#san joaquin daylight

[aryburn-trains]

A Southern Pacific promo shot of the steam-powered San Joaquin Daylight near Bakersfield in the 1940s

[double-d-circuitbreakers]

Sell Electrical Equipment in Stockton CA

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[sunchaserpictures]

SEQUOIA STREAMLIGHT from Gavin Heffernan on Vimeo.

This latest shoot focuses on heavenly Sequoia skies along the banks of the vital Kaweah River. In Spring, this would be a raging torrent but because of the low Fall water levels, I could step into the middle of the river and get some unique shots of the "streamlight," using moonlight to "paint" the foreground, giving the visuals a surreal daylight feeling in places. I also has some fun doing a few more psychedelic experiments with star trails and mirroring in the second half.

Also note: Some kind of creature walks through one of the shots and moves around through the river. Note how the big rock on the right of the screen gets covered with water at 1:10. You can see blurry glimpses of the beast moving around for the rest of the shot. Not sure what it is. Any guesses? :)

"Fed primarily by high elevation snowmelt along the Great Western Divide, the Kaweah begins as four forks in Sequoia National Park, where the watershed is noted for its alpine scenery and its dense concentrations of giant sequoias, the largest trees on Earth. It then flows in a southwest direction to Lake Kaweah – the only major reservoir on the river – and into the San Joaquin Valley, where it diverges into multiple channels across an alluvial plain around Visalia."

Shot and Edited by Gavin Heffernan (GavinBHeffernan.com) Music: Slow Light 1 (Ambient) by Moby. Courtesy: MobyGratis.com

Exposures were between 20-25 seconds. Shot on Canon 6D. Lenses Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L USM Wide Angle Lens and Rokinon 12mm f2.8.

This project was shot as part of SKYGLOW (skyglowproject.com), an ongoing quest to explore the effects and dangers of urban light pollution in contrast with some of the most incredible dark sky areas in North America. This project is being produced by Gavin Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinovic in collaboration with International Dark-Sky Association (darksky.org), a non-profit fighting for the preservation of night skies around the globe.

[thefakeray]

SP Train 51, the San Joaquin Daylight observation car at Oakland, CA on May 22, 1970 -- 1 of 2 Photos by Marty Bernard Via Flickr: A Roger Puta Photograph

[espee-southernpacifc]

Southern Pacific San Joaquin Daylight, Train # 52 arrives at Fresno, CA by Tom Taylor Via Flickr: SDP-45 # 3207 brings the San Joaquin Daylight into the aging Fresno Passenger station as a nicely-dressed family anticipates their upcoming train ride.

[johnschneiderblog]

I was in no mood for a carjacking

Let me point out, first of all, that the incident occurred not on the mean streets of Los Angeles, but in Visalia, an agricultural-oriented city in the San Joaquin Valley, 200 miles north of L.A.

We were there because the guys who finally came to tow the Subaru from Sequoia (Valero Brothers Towning) said it was in Visalia that we would have the best chance of getting another tow (to a Subaru dealership) on Friday.

Luckily the Valeros consented to towing Sharon and me as well. So we jumped in the back seat of their flatbed for the one-hour ride. Meanwhile Sharon got on her phone and booked a room at the Marriott.

The Valeros managed to navigate all the tight corners in the hotel’s gated lot and got the Subaru ensconced in an out-of-the way spot. Then one of them took one more shot at starting the Subaru. Amazingly it sputtered to life.

So, while the Valeros were putting away their straps and chains and Sharon was getting us checked in, I decided to drive the car to a parking spot closer to the hotel. I got about 200 feet before the car stalled and, once again, failed to start.

Just then I noticed, through the windshield, in full daylight, a wild-eyed guy I judged to be in his 30s, approaching the car. I thought, for a moment, that he recognized my predicament and was going to help me push the Subaru into another spot.

As I rolled down the driver-side window, he grabbed the door handle, pulled the door open and shouted n an exceedingly unhelpful way, “I NEED YOUR CAR; GET OUT!”

