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Is a Garrapata State Park Trail Being Ceded to a Mexican Drug Cartel?

September 2, 2015

FOG

Yesterday morning, Friends of Garrapata, the volunteers who work tirelessly to keep Garrapata State Park wild and graffiti free, and its trails in usable condition, posted the above graphic to their Facebook page with the following text:

WARNING

Please stay clear of the Peak Trail until October.

While environmentally destructive backcountry marijuana grows are indeed a serious problem – that could be solved overnight by legalization – and it’s certainly worth being cautious while traveling off trail in places that might be attractive to growers, this post stands out as strange for several reasons. Read the rest of this entry »

8 Comments | Big Sur, On Foot, Politics | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Lightning Moving Ashore

August 6, 2015

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(Image from Lightningmaps.org)

Lightning began a little before 8:00 this evening and is now striking across the Northern Santa Lucia Mountains from Big Sur to the edge of the Salinas Valley. Let’s hope there’s some rain falling with it.

11:00 pm Update: Reports of fire at the radio towers on Mt. Toro and at Willow Creek on the South Coast. Mt. Toro fire is probably out by now. Good chance that the Willow Creek fire will be quickly extinguished, as well. No telling what may still be smoldering out there. There’ve been plenty of backcountry lightning strikes this evening.

2 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Remnants of Hurricane Dolores Bring Lightning and Rain

July 19, 2015

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Lightningmaps.org image depicting lightning strikes detected between 6:30 and 7:30 this morning. The storm reached our area around 4:30 am and was still producing some strikes, mainly offshore, at 9:00 am.

The remnants of Hurricane Dolores, which brought intense thunderstorms to Southern California yesterday, reached the Northern Santa Lucias, Carmel Valley, and the Monterey Peninsula early this morning. While heavy rain fell in some areas, it doesn’t appear to have lasted long enough to produce significant totals. No Monterey County rain gauge seems to have received much more than a couple tenths of an inch, and most received only hundredths of an inch. Read the rest of this entry »

3 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Bear Turns Up Near Garrapata State Park

July 13, 2015

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Black Bear (Ursus americanus)

A bear was sighted this morning and trash cans found knocked over on private property immediately adjacent to Garrapata State Park. Don’t know if it was the same bear that visited Pt. Lobos and the Monterey Peninsula last month making his way back from the “remote location” where he was released, or a new bear, but keep your eyes open and secure your trash.

Black bears are not particularly dangerous. In spite of there being as many as 40,000 wild bears in California, no one has been killed by one in more than 100 years. They are capable of a good deal of property damage, though, and the way to prevent that is to avoid attracting them in the first place.

Black bears have been slowly moving into the Northern Santa Lucia mountains for many years and it is inevitable that bear sightings will continue.

1 Comment | Big Sur | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Peanut Fire Burning at Ft. Hunter-Liggett

June 11, 2015

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Heat detections recorded around 2:00pm today

Presumably as a result of yesterday’s lightning, there is at least one fire, dubbed the Peanut Fire, now burning at Ft. Hunter Liggett. The fire is said to be in the Stony Valley area, along the Nacimiento-Fergusson Rd. That would correspond with the upper three heat detections shown above. No telling whether the lower detections are a separate fire or not. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Big Sur, Fire, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Lightning Detected in Ventana Wilderness

June 10, 2015

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LightningMaps.org map showing approximate location of lightning strike near the headwaters of the North Fork Big Sur River.

A thunderstorm is now moving over the Ventana Wilderness and, in addition to the strike depicted above, lightening strikes have been detected near Pinyon Peak, just downstream from Lost Valley and, most recently (3:00 pm), in the wild country between Zig Zag and Willow Creeks and near San Antonio Camp.

A far more vigorous storm has been working over the Southern Diablo Range near Coalinga and Ft. Hunter-Liggett has also reported downstrikes.

Let’s hope there’s some significant rain falling. It’s pretty dry out there.

June 11 2015 Update: No fires have yet appeared in the Ventana Wilderness as a result of yesterday’s lightning, but a fire, named the Peanut Fire, is now burning near the Nacimiento-Fergusson Rd. in Ft. Hunter-Liggett. As of noon today, it had burned 700 acres and there are rumors that it may burn as much as 3,000 acres before it’s through. No word on the situation with the NF road, but it is probably safe to assume it is closed through the fort.

Leave a Comment » | Big Sur, Diablo Range, Fire, Gabilans, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Soberanes Loop Closed for Maintenance

April 7, 2015

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Here’s something you don’t see every day. Actual State Parks employees at Garrapata State Park. They showed up this morning with a CCC crew, coned off a lot of the parking area and fenced off the access points for the Stone Ridge and Soberanes Canyon trails. Read the rest of this entry »

3 Comments | Big Sur, On Foot, Plants, Santa Lucias, Wildflowers | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

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