SNOW IN JULY & A HOT PRESS

IT IS BUSTING PLOWS

       This will be the latest ever to open the road through the Lassen Volcanic

national park.

              "Did you see those busted Cal Trans graders, the big guys, on your way up?"

The young mechanic asked me when I inquired as to how the crew was dong in clearing

the last 4 miles of Highway 89 that transects the park.

              "That stuff is like steel" he said.

      

        At one time 18 feet of snow covered the roads through Lassen. Even with July

temperatures, the volume this year is large and so deep, much of the park is still showing signs of the record breaking snow fall of winter.

      The only way through on some of the trails was with snow shoes or snow boots.

       We drove several miles over a winter scarred and rough road to try to reach Juniper lake at 6,700 feet, only to be foiled by impassible snow.

       Other roads and trails were also snow covered.

      I know some of you had more snow and ice this winter than you'd like to recall, 

but after all it is July in California, even in the mountains.  You can see evidence

of impact on how trees grow in these conditions.

       A common scene around the park is the road closed sign.

      Getting out and hiking though offers some rare views.

      People in the area are used to snow in the winter.  It is a way of life.  Look closely at this sign.

Spring comes late, in July, with signs of irony.

Spring blooms next to a snow cave.  It will be a short summer and I would not be

surprised if much of the snow remains until the chill and cold of autumn and

the "delivery" of a new winter in the Cascades.

Still, there is much to see at Lassen Volcanic National Park.

More to come.
HOT PRESS
The resignations of Hinton and Brooks at Murdoch's News Corp is a sign of 
something larger.  I have no crystal ball on what is to come,
but Rupert is a media baron, maybe the most influential and for that
reason this story has legs.  And so will the investigations.
There were may times when I was doing investigative reporting
that I wished I could have the power of a subpoena or the
snooping powers of a spook.  We stayed within the codes
and canons ethical journalism and still produced significant work.
It appears Murdoch's organization went way beyond
propriety.  A fall is likely then, and appropriate.

See you down the trail.

LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK

AN UNDERVALUED PARK

       More people should see Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California.

Several times during our stay, we would hear people say it is the most under visited

national park.

       North of Chico and east of Red Bluff and and Redding it is a spectacularly beautiful

park in the midst of gorgeous country and history.

       The area was a place of healing and strength for the Atsugewi, Maidu, Yana and Yahi tribes. Fur trappers entered the area in 1820. 

       The first settlers to establish homes and settlements came around 1850.

      The plugged dome volcano erupted in 1915 through 1916 and changed the landscape.

It is on the southern end of the Cascade Range, the same range of Mt. St. Helens.

      There are 150 Miles of park trails including 17 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.

The altitude ranges between 5,000 and 8,000 plus feet and some trails include significant elevation changes.

       Aside from the sheer beauty, there is extraordinary volcanic activity.  I'm going to devote space to exploring aspects of this magnificent national park and its environs.

Today's post is a collection of scenes from our drive around the mountain. Here you'll

see the Volcano from several angles and vistas.  Enjoy

THE MANY FACES OF MT. LASSEN

I think this shot captures the grandeur of the Mountain in the midst of

of natural splendor and light.

More to come.

See you down the trail.

ASSIGNMENT-VOLCANO

THE RING OF FIRE
We are currently exploring the wonders
of Lassen Volcanic National Park and environs
in Northern California at the lower
end of the Cascade Range.
I'll post more in a few days.
In the meantime-memories of
an earlier assignment-
MT. REDOUBT ALASKA

Photo R. Clucas USGS April 21 1990

    The image above is from one of five eruptions of Mt Redoubt since 1900.

I flew to the volcano while producing a documentary and it was an extraordinary and memorable trip.

    I shot this from the helicopter as we began a series of fly around landings on the explosive mountain.  If you look carefully you can see ash on the slope and particularly on the canyon wall in the lower right half of the shot.

     Redoubt is one of the active "ring of fire" volcanoes in the Chigmit Range, a 

       sub range in the Aleutian Range.  Redoubt is across the Cook Inlet from Anchorage

     so part of the adventure is flying across the inlet-one of the most changeable and storm ridden bodies of water on the planet.