Noticing no weapon, I replied,“F--- OFF.  YOU’RE NOT GETTING THIS CAR.”

The guy turned around and started running back toward the street, flipping me the bird as he fled.

When I reported the incident to the hotel clerk, she said there was a park nearby that attracted a seedy element. Sometimes they drifted over to the hotel and panhandled the customers. She suspected the perp was one of those guys and said she would alert the night-shift security guard.

So Sharon and I retreated to our hotel room where we drank cocktails and pondered our predicament.

Tomorrow: Part Three: The Rescue.

[greensparty]

Stuff I’m Looking Forward to in November

Whoa - it’s now the tail end of 2021! In addition to Election Day (Nov. 2), Diwali (Nov. 4), Daylight Savings Ending (Nov. 7), Veteran’s Day (Nov. 11), Thanksgiving (Nov. 25), and Hanukkah (from Nov. 28 to Dec. 6), here is what’s on my radar this month:

Movies:

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Jason Reitman picks up the mantle from his Dad Ivan (who directed the first 2 Ghostbusters in the 80s), with this new reboot. Early reviews have not been kind, but the fact that Ivan is a producer, Jason has done some excellent work and all of the original living Ghostbusters appear in this, makes me cautiously optimistic. Opening 11/19.

C'mon C'mon

I was a huge fan of Mike Mills’ films Beginners and 20th Century Women (both were tied for my #30 Movie of the 2010s) and his new one with Joaquin Phoenix is creating quite a buzz. I missed it at IFFBoston Fall Focus last week, but it opens on 11/19.

House of Gucci

Ridley Scott’s crime thriller about the Gucci family has been setting the internet on fire over the last year. Movie opens 11/24.

Licorice Pizza

Paul Thomas Anderson’s new coming-of-age in 1973 San Fernando Valley film might possibly be my most anticipated movie of 2021. Opening in limited release 11/26.

Music:

Radiohead Kid A Mnesia

I out and out love Radiohead, especially their 2000 album Kid A and 2001 follow-up Amnesia. To celebrate the 20th anniversary this year of both albums (its really one album, but anyways...), there is a reissue set that includes both albums as well as a third disc of unreleased tracks from the recording sessions as well as a cassette tape Kid A Mnesiette of B-sides. Album drops Nov. 5.

Snail Mail Valentine

I was a big fan of the debut album from Snail Mail, Lush. I included it on my Best Albums of 2018 and on my Best Albums of the 2010s list. The follow up drops Nov. 5.

Courtney Barnett Things Take Time, Take Time 

The third studio album from Courtney Barnett is something to celebrate! I have been a big fan of her 2017 Kurt Vile duet and her 2018 album Tell me How You Really Feel. Expectations are high for this album, which drops on 11/12.

Nirvana Nevermind 30th Deluxe Edition

September marked the 30th anniversary of Nirvana’s landmark album Nevermind. You could say I’ve written quite a bit about the album (read here). To celebrate the 30th anniversary there is a deluxe edition (different than the 2011 20th anniversary edition), which includes not just the remastered studio album, but several live concerts from that tour. Box set drops 11/12.

TV: The Beatles: Get Back 

Instead of doing a feature documentary about The Beatles recording of Get Back / Let It Be, director Peter Jackson has made a 3-part documentary series. After listening to the recent Let It Be reissue and reading the companion Get Back book, I am super excited about this doc which drops 11/25 to 11/27 on Disney+.

Books:

Paul McCartney The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present 

How does Sir Paul find the time to write a book of 154 of his songs lyrics with commentary? Between his documentary series McCartney 3, 2, 1, the recent reissue of The Beatles’ Let It Be and the aforementioned Peter Jackson documentary, he’s busier right now than most musicians are in multiple years combined! Book release Nov. 2.

Events:

Record Store Day: Black Friday edition 

Record Store Day is among my favorite fake holidays and in addition to the holidays they had earlier this year, they have a special Black Friday edition on 11/26!

