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[Yosemite]

Permit cancellation

Hiking, backpacking, running, biking, climbing, rafting, and other human-powered activities in Yosemite National Park

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Permit cancellation

Postby balzaccom » Wed May 25, 2016 8:58 am

We were so pleased with ourselves. We had remembered to act early and reserve exactly the wilderness permit we wanted, for Rafferty Creek in the middle of June, to get up into the upper reaches of the Merced Canyon early in the season. And we got it. And then fate intervened.

I was invited to speak at the Smithsonian about a topic near and dear to my heart...and that's an invitation I can't pass up, even at the risk of losing our permit for Yosemite. So yesterday I called the Yosemite Wilderness office and explained the situation. And I was delighted to learn that we can apply the charges we paid for the cancelled permit towards any other wilderness permit in Yosemite this year.

No, we won't have time to get into the Upper Merced this year. But we will take a trip in Yosemite sometime later in the season. And we've already got our permit paid for!

And by the way, the wilderness office seemed surprised and grateful that we would call to cancel. Apparently most people don't do that...
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963
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Re: Permit cancellation

Postby Phil » Wed May 25, 2016 11:55 am

Congratulations on the Smithsonian gig. It couldn't possibly have to do with wine, could it?

Anyhow, I was going to go ahead and re-hijack that bear can discussion, but I decided to do this one instead.

On your blog, you asked for some feedback on water filter straws. I just so happen to have some.

We use a Hiker Pro for our basic needs on the trail, occasionally along with a Sawyer Mini. We hate all that pumping at the end of the day too, because, let's face it, those fish won't catch themselves. So we also carry an MSR Auto-flow. It says the capacity is 4 liters, but 6 is what we can get and still roll the top well enough. The only problem with it is that the giant Saturn V rocket-sized filter is big and heavy, and it clogged or slowed constantly. We got rid of that a long time ago. What we did instead was plug the Sawyer into it. It not only works better, is a fraction of the weight and much more compact, has an impressively small 0.1 micron pore size, is guaranteed for 100,000 liters, seldom if ever clogs, is easy to maintain in the field, and (I know you'll like this part), we got it for 1/3 the price of a new MSR cartridge at Walmart (1/2 the price at REI). Over years of hard testing, we've never gotten sick, and if we want a quick sip, we pull it and the tubing from the Auto-flow and just drop it into the water source when we're too lazy to pump.

Not germane to your topic at all, but I thought it might add to your pleasure.
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Re: Permit cancellation

Postby balzaccom » Wed May 25, 2016 12:04 pm

cool! We use the Sawyer Squeeze now, with the larger bladder. And it seems to work pretty well....

Best part is that we can fill up any time we find water, and can filter later if we'd rather.

Topic of the speech is Wine and Culture in northern Spain...
Last edited by balzaccom on Thu May 26, 2016 11:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963
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Re: Permit cancellation

Postby mebgardner » Thu May 26, 2016 8:41 am

Phil:

So, let me see if I've got this right. You've got two systems, an MSR Auto-Flow and a Sawyer Mini, and you "plug" the Mini into the Auto-Flow's bag.

This gives an increased capacity, and a decreased weight. Do I got that right?

Sounds perfect! I'm looking for a "camp water" (a shared, large capacity bag for around camp) solution, and this sounds like it.

Did you need to obtain any adaptors, so the mini would "fit" the bag? Can I buy just the bag separately from the entire MSR system?

Thanks, Phil.
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Re: Permit cancellation

Postby Phil » Thu May 26, 2016 9:11 am

No adapter required. The Mini goes perfectly into the 3/8"od tubing on the Auto-flow.

The problem though is, you're going to have to buy the entire MSR system to get the bladder and tubing. So the MSR filter is a necessary evil. You can use it until it expires, but the Sawyer Mini is a better, longer lasting filter, IMO, so just swap out the one that comes with it with a $17 Mini. MSR has made the cartridge smaller and lighter, but ever since we used a Hyper-flow as our main filter and had problem, after problem, after problem........, until we finally threw it away and went with the Hiker Pro, we've been really unimpressed with their filters. The one that came with the Auto-flow wasn't an exception either.

I like to watch my water bottles fill without me having to pump in order to do it. If it didn't work to our advantage, we wouldn't bother to carry the extra weight.

You can also check out some of the other systems from Sawyer or Platypus (still MSR) for comparison. We love what we have though.
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Re: Permit cancellation

Postby Phil » Thu May 26, 2016 9:38 am

balzaccom wrote:Topic of the speech is Wine and Culture in northern Spain...


That actually sounds like a really neat lecture! Old world, old vines, old-timers still drinking wine out of jars.

I'm curious, have you and M ever walked the Camino de Santiago? It's always been in the back of my mind.
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Re: Permit cancellation

Postby balzaccom » Thu May 26, 2016 11:38 am

Just very short sections--day-hiking, not the whole Camino. My sister has done it both on foot and on bike. But it's on our list.
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963
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Re: Permit cancellation

Postby balzaccom » Thu May 26, 2016 12:43 pm

Apropos of this topic. Tom Stienstra in the SF Chronicle wrote this today:

"For camping, a phenomenon developed this past winter when roughly 15,000 Californians gamed the reservation system and locked up the sites at a relative handful of marquee campgrounds for weekends and at the most popular areas. This includes Point Reyes National Seashore, Yosemite National Park, the coast at Monterey Bay and Big Sur, and the Steep Ravine Cabins on the Marin Coast."

Anybody know what he is talking about? Here's a link to the full article:

http://www.sfgate.com/outdoors/article/ ... 945965.php
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963
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Re: Permit cancellation

Postby Phil » Thu May 26, 2016 1:47 pm

No idea. This is something I've never been aware of, unless he's simply referring to using the system and its ups and downs and "gaming" is a matter of semantics.

If nobody here knows either, I went ahead and emailed him asking for clarification.

Offhand, based on a 2007 article he wrote, I think it is most likely semantics. In the article, he talks about what's roughly the "make-sure-your-clock-is-set- correctly", ready-set-dial....everybody-at-once-within-minutes system similar to what we see every year for reservations at YNP for Tuolumne and the Valley campgrounds.

But how is a post about reservations apropos to a thread on water filters? :D
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