       A survival suit is required as you fly.  Helicopters have gone down in the Cook Inlet and the suit can provide a few minutes of survival in the icy waters. Getting over the inlet offers a superb view of the chain of volcanoes in the Chigmit Range as well as the large bay. It was a 45 minute flight into headwinds.

      We were flying with a USGS geologist who would be setting and reading GPS and other measurement gear, designed to study the relationship between magma flow-the stuff of volcano explosions and plate tectonics, the movement and shifting of the earth.

  Our mission was to make several landings on the volcano, cross hatching our way to higher elevations.  The summit of Redoubt is a little over 10,190 feet.  On the way up we watched for sudden storms and wind. Some of the landing sites were a bit tricky.

       Cliff, our pilot was a combat vet and was said to be one of the best for flying
in the tricky conditions of our assignment.  He was able to take us through canyons, over valleys and rocky peaks and onto ledges and shelves.

      In the back of my mind was the 1989 incident when a KLM 747 was suddenly engulfed in cloud of volcanic ash.  It snuffed the engines and only extraordinary skills by the pilot prevented a disaster.  That ash eruption blanketed a 7,700 square mile area.  Some ash eruptions shut down the Anchorage airport, miles away across the Cook Inlet.  Redoubt is not the only volcano in the area known for blowing.  As we flew we could see the neighboring Ilimana smoking away.

      Icy peaks served as mountain footmen to the peak of Redoubt, shining in the sun.

       As we continued to fly we gained on the summit of Redoubt.  A couple of times we landed on snow fields.

Here you see photographer Jung Park work with the USGS Volcanologist Jeff Freymueller who could scramble across rocky ledges like a mountain goat.

One of the landings gave Jung a chance to capture a shot me.

I was the "second camera" on the shoot and I like this scene of "a good day in the office."

Despite being at high altitude in a mass of ice, snow and granite,

it was surprisingly warm. There was blue sky and sunshine.

And the inner core was probably heated by the thrill of it.

See you down the trail.

GOOD BYE TO A SWEET GAL

ZIGGY

Ziggy departed this world Saturday, surrounded

by those of us who loved her.

Apparently her kidneys began to fail her and 

that is what prompted the decline.

As a friend commented earlier,

black cats are very special. Ziggy was that indeed.

Shy around new people, she loved to get under or behind

things. She was extraordinarily affectionate and

just seemed to define mellow.

She loved to roll on her back and to have

her stomach rubbed.

After more than 15 years, a move across 

country with us, she was a family member.

Her final rest is a spot where she loved to 

lay in the sun and watch deer, turkeys and gophers but

mostly just to be mellow and watch the world go round.

Ziggy-one sweet gal.

See you down the trail.

THE WEEKENDER :) AMAZING OPTICS

JUST A WEE BIT MIND BLOWING

Thanks to friends and this wonderful

cyber community ethos of sharing

here are a couple of fun links to 

enjoy this weekend.

First-Science Fiction becomes fact

3D Printing!

And then a visual scan that is, well, a little intimidating. Link here and spend some time zooming around this photograph.

This may give you a different sense about privacy eh?

See you down the trail.

TO BOLDLY GO....

THE BRIDGE TO WHERE?

I'm sad to see the last shuttle mission. Though it is not a universally popular idea, 

I'm an advocate for space exploration, manned as well as by our efficient

computers and robots.  While the high technology platforms can take us deeper into the 

far reaches of space and thus our own cosmic history, there is something valiant given to 

the human spirit, when we think and operate in terms of putting men and women

into space. I appreciate we can not simply massage the human ego by the

romantic endeavor of "boldly going where....." etc, especially with budgets being 

what they are.  But we all gain when as humans we look toward the stars and

design ideas, concepts, practicalities and journeys into the great mystery.

I hope future administrations and political leadership will understand it is 

better to spend on science and discovery than on war and carnage.

How does human life advance with out

understanding or seeking and questing in ways that challenge

the finite boundaries of our human rationality?

I believe in the bridge building of research and exploration.

Other wise it is a long decline into night.

CONTENTMENT AT THE SHORE

A HAPPY MEMORY

As our black Ziggy cat continues to fail,

it is therapeutic to see her well. 

See you down the trail.