[thehikingviking]

Miller Mountain & Black Butte from Tassajara Road, Ventana Wilderness

It was my third consecutive weekend heading to China Camp Trailhead in the Ventana Wilderness. I had climbed South Ventana Cone, Chews Ridge and Ventana Cone over the previous two weeks, so it made sense to "finish off" the area and climb Miller Mountain as well. This was all part of my plan to climb the Ventana 15, and the relatively short drive to the trailhead was also part of the allure. Asaka was 8 months pregnant, so I didn't want to go too far away from home in case the time finally came. Surprisingly both Daryn and Colin were willing to join me again, chalking it up to quarantine restlessness. I knew the truth was really that they both greatly enjoy my company. There were no surprises as we followed the Pine Ridge Trail 3.5 miles to the Church Creek Divide. By this time we were experts on this section of trail.

Behind Pine Valley were Ventana Double Cone, Uncle Sam Mountain and Miller Mountain.

Once at the saddle, we took a right down into Pine Valley. This was new experience for all of us. The saddle was dry, but spring water started to emerge as we descended down the canyon. After a little more than 5 miles we reached the historic cabin built by Jack English. It was a beautiful area.

We picked up the Carmel River Trail here, but it was hard to follow initially as it crossed through a marshy meadow.

We left the trail at a creek flowing down the southeastern slopes of Miller Mountain and followed this up the rarely traveled canyon.

I planned to follow the canyon further, but found it easier to climb up the ridge to the south of the peak. Once atop the ridge, we had great views of the summit (minus the bug in the photo).

Back to the west were Ventana Cone and Double Ventana Cone.

There was some easy bushwhacking along the ridge. The vegetation had burned in a fire, but it was steadily growing back. It looked worse than it ended up being.

I was happy to reach the summit, considering I was not sure that we would make it at all. To the northeast was the Salinas Range.

To the northwest were Uncle Sam Mountain and Elephant Mountain.

To the west were Ventana Cone and Double Ventana Cone.

To the southwest were Junipero Serra Peak and South Ventana Cone.

To the southeast was Chews Ridge. We considered following the ridgeline back to China Camp but it looked brushy and difficult.

-Bug!

It was still early so we decided to eat lunch later. We followed a similar route down, this time staying more on top of the ridge. As we dropped into one of the gullies, we found a deer carcass laying in the creek. Earlier on I was about to fill up in the creek downstream and I'm very thankful that I didn't.

We wondered what killed the deer. My money was on a mountain lion. We followed the creek out until we intersected the trail once again.

We stopped for lunch at the cabin. There were some nice benches to sit on here.

Colin walked over to the Carmel River and saw a fish. We had considered bringing our fishing gear, but I was skeptical that they would live so close to the headwaters.

-Carmel River

The remaining journey to the car was a dull march uphill. I had a lot of time to think about bonus peaks. We had enough daylight to climb Black Butte which stood just down the road from the car, but the question was if we would have enough energy. I started my pitch as we hiked the last couple miles. Both Daryn and Colin were still uncommitted by the time we reached the car, so I suggested we just drive down the road to check it out. Once at the trailhead, I pointed at the peak, pretending to be surprised with regards to how close we were to the summit. This tactic worked on Colin surprisingly; Daryn was too experienced to fall for the oldest trick in the book. With Colin now in, Daryn also agreed to come. Off we went down the dirt road.

The dirt road ended and the bushwhacking began. This was the part that was not visible from earlier. Luckily, there was a clipped trail through the brush.

There was a lot of ducking and pushing away branches, but we got through the worst of it to some open terrain.

It was now just a matter of running the ridge. We scrambled around a false summit. The true summit stood just a short distance further.

We all made the summit, happy that we went through with it in the first place.

To the southeast were Pinyon Peak and Junipero Serra Peak.

Pinyon Peak on the left is still my hardest hike to date.

To the south were Cone Peak and Twin Peak.

To the southwest were Black Cone and White Cone.

