January is supposed to be a wet, miserable month in the Sierra's. You know, snow, ice and all that mucky goodness that we valley folk don't have to deal with if we choose to stay at sea-level.
The month of January for 2009 has just been plain whack-o (for lack of better scientific words). An extremely intense high pressure system had been hovering above California for over a week thanks to some help from a strong La Nina. Temperatures across the state skyrocketed to record highs by 10am!
Hetch Hetchy Valley was no exception, as our thermometer read 78 degrees in the shade on this day. This is a number I'm willing to believe too, as the cooling mist from Wapama falls couldn't have felt any better. Some January weather!
Global warming sucks in the long view, but with days like the one shown in this sideshow, it's worth taking advantage of and then doing a rain dance when you get home.
This 5 mile roundtrip hike was amazingly pleasant, the fishing was OK and the scenery was once again spectacular. |