r/norcalhiking

California needs a rattlesnake relocation program to remove these dangerous creatures from parks frequented by kids, dogs, and casual outdoor visitors.
If there was a bobcat, mountain lion, or bear spotted in a park they would be relocated by Fish and Wildlife. The same should stand for Rattlesnakes. They are unarguably more dangerous than these other predators:

ATTACKS IN THE PAST 10 YEARS:
Mountain lion/bobcat: 12

Bears: 1

Rattle Snakes : 2,700-3,000

To have a bite treated in a hospital:

• Mild bite: $15,000–$30,000
• Average bite requiring antivenom: $40,000–$100,000
• Severe bite with ICU care: $100,000–$250,000+

Rattle snake interactions have increased in recent years as their population is growing to dangerous levels.

It is definitively true that rattlesnakes eat rodents but they are not needed to manage the population of rodents.

Consumption of rodents per year:

Rattle snakes: 15-30 rodents per year.

Barn Owl: 1,000 - 3,000 rodents per year

Red tailed Hawk: 300-800 rodents per year

American Kestrel: 200-500 rodents per year.

If comparing snakes:

• 10 rattlesnakes might consume 150–300 rodents per year.
• 10 gopher snakes might consume 200–500 rodents per year

Share this post to gather support for this project to remove rattle snakes from parks/trails/communities.

I got tired of paying $15 for freeze dried meals that are basically salted cardboard and not great for you either. So I started making my own trail meals inspired by Indian home cooking. Real ingredients, warm spices, good protein and fiber instead of just carbs and sodium. Tastes way better too.
About 400 cal per serving, vegetarian, easy on the stomach, one pot plus boiling water. Shelf stable for trail use.
Looking for a few people to test a batch on an upcoming trip and tell me what they honestly think, good or bad. Comment or DM if you’re interested.

We’re roadtripping the Cali coast to specifically see the Redwood and Sequoia trees and have two days in the redwoods. I need help deciding what to prioritize. We do have a fern canyon day pass. However, we’re going this Saturday which is 4th of July so I expect everything else to be insanely busy.

We need to decide between the Boy Scout Tree Trail and the Knapp to Cathedral combo. We also plan to stop at the Big Tree Wayside. Open to suggestions/changes!

Option 1: (Should we skip Stout or Titans to get the Fern Canyon earlier?)
8:00 am - Stout Grove
9:00 am - Grove of the Titans
10:00 am - Boy Scout Tree Trail
2:00 pm - Leave Howland Hill Rd
3:30 pm - Fern Canyon

Option 2:
8:00 am - Stout Grove
9:00 am - Grove of the Titans
10:00 am - Leave Howland Hill Rd
11:30 am - Fern Canyon
1:00 pm - Karl Knapp Trail to Cathedral Tree
3:00 pm - Another small hike?

Then we want to do a couple very short hikes along Avenue of the Giants. Reccs?

howdy!!! I made some awesome hiker friends & took some pics of a fellow hiker at the peak of Mt. Whitney yesterday! I had my mom call me near the trailhead with a family emergency so I forgot to exchange numbers with my new friends! If this is you or you know who I’m talking about, pls message me so I can get him his pictures!! Thanks!!

I biked up to Shane Observatory (the open part of Lick) from Alum Rock yesterday.

While I was refueling before the descent, puttering around I read the posted info sheet about how to act during mountain lion encounters while hiking (be big, make yourself big, be noisy, fight back if necessary). At bottom of it was a request to notify someone -- observatory staff? someone else? -- if you see a mountain lion.

Then to my surprise while descending at pace I did see a mountain lion. It was crossing the road from left to right in front of me, right by the final hairpin turn on the first Hamilton descent from summit down to the Smith Creek bridge. (It was far enough ahead of me that the braking I already had to do was enough to evade it.) Unfortunately I don't run a camera, so I don't have hard evidence, only memories.

I'm guessing the instruction to "tell us" if you see a mountain lion is more about inculcating additional excitement in the lucky observer. But just in case they use the counts of sightings for anything serious, I figure I should actually do what they ask. 🙂 Anyone know precisely who I should contact to report the sighting? The Lick Observatory contacts page doesn't list anything that looks suitably wildlife-focused.

Hello - doing some camping/hiking in the south yuba river st park and mt tam state park areas next week (early July). Wondering if anyone knows how bad the ticks and or mosquitoes are in these areas
right now. Should I go ahead and treat clothes with permethrin?
I am definitely worried about ticks in Mount Tam seeing people‘s post on here from earlier in the summer. Thanks and happy trails to all

Curious if anybody has been to emigrant in the last week, would love to know if I can skip the tent and go with a tarp.

Looking for suggestions and recommendations on places that are easier 4x4 / high clearance required and get me into great hiking and camping areas. Whenever I go down this hole on searching I wind up on offroading type forums, which isn't really my goal. I just want to be able to get somewhere remote and unique and then camp and hike around.

I am finding a lot of info on ways to get to the Sierra Buttes but I am in a low clearance sedan so anything more than a pretty even gravel/dirt road to access a trail is going to be a no-go.

What is the best access point with that consideration? It looks like it will probably be a 5+ mile hike out ?

I left my Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 poles at a sorta stealth site between Fontanillis and Dicks Lake in Desolation Wilderness on 6/21. The site is on a slope overlooking Fontanillis Lake, west off the PCT-TRT & Bayview trail split. I've contacted Big Agnes but it isn't looking promising I'll be able to purchase just a set of poles. I tried a couple AllTrails and Facebook posts but nothing yet. I'm planning to hike the JMT in a couple months so I need to figure something out. Should I just accept my tent is no longer useable and buy a new one? Any gear recovery tips?

Wanted to get input on hikes. We almost always stay in the valley but am debating whether to stay there or on Tuolomne next weekend. and wanted to get input from this group. The objective is to do one hike that is about 6ish hours long. Ideally one with Mountain View’s and alpine lakes.

Here is what I see pros and cons of each place
Valley - Pros - more food options, lodging can be more comfortable - Cons - hotter than at 8k feet, hikes can have waterfall but not lanes. I’m not sure which hike I should do as well.

Tuolomne - Pros- cooler weather, quieter, likely to find a hike that meets my description Cons - no lodging with bathrooms, vegeterian food options very limited, bugs? Also looking for hike recos here. Cathedral lake? Is there a hike where I could get couple of awesome lakes? I did do guided hi sierra couple years back.

Looking for inputs on what will be a better destination for next weekend (July 10) and which specific hikes would you recommend.

TIA.