To the northwest were South Ventana Cone, Ventana Double Cone and Uncle Sam Mountain.

To the northeast was Palo Escrito. The Sierra Nevada was even visible across the San Joaquin Valley. 

I was very happy with our extra credit. I felt very accomplished and I think the others were too.

We retraced our steps back along the ridge and drove back home that afternoon.

[gkhaliq]

My Ocs

(TBoL Ocs)

Name: Alejandro Sanchez

Sex: Male

Age: ???

Looks: Looks more like Manolo but has black hair, eyes are black, skin is a darker tan, voice is deeper, wears the same clothes as manolo but all of the little designs are black and red

Sexuality: Bisexual

Crush: No one at the moment

Personality: Dark, Evil, Cruel, Slutty, Horny, Loving, Caring, Fancy, Passionate, Demonic, Intelligent, and Funny

Parents: Carlos and Carmen (He really hates his family expect for Manolo)

Likes: Male and female private parts [especially male] (XD), Sushi, Raw human meat, Blood, Gore, Dark comedy, Killing, Murder, Death of others, people crying, hurting his father in cruel ways, protecting and loving his brother.

Dislikes: Other Sanchez family members, Haters who hate Manolo, General Posada, Captain Mondragon, Happiness, Losing, Vegetables, Cheaters, Other Gods and His exs

Friends: Funboy(God of Mischief), Azazel (God of Wrath) and Maia (Goddess of Shadows)

Sons: Fernando Sanchez (Demigod of Sins), Roberto (Demigod of Despiar) and Alberto (Demigod of Sanity) {Alejandro has triplet sons, Fernando is the oldest, Roberto is the middle child and Alberto is the youngest}

Deaths: A LOT

Enemies: His other family members, his ex girlfriend Chara, Sliver Mondragon, Shade Mondragon and mortals

Backstory: Alejandro Sanchez died by birth. His mother had sold him to an asylum because she knew Alejandro was insane and demonic, Alejandro was abused, experimented, mistreated, and raped by all the male scientists. Alejandro spent 15 years in the asylum. He met Funboy and Azazel in the asylum, the three became friends and they set the asylum on fire and we’re free. He used his magic to go to the land of living (the surface) to see his twin brother, Manolo. He then met Maia, Maria’s twin sister. They became friends as well. The four demonic lords (I call them that because I’m lazy) went to see Manolo. Oh their way, Alejandro fell in love with a young female goddess named Chara Dreamur (Goddess of Genocide) but their love ended once Chara cheated on him and got pregnant by another man and she aborted the baby. They became rivals but Chara still loved Alejandro. Alejandro saw his father, Carlos was forcing Manolo to become a bullfighter, he also saw how the people hated him for loving Maria. Alejandro wanted to kill Carlos and the people of San angel. Alejandro starts to stalk Manolo and planned on letting Manolo to become a god like him, the god of love. So when Manolo dies, Alejandro can go to him and convince him to join him into killing all of mortality.

Name: Sliver Mondragon

Sex: Male

Age: ????

Looks: Looks like his twin brother, Joaquin but was born with out an left eye so he had an eyepatch since he was born. He prefers to wear only light blue and has a deeper voice, skin color is a lighter tan. His voice is deeper and his eyes are hazel brown but he hides them and turns them blue

Sexuality: Gay

Crush: Manolo Sanchez

Personality: Strong, Serious, Powerful, Caring, Protective, Brilliant and Fearless

Parents: Gertrude Mondragon(mother) and Captain Mondragon(Father, his name is the same as Joaquin)

Likes: Swords, Fencing, guns, roses(they remind him of Manolo), money, gambling, eagles, and the sea

Dislikes: Alejandro Sanchez, his parents, sadists, deaths, losing, retarded questions and mortality

Friends: Joaquin Mondragon(his twin brother) and shade Mondragon(his son)

Son: Shade Mondragon(Demigod of Sage)

Deaths: One

Enemies: Alejandro Sanchez, Chara Dreamur, his parents, mortals, and Manolo Sanchez

