E & J's Aventura Costa Rica

This trip report is a departure from the focus of this blog, but here it goes. Eleanor and I traveled to Costa Rica in March 2007. We spent almost all our time at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. We stayed at the Tropico Latino which was very nice and located on the beach. This turned out to be a good choice for us since we could walk from the hotel right onto Playa Carmen where we could take a dip and surf. The surf was very good and the water was quite warm. The beaches were great and not crowded. To my surprise the food was very good and the variety was excellent. If you ever go there you have to have dinner at Mary’s restaurant, which specialize in fresh seafood dishes. I had the best yellow fin tuna dish I have ever had there. The towns we stayed at were quite rustic especially since the nearest paved road was 10 Km from town.

We traveled north to Playa Monzanillo one afternoon and also visited a nearby town Montezuma which is somewhat of a party town. We took a snorkel trip out to Tortuga Island and saw a turtle and reef fish. We also hired a guide to take us out to Curú wildlife refuge. We saw monkeys, a few birds and native plants there. We had hoped to see more animals in Costa Rica but I think they are more abundant in the Rain Forest than here. It was also quite warm when we were at the coast. We quickly learned to relax during the hottest part of the day and learned what Pura Vida is all about.

We flew back to San Jose on Nature Air which gave us a good view of the area from the air. It is a 25 minute flight which was less tiring that the 6 hour bus/ferry ride on the way out. This gave us time to visit San Jose before we left. We visited the Mercado Central and visited the Museo de Oro. The Museo de Oro was very interesting and we learned a lot about Costa Rica Culture there. There was also a large art festival in a park near the museum. We heard some local music and saw some interesting artwork.

We had a good trip although there is much more to see in Costa Rica. We will have to come back soon. I posted a video of our trip on the web if you wnat to see more. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8459497706434287953

Bear Butte Ski

POTTER PASS FROM BEAR BUTTE

Ski to Bear Butte is a quick climb up a mostly groomed fire road from the Rancheria Falls road off Highway 168. The plowed turnout is just before the bridge over Rancheria Creek. Climb four switchback and follow to the plowed turnaround (about 2 1/2 miles). Traverse the symmetrical dome to the top. The north side holds more snow and is mostly without trees. Total distance one way of approximately 3 miles and climb of approximately 1500 feet.
Latitude Longitude
N37°14.911' W119°09.579'
N37°14.974' W119°09.373'
N37°15.101' W119°09.214'
N37°14.910' W119°09.261'
N37°14.933' W119°09.045'
N37°14.765' W119°09.099'
N37°14.879' W119°08.466'
N37°14.855' W119°08.250'
N37°14.869' W119°08.033'
N37°14.760' W119°07.864'
N37°14.843' W119°08.708'
N37°14.878' W119°08.923'
N37°14.619' W119°09.224'
N37°14.825' W119°09.327'
N37°14.785' W119°09.352'
N37°14.573' W119°09.278'
N37°14.740' W119°07.988'
N37°14.706' W119°08.068'

Graveyard Lakes

This was backpacking weekend to Graveyard lakes north of Edison Lake. One third the effort was driving the paved road (used loosely) to Edison Lake. The section from Kaiser Pass to Edison gets progressively more potholed as you get closer to Edison. I guess it keeps out the riff raff.

From Edison we followed the Goodale Pass trail up to Lower and Upper Graveyard Meadows. This section steeply climbs up from the lake through some well established Lodepole Pine Forests. Lower Graveyard Meadow is approximately a mile long and a great place to pass a few hours. Our mission, however was to make it to Lower Graveyard Lake so we pressed on. The hike is about 7 miles and 2100 feet of elevation gain. The last 500 feet from Upper Graveyard Lake is the steepest but is over in short order. Once at the lake we were happy to see there was no one else there. Our Dogs Kodi and Shiva had a great time in the lake.

The fishing was good too, but I don't think you could make a meal out of the 3-8 inch trout. Mosquito flies worked best since there were a few around. I saw a deer come to the water to drink while I was fishing. This lake must not get a lot of traffic since he was not quite sure what to make of me. He watched me for half an hour while I was fishing and did not run as I made my way back to camp. I saw a potential route on he east face of Graveyard Peak, but it could be loose and alpine like. On the way out I noticed some other cliffs up Mono Creek (east of Edison Lake).

Tour De Granite

This past couple weeks have been awesome for mountain biking in the Shaver area. Last Saturday was the Annual Tour De Granite Race sponsored by Spatdog. They did a great job organizing the event. The granite climb is about half way through the lap. Some riders can actually ride this section.

As a follow up we rode with the Central California Offroad cyclists on a 22 mile ride around Shaver Lake. We rode clockwise and found some cool single track sections and lots of dirt roads. The highlight has to be the Lakeshore Trail section which is mostly rideable by us. There are certainly a lot of opportunities to add mileage and link up singletrack sections, but we were glad to call it a day.

Sierra Summit 05/28/05
First time ever open on Memorial day weekend.
Corn snow was great. Sierra Summit received 600 inches
this year making it posible be open this late in the season.
The High Country has plenty osnow but the warm weather
is melting it fast. Rivers are ragging.

Sierra Summit

Sierra Summit was ripping yesterday with an new dusting of snow this past Thursday. The reported 6" new had compacted to a couple inches, however, this new cover helped the early skiing off piste. More new snow is expected tomorrow, although the resort will not be open next weekend. The potter Pass trail above Kaiser Pass Road looks to be in prime shape for a spring tour. With plenty of snow the afternoon corn should be phenomenal next week.

Good Day to Try Boarding 

Sierra Summit

Sierra Summit still has close to 8 feet of snow in some spots and is trying to stay open for this weekend and for Memorial Day. I believe this is the first time that Sierra Summit has been open for Memorial day. There is plenty of spring skiing and the high country has even more. This past weekend the snow was soft and easy to turn in. The crowds were minimal and we rarely waited in line.

View from Tamarack