Vogelsang beta

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c9h13no3
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Re: Vogelsang beta

Post by c9h13no3 »

This thread delivers.
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Wandering Daisy
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Re: Vogelsang beta

Post by Wandering Daisy »

I have been told Rafferty Creek is dry. I am going there Tuesday but will not be back for more than a week, probably any information will be too late for you. As for water quality, I am taking both a filter and chlorine tablets. Some current research has shown that skimming the top layer of water from standing water in a lake has less pathogens than moving creek water. Evidently sunshine is a treatment. I still prefer moving water- it seems to taste better to me. Since the Sierra High Camps are closed this year, there would be less horse poop to runoff into the water, so it probably is better than usual. Townsly Lake is off the trail and it has much better water and is very scenic too.

Have you called the wilderness office in Yosemite? They may have water information. The number I use is 209-372-0826. You get a message if busy- just keep calling back and you will eventually get through.
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mkbgdns
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Re: Vogelsang beta

Post by mkbgdns »

thanks for the heads up on top layer/uv, will pass it along. my kids and I have been to Townsley, agree with your observation. since this isn't make-or-break, won't bother with phone call, but appreciate for the suggestion.

will tell the kids that if they run into a mature woman who seems to know what she's doing up there, they should introduce themselves.
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Re: Vogelsang beta

Post by SSSdave »

HangingBasket.jpg
At high elevations within granite landscapes with either permanent snowfields or north facing steeps with talus, it is easy to predict where one will be able to find seeping water even in driest years. Generally in glaciated granite landscapes, soils are shallow due to massive bedrock below that melted winter snows water runs off quickly and become dry by mid summer or fall. However areas with talus especially deep talus of rock glaciers tend to retain flowing water even at driest times. Winter storms given the southwest to south usual Sierra Nevada CCW storm directions, tend to cause drifting on lee eastern sides of ridge lines. That is why streams sourced along the eastern side of the Sierra Crest tend to always have year round cold flows.

https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=37.7937 ... 9&z=15&b=t

If one looks at the USGS topo, there are small snow fields and glacierets off the shadowed north facing steeps of the 11805 ridge. Such snow fields have been rapidly melting over the last couple decades, however much of such snow is no longer at the surface but rather has been buried by the frequent rock fall off the cliffs. One-hundred feet below such talus are frozen ice worlds with temperatures near freezing even in hottest weather. Such reservoirs of water are always still slowly melting and during summer and fall such water rises to the surface at the foot of talus fields that will show as green mossy turf areas on satellite imagery. On the Google Earth image old glacial snow shows as dirty icy slabs.

So visit the base of such areas to find your coldest, purest water. In other geologies and vegetation zones there can be other situations where seeps occur.

Notice those reddish brown meadow areas? The GE image is from mid September 2013 a drought year and that color indicates dwarf bilberry, vaccinium caespitosum, growing with the turf matrix often along with arctic willow, that provides some of the only High Sierra fall leaf color for elevations above 10k. The bilberry colonizes shallow soils underlain with water capping bedrock.
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ScottG
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Re: Vogelsang beta

Post by ScottG »

On August 18th water was flowing into and out of Fletcher. Rafferty Creek still had a bit of moving water down below the meadows; plenty to filter and fill up.
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narc1370
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Re: Vogelsang beta

Post by narc1370 »

As of two days ago, there was water flowing from Townsley into Fletcher. I didn’t see water in the outlet
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