Backstory: Gertrude and Captain Mondragon had twin sons, Sliver and Joaquin Mondragon. Joaquin never knew he had a twin brother because his mother took sliver to Germany with her while Joaquin stayed in Mexico. When sliver found out he had a twin brother, Sliver became very cruel to his mother. Getrude was afraid of sliver because she found out about his powers of fire. Sliver would always yell and shout at her for leaving Joaquin alone. He ran away from his house after kicking his mother in the face. Sliver ran away and went back to San Angel. But then he met Alejandro and Alejandro cursed him, he turned him into a ghost. Alejandro did this because when they first met, they would always fight and kill one another. Sliver got back to San angel and became his twin brother’s “guardian angel” but then he saw Manolo and fell in love with him. If Joaquin dies, Sliver could see him again and if Manolo dies, Sliver could love him. But he knew that some girl, Maria loves Manolo too. Sliver was jealous of this so when Manolo got bitten by a snake and went to the land of the remembrance. Sliver immediately kissed Manolo when he woke up. Sliver told Manolo everything about his childhood and Manolo just fell in love with him. Sliver used his magic to teleport him back to the land of living and in the daylight now, Manolo would spend time with Maria and his family and friends. But at night, he would spend time with sliver and his twin brother.

((So if you have any questions, please message me then! Thank you uwu))

[thesunsetempire]

CoSF at Oakland and Suisin Bay in 67 and the San Joaquin Daylight in 68 at Berkeley. 

[architectnews]

La Fabrica Sustainable Masterplan, Santiago

La Fabrica Sustainable Masterplan, Santiago Buildings, , Architecture Images, Design

La Fabrica Sustainable Masterplan in Santiago

11 Sep 2021

Architects: Foster + Partners

Location: Santiago, Chile

La Fabrica Sustainable Masterplan

Marking the practice’s first project in Chile, designs for a new masterplan for La Fabrica have been revealed. The project centres on the regeneration of an existing mid-twentieth century factory building to create an integrated mixed-use urban quarter in the heart of Santiago, Chile. Underpinning the sustainable focus of the project, the design is based on the adaptive reuse of an existing building while introducing timber as a new primary building material. Extending onto an adjacent site with a 550-unit residential development, the masterplan establishes an ideal live/work model that looks firmly towards the future.

David Summerfield, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners, said: “La Fabrica offers an incredible opportunity to interweave the industrial heritage of the city with the urgent present need to establish a sustainable model of development. The project brings together the revitalisation of a historic landmark, the creation of an exciting mixed-use neighbourhood and the construction one of the largest new mass timber buildings in the region which will form the benchmark for sustainable buildings in the region.”

Located in the industrial neighbourhood of San Joaquin, the historic factory was once a major contributor to the textile industry in the country. A progressive development for its time, the workers in the factory were provided housing and day-care facilities on neighbouring sites, creating a large low-density community. The new masterplan seeks to re-establish the live/work links by creating a new mixed-use urban quarter with a significant residential component that responds flexibly to the contemporary needs of society.

With half the building currently occupied by a retail mall, La Fabrica features a distinctive lightweight concrete vault roof that is characteristic of the innovative industrial buildings of the time, with roof lights that allow daylight to flood the interior. The challenge was to extend the naturally ventilated mall to the entire building while densifying the edges of the site to respond to the surrounding urban fabric.

One of the primary design moves creates a sheltered pedestrian boulevard through the centre of the building, from the existing clocktower to the north to the southern edge of the site. With a raised roof over this central axis, it activates the heart of the building and allows visitors to appreciate the distinctive profile of the vaulted roof. The edges of the site have similarly been animated by pedestrian routes with a rich mix of low-rise office spaces, sports, entertainment, medical facilities, market stalls, shops and restaurants, creating a bustling, thriving ground plane that integrates the development with the surrounding neighbourhoods.

