Half Dome Cables Scheduled to Come Down for Season in Yosemite National Park

The cables on Half Dome in Yosemite National Park are scheduled to be taken down on October 15, 2007, weather permitting.

The cables extend approximately 300 yards up the steep shoulder to the 8,842-foot dome. They give access to the summit and to the unparalleled views of Yosemite Valley and the surrounding mountains of the Sierra Nevada.

Visitors are advised against attempting to summit Half Dome without the cables in place as the rock under the cables is extremely slippery and may be wet and/or icy even in seemingly dry conditions.

The Sierra Club funded the installation of the first cables on Half Dome in 1919; the Civilian Conservation Corps replaced the original cables in 1934.

The cables will be re-installed at the beginning of the summer season in 2008.

Source: NPS

To read more about the desert, go to DesertUSA.com.

Upcoming Ranger Programs at Anza-Borrego DSP

Friday, October 19, 20071:00 p.m. - Talk - - Desert-mart 45 MinutesCome stroll down the aisles of Desert-Mart with Volunteer Naturalist Hank Barber to discover how the ingenious Native Americans used desert plants for their food, clothing, shelter, and medicine. Focus is on the three most important plants: Agave, Creosote, and Mesquite.Saturday, October 20, 200711:00 [...]

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Public Comments for Virgin River Basin Habitat Proposal

Clark County, Nevada - The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that they will be accepting public comments through October 29, 2007, on their intent to gather information to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed Virgin River Habitat Conservation and Recovery Program (VRHCRP), for the lower Virgin River Basin in [...]

Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival Oct. 20-21, 2007

Billed as a “rootsicana, newgrassy, folkadelic” experience, Joshua Tree’s annual Roots Music Festival is once again occurring October 20 and 21st at the Joshua Tree Lake Campground in Joshua Tree, CA. With acts from Australia, Tennessee, San Francisco, Hawaii, Joshua Tree, and Yosemite, this promises to be a diverse range of blues, folk, rock n’ [...]

Special Tours of Lower Vine Ranch, Scottys Castle, Death Valley in Nov. and Dec.

In the fall of 2006 and the spring of 2007, Death Valley National Park offered several weekends of special tours of Lower Vine Ranch, part of the Death Valley Scotty National Historic District. With the success of last spring’s tours, this winter and spring, Death Valley National Park will be offering several additional special weekend [...]

National Fire Activity - Preparedness Level 1 - Oct 5th Report including Year-to-Date Acreage Information

October 5, 2007 - National Preparedness Level 1 (On a scale from 1 to 5) - Wildland fire activity was light throughout the country yesterday, with 107 new fires reported. Three large fires in Kentucky were contained. Please note the National Fire News will only be updated on Fridays unless significant activity is reported.Weather Discussion: [...]