Surprized!

[hikin1]

Three of us took the tram up Friday morning to hike in to Round Valley, hit the peak and then camp overnight with the rest of our group who came in via Humber Park. Got all our permits in order well in advance and had a very enjoyable day on the trail. To our surprize when we came down from Wellman's to head into our campsite - there were several groups who apparently ignored their permit information of where to camp. One group parked themselves just a short distance from the structures and pitched tents on either side of the trail where you could touch them as you walked towards Tamarack Valley. Another group planted themselves about 50' from that group - both very close to the edge of Meadow certainly not the required distance. Then later that evening a huge scout troop from Thousand Oaks came in and planted themselves within 20' of the single toilet as you head towards Tamarack. It simply amazed us that the adults in each of those groups for whatever reason didn't think the rules applied to them...or they don't know how to read. We have resolved we will never go in on a Friday any longer and fall back to early or midweek which we have done in the past. Been hiking those trails since the early 80's and this time was the worst ignoring the rules I've ever seen. Ok - I will get off my pulprit now... It was a great day to be on the trails and enjoying the wilderness!!

[Ellen]

Howdy Hiking1

It seems as though the increased volume of people on San J is also increasing the amount of rude behavior

Sorry about your experience.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[rmscouter]

I took a scout group (T777 from Encinitas) up Devil's Slide on Saturday and camped in RV that evening. I agree with you that people should follow the rules about where to camp, but I have to add that it took us a *long* time to locate a real campsite. Fortunately, our 10 people/ 6 tents ended up in Blue Jay. It seemed that there are no signs to point out even the general direction to the sites, and the area is criss-crossed by a number of use trails, adding to the confusion. The greaseboard on the ranger hut doesn't provide much help either. I think adding a couple of signs directing folks to the main branches (bird campsites this way, tree campsites that way) would go a long way toward helping people camp legally.

[hikin1]

Thanks Ellen - I was probably being over sensitive with what I saw. But - we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and I got to meet Hannah Banana (the dog) on the trail as I hiked with her owner until just before Round Valley. They were heading to Tamarack Valley and the Ridge Line route. Here's a link to the photos from the trip. First group is from a hand held camera, the ones with dates is one rigged to my shoulder strap and snaps a photo every minute. Sometimes you get good shots and other times not so good. Works well on the mountain bike also. We are heading back shortly but earlier in the week.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=6 ... 5deb9348b9

[Florian]

the ones with dates is one rigged to my shoulder strap and snaps a photo every minute.

Paul,

What equipment do you use to do the 1-per-minute photos? I've been wanting to do this myself.

-Florian

[guest]

Hi rmscouting,

That's helpful info regarding your experience, sometimes well meaning folks have difficulty doing the right thing if enough info is not at hand.

Hopefully the park personnel will read this, or may already be aware & plan to take some steps to improve this. The CCC is doing lots of work in the State park this summer.

Of course no one wants signs everywhere, but strategically placed may help reduce impact from folks wondering all over.

ss

[hikin1]

Florian - I picked up a Pentax Optio W80, 12mp. I looked around and settled on this due to the water resistance (up to 5m underwater) and the 1m drop test. I found it on Amazon for a decent price. Found (literally on a mountain bike ride) a soft shell camera case, never found the owner, put the camera inside and then traced the lens, focus assist and flash and did some cutting, now have to get it stitched along the edges. The case had a velcro strap and I added two more and then experimented with the positioning on a shoulder strap. The W80 has a great interval menu, I have it setup to start after two minutes once I get into the mode and then every minute for 360 minutes. It can be set to anything timing you want and it is stopped when you press the shutter and menu buttons together and then you can start all over again. It is great as you review at home and see what was captured. I also carry another camera for those shots I want to be sure I get.

Paul

[Florian]

Thanks for the info, Paul. Does the camera battery last all day? Do you turn off the screen to conserve power? I used to set my webcam on my office computer to take a shot every 10 seconds throughout the day. Was interesting to see what it caught when i wasn't around. Always wanted to do something similar while hiking/biking and also car mounted on driving trips.

-Florian

[hikin1]

Florian - we were on the trail 6+ hours with the camera shooting, I stopped it once when we were setting up tents in Round Valley then restarted the 360 minute time. From what I can tell the camera goes to sleep in between shots. When I got home the battery still had plenty of charge left. I purchased a second battery for longer trips in the Sierras. I just tested the camera here in the kitchen and when it snaps a photo the screen comes on briefly, I went out for two hours this morning on a trail ride and the battery shows full bars in the display after 120 pictures.

Here's a photo of the camera case rig, it needs to be stitched to finish it off.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1 ... 1022370487

Paul

[Florian]

I didn't think any point-and-shoot cameras did interval mode. Doing some research seems some do including your Pentax. I have the Nikon S640 that does not do interval. But the older model S620 does do interval. Grumble, grumble, grumble...

-Florian