The mixed-use ground plane flows seamlessly into an adjacent site towards the northwest corner of the factory, where a new low-rise, high density residential development is located. It features a central octagonal square at the intersection of two generous tree-lined boulevards that are lined with shops, cafes and other neighbourhood retail. Four eight-storey residential blocks are arranged around the central square, with a series of smaller courtyards towards the interior of the site that mark the transition between public and private spaces.

The apartments are flexibly designed to accommodate a range of different individual and family units, from compact studio flats to two-bed apartments. Building on the Chilean tradition of timber construction, this is one of the first large-scale timber framed and cross laminated timber developments in the region. The project will use sustainably sourced timber which greatly reduces the embodied carbon in the buildings, creating a sustainable model of development for the future.

Juan Frigerio, Partner, Foster + Partners, commented: “La Fabrica, our first project in Chile, seeks to establish a new approach to sustainable urbanism in Santiago, with lush landscaped civic space. The incredibly rich mix of uses at ground level with a variety of retail and social spaces tie the residences with the rest of the masterplan, creating a complete ensemble that is integrated at every level. The compact and flexible design of the apartments showcases a beautiful palette of natural materials that reflects the sustainable focus of the entire masterplan.”

Design: Foster + Partners

La Fabrica Sustainable Masterplan, Santiago images / information received 110921

Location: Santiago, Chile, South America

Chile Architecture

Contemporary Chile Architectural Projects

Chile Architecture Design – chronological list

Chile Building News

Chile Buildings – selection below:

The Winery at VIK Design: Smiljan Radic architect photo courtesy of Vik Retreats The Winery at VIK

Caterpillar House, Lo Barnechea, Santiago de Chile Design: Sebastián Irarrázaval Delpiano ; Associated Architect: Erick Caro photo : Sergio Pirrone Caterpillar House

Chile Houses

Chile Architect Studios – Design Office Listings

South American Architecture

Comments / photos for the La Fabrica Sustainable Masterplan, Santiago page welcome

The post La Fabrica Sustainable Masterplan, Santiago appeared first on e-architect.

[aryburn-trains]

Southern Pacific PA-2's swing around the horseshoe curve at Caliente, California with train #52, the southbound "San Joaquin Daylight," as the train climbs Tehachapi, circa 1956. Gordon Glattenberg photo

[talkaboute]

when visiting Iloilo, never miss the chance to go to Garin Farm located at San Joaquin, Iloilo. the highlight of the place is the Pilgrimage Hill with 456-step stairs that features nine major biblical scenes including the Nativity, Baptism of Christ, the Last Supper and the Agony in the Garden, among others. the peak of the stairs end at a replica of heaven where one must first pass a dark tunnel. i especially like the one with a stained glass Christ (see post before this) within the dark path. walk through the dark alley until you reach an all-white end with angels holding trumpets as you ascend to the heaven's gate. you'll find there St. Peter holding the keys to the gate, also, Moses and Elijah. at its center is a gigantic cross with the Holy Trinity. don’t forget to wear shades especially at broad daylight as the transition from pitch black to all white can hurt your eyes. especially for the light sensitive ones like me. by the way, for senior citizens and people who can't climb the stairs all the way up, there's a golf cart that can take you there for a minimal fee. (at GarinFarm Pilgrimage Resort) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDnnYSGHcQI/?igshid=3990si4paw04

[jodellejournals]

sunday’s best | june 7, 2020 entry

on the southern tip of iloilo, a municipality called san joaquin exists, a one-hour car ride from the city. my long weekends used to be spent there and i pretend to be a mermaid. i miss my safe haven. quiet moonlit nights upon dusk and crystal clear waters during daylight. no need to look at the clock because the sky tells you the changing course of the day. there, no problem is too big because the vast ocean and infinite sky make you feel so small, almost fragile. so it makes me think, if these celestial bodies, which have been existing for billions of years already, survived anything and everything, we humans will surely do the same, too. these thoughts keep me sane today amidst the chaos. after all, a positive thing or two are enough to keep a quarantined girl going.

