the numerous curves and very steep grades on a narrow knifeblade ridgetop. Portions of the old highway still exist, and you can see how the road got its nickname. I swear on some of those old curves you can see the rear of your own vehicle in front of you. After the interstate was built, the name stuck around.659Views0likes0CommentsRe: Bend Oregon
If you are a Coast to Coast member you can try Cascade Meadows Resort. Right in the center of the Cascade Lakes area south of Bend. Closest town is LaPine, 3 miles. Lots of public NF campgrounds that are probably already all booked for the entire summer. However, ample boondocking in the area.430Views0likes0CommentsRe: Reno NV to Trinidad CA w/36' 5th Wheel
395/44 is a good road, no major curvy sections, and only one downgrade of any significance is descending into Old Station. It is only a mile or so of steep but there is a stop sign right at the bottom. The rest of 44 is mostly flat. A long downgrade into Redding but it is gentle. 299 Redding to the coast is very curvy with no shoulder in places. Passing lanes and pullouts are not common. Safe for a larger rig, but a tiresome workout. Avoid 36 from Red Bluff to the coast. Not RV friendly. North on I-5 to Grants Pass then 199 to Crescent City is a much better and easier drive than 299, but would be quite a bit out of your way.385Views0likes0CommentsRe: Things to see around the Steens mtns Oregon?
Been several years since I have been there. There is a real nice CG (Page Springs) right outside French Glen on the river. The campground up the mountain at Fish Lake was pretty primitive. Google maps looks like BLM improved it quite a bit. The views from atop the rim were awesome. That east slope is quite the precipitous drop. We drove out to the Kiger Mustang viewing area to see the herd. Reportedly that herd is a genetically pure remnant of the original Spanish mustangs and has not been interbred with modern horses. The drive was a 4wd low crawl in quite a few places. No idea of current road conditions. There is not much in French Glen. When I was there gas was not available. I was somewhat disappointed with Crater Lake. The lake itself is beautiful. You can drive around it in one day, stopping at all the viewpoints and seeing the blue water from different angles. But there is only one trail that accesses the lake itself, and you cannot swim or launch your own boat. So after you drive the road there is not much else to do. A few trails in the park backcountry. I have visited the Klamath Canoe Trail a couple times. I wrote up a review for paddling.net https://paddling.com/paddle/trips/klamath-marsh-water-trail-oregon There is a second water trail north of there on the Klamath Marsh. My review: https://paddling.com/paddle/trips/klamath-marsh-water-trail-in-oregon And another water trail south of K-Falls in California. Not as nice as the others. You can pass on this one if time is short. meh. https://paddling.com/paddle/trips/tule-lake-nwr-in-california If you want another unique paddle trip -- the Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park in California is accessible only by paddle craft. Lassen Volcanic National Park has a great place to paddle -- Butte Lake in the NE corner of the Park. A NPS campground is adjacent (no cell coverage). You can also boondock outside the Park on NF land. The lake allows no power craft and the water is crystal clear all the way down. There is a lava archipelago in the middle of the lake you can paddle around. Sort of like an English Garden Maze, except it is water and lava rock. If you want a nice hike, beach the kayak at the south end of the lake and hike 2.5 miles to Snag Lake -- the largest lake in California with no road access. Some people portage a kayak and camp on the lakeshore. It all burned in the 2021 Dixie Fire. Watching the forest recover is interesting. Then hike to Cinder Cone. The views from the top are surreal, with the Painted Dunes and Fantastic Lava Beds below you.493Views1like1Comment
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