Comments on: Vertical Hiking at Tenaya Lake

By: TheGreenElCerrito

TheGreenElCerrito — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:00:08 +0000

I’m inspired to check out this area now…thanks.

By: Digging » Bloggers’ Celebration of National Parks: A wrap-up

Digging » Bloggers’ Celebration of National Parks: A wrap-up — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:32:13 +0000

[...] Ryan of DryStoneGarden climbs vertically at Tenaya Lake. [...]

By: lostlandscape(James)

lostlandscape(James) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:46:29 +0000

I love the scenery you showed. Even through I’ve been to Tenaya Lake a very few times, I always see it through the eyes of the photographers who’ve done some great work there. There’s St. Ansel’s photo that is pretty well known, and Muybridge has some terrific mammoth plate shots from up there. And then there’s Edward Weston whose shots of junipers on the lake shore are pretty stunning. Some day I’d like to spend a few days to see if the same junipers are still there, 70+ years later.

By: ryan

ryan — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:51:23 +0000

I had totally forgotten about Coleridge’s ode to laudanum. Thanks for reminding me.
You’re not alone with the heavy slabs and rocks. Everyone, men and women and definitely myself, is challenged by them. The trick is to only move or lift a portion of the stone at a time. And to use a handtruck or tree dolly whenever possible.
I know some general things about the impacts of quarrying, but it really varies depending on the stone and the quarry. The embedded energy largely depends on the distance the stone travels, but also on the harvest method. Distance to the quarry and cost of the stone are pretty good rule of thumb indicators of the impact. But, really, you need to research the specific stones. Personally, I try to pick local stone and try to avoid mortar whenever possible and try to also remind myself that our planet is literally made of rock and that rock is the longest lasting building material in the world.
The Three Rivers quarry is the biggest stone quarry in the country and had an environmental battle when they expanded. There’s a fair bit of info out there about it. It’s also a really popular stone in the Bay Area and I have a post on it. I also have a post that links to some beautiful quarry photos a photographer took for a book.

By: Country Mouse

Country Mouse — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:10:56 +0000

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / a stately pleasure-dome decree - Coleridge. See http://etext.virginia.edu/stc/Coleridge/poems/Kubla_Khan.html - It’s a wonderful poem. A fragment actually - he had taken opium and had a huge vision, and had just begun writing it down in a poem - when someone knocked at his door and - whoosh. Vision all gone. That’s the story anyway.

Wonderful post, with pika no less! As a teenager I used to go rock climbing in Llanberis Pass in North Wales - Snowdonia area. Wonderful memories. Quite a bit different from Tuolomne Meadows to be sure! If you are ever in the UK, I hope you can go there!

I’m going to post at some point on stonework - something I also love to do, but am a beginner 1 set of steps and 1 flagstone path to my name so far. As a small middle aged woman I’m a bit challenged when it comes to working with big heavy slabs and rocks, but I love the whole drystone process. I’m interested in the ecological impact of quarrying but don’t know how to get more info. Plan to start by googling. Wonder if you have any pointers? Gosh. This is a long comment!

By: ryan

ryan — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:53:13 +0000

Thanks folks. Tenaya has some of the best rock I know, fun to post about.
I’d like to see the TN-NC mountains some day. I’ve never seen any of the mountains back east except in photos.
So there are a few climbers out there. Pretty cool, doing the climb as a 1500 foot solo. We decided we’d probably do it without the rope if we were to repeat it. Duck Pass is a trail worth seeing, very quick up into the high country and then Duck Lake is shockingly large for an alpine lake.