[currinstrains]

Southern Pacific GS-5 4459 at Bakersfield backing on to the San Joaquin Daylight: Circa 1956

[thehikingviking]

Recess Peak & Mist Peak via West Arete from Lake Thomas Edison

We had our first storm of the season pass through the state, blanketing the High Sierra with a fresh layer of snow. I assumed this marked the end of the hiking season, however a subsequent dry period allowed for much of the snow to melt. Mike Toffey started sharing me social media updates of other climbers tramping across the peaks of the High Sierra, so we decided to plan a trip. I wanted to climb a peak with a west side approach, so we decided upon Recess Peak. We had short daylight hours, but the round trip distance appeared to be less than 20 miles, so we figured we could make it work. I picked up Mike and we took the long drive over Kaiser Pass to the Vermillion Valley Dam where we planned to spend the night. I slept in the car while Mike slept outside in his tent. We planned for a 5am start, but when I finally got out of the car in the morning, Mike was nowhere to be found. I called out his name a few times, but got no response. Perhaps he was taking a dump in the bushes, I thought to myself. When he didn’t appear after a while, I inspected his tent, finding a limp body inside. I said his name and poked him a few times, but there was still no reaction. Was Mike dead? I shook him a little more forcefully until he finally stirred. He needed some time, so I retreated to my warm car where I ate breakfast. It was cold outside. We finally left at 6am from the shore of Lake Thomas Edison.

“October 19, 1954 A.D. Lake Thomas A. Edison

Dedicated by Southern California Edison Company as part of its Big Creek-San Joaquin River hydroelectric project during the year of Light’s Diamond Jubilee commemorating seventy-five years of electrical progress since Thomas Edison invented the first practical incandescent lamp on October 21, 1879.”

We picked up the trail and followed this through the forest at a gradual incline. After 5 miles and 2.5 hours of relatively uneventful uphill forest walking, we reached a junction with the John Muir Trail / Pacific Crest Trail. We took our first snack and water break here as this would mark the end of our trailed hike.

Mike’s Gaia map layer showed a marked trail continuing in our direction, but we never found anything that resembled a trail outside of some easy to spot cairns. I think there was a trail at one point, but it is now gone.

Our conversation hovered primarily around geology that fresh morning. I was taking a Geology class with my wife at the local community college, so I was hyper-focused in observing the surrounding rocks. This ensuing trip was the birth of my amateur field studies. I taught Mike about the ancient cordillera of volcanoes that accompanied the granite batholith, which is displayed throughout the High Sierra to this day. In my incessant rambling, I stopped to observe a seemingly extraneous microcrystalline type of rock which appeared to be an andesite. In my textbook, I was taught that almost all of the ancient volcanic rock that once sat atop the now exposed lingering plutons of granodiorite had eroded away, with the exception of the Minarets Caldera near modern day Mt Ritter. I hereby declare my textbook as incorrect, and I have photographs and field samples to prove it. Additional clues assembled throughout the day help support my claim. Current volcanic activity can be observed from the nearby Mono Hot Springs. Also, the nearby high point of this area is called Volcanic Knob. These observations culminated when I noticed a circular shape from the arete above, which appears to be the remnants of a caldera.

The hiking through the forest was open and generally pretty easy. A peak emerged through a gap in the trees. Mike excitedly proclaimed that it was Recess Peak, however I wasn't so sure. I think it might have been Seven Gables.

A light layer of snow carpeted the forest floor, but this did nothing to impede our progress. Andesite cairn after andesite cairn guided us along a forested spur, which I theorize is the rim of the remaining caldera.

After climbing gently to an elevation of around 10,500 ft, we picked a path that paralleled the contour lines of our topographic maps. We finally were able to confidently identify the horn of Recess Peak.

Looking back, we could now see the aptly named Volcanic Knob. You can see the difference in rock colors between the volcanic rocks on the left and the granitic rocks on the right.

We reached an unnamed tarn at 10:20am. We used this opportunity to refill our waters before the final climb.

Our next goal was to ascend the lower reaches of the west arete.

Even with snow covering the rocks, we reached the top of the arete via a class 2 walk. Our remaining route lay ahead of us.

Staying on top of the arete required some unnecessary elevation gain, so we chose to stay to the right. There was less talus and more sand and dirt. There were some trees we had to avoid, and while the last short section to get back to the top of the arete was annoying, it wasn’t too hard.

An unnamed and undisturbed tarn rested below.

Mt Ritter and Banner Peak were the darker shade of rocks barely visible off in the distance. This was the general location of the Minarets Caldera. As you can see, this was quite far away from the location of Volcanic Knob and Mono Hot Springs, and clearly a distinct region.

We took a long break here before beginning our final assault of the west arete.

The route could be mostly class 2, but we tried to incorporate as much class 3 as possible by scrambling close to the edge and taking the most direct route. I thought the whole ordeal was pretty fun.

If one carefully looks towards the left of the reddish rocks, one may be able to discern the faint semblance of a caldera hidden beneath the trees.

Friction slabs and cracks made for fun times.

After a steady scramble, we finally made it to the summit. We bypassed the true summit accidentally by visiting the eastern point of the summit plateau first. Down below was the northeast arete.

We then retraced our steps back to the true summit on the west side.

Boy howdy!

I was eager to sign the summit register, but found its contents absolutely nuked.

Mike had a back up register which we intended for Mist Peak, so we used this to replace the old broken register.

To the north were Bloody Mountain, Red Slate Mountain, Red and White Mountain and Mt Baldwin.

To the northeast were Montgomery Peak and White Mountain Peak.

To the east were Mt Mills, Mt Abbot and Mt Gabb.

To the southeast were Mt Hilgard and Seven Gables.

To the southwest was Mt Hooper.

To the west was Lake Thomas Edison.

To the northwest were the Clark Range and the Ritter Range.

We were feeling pretty good so we decided to extend our hike by heading over to Mist Peak a kilometer to our southeast. I do not know why, but many people do not detour to this slam dunk of a bonus peak.

We dropped to the saddle then climbed class 2 slopes to the summit.

Perhaps if the days never ended and my body never tired I could continue all the way to Mt Gabb.

It didn’t take us very long to get to this named P300. It was well worth the effort. After a short stay, we returned back to the saddle.

Then we decided to get creative. The safest thing would be to return to the arete, but we decided to look for a more direct way down. We decided to head down from the saddle, angling back over to a lower point of our ascent route in the process. To be clear, there is a class 3 way down this way, but we did not follow this. Instead, we got caught on some class 4 cliffs. I saw Mike almost tip over backwards down steep slabs. He looked like a surfer just barely keeping his balance. I was lucky enough to photograph the event.

We then followed some cracks and had some sketchy slab work to get down to safer ground. This was by far the most dangerous part of the trip. Again, all this could have been avoided, but we were stubborn and too committed to our route.

Once off the cliffs, we had an okay walk across talus back towards our ascent route to the south of the arete.

I was confident I could pick a tree free route through the pines, but I instead had us climbing and descending unnecessarily just to get through. Once through the thick patch of trees, we had nothing but easy hiking ahead of us.

I was feeling great. I noticed Peak 11221 a short distance away and asked Mike if he wanted to combine this with Volcanic Knob as a bonus peak. “It’s 4:30 dude,” was his response. What, where had the day gone? I had been so haphazardly rambling about that I lost all sense of time. Now I was worried that we wouldn’t make it back before dark. We stopped for water at the tarn then retraced our steps through the forest. A snow hare shot out of the trees and startled me, but was gone before I could snap a photo.

We got back to the trail as the sun began to set. The trailhead was only 5 trail miles away now, but my legs were starting to feel heavy.

We began with a light jog, but as it got darker we were forced to walk.

Whatever spunk I was feeling earlier in the day had evaporated. We played the game of hiking as long as possible without a headlamp, but things got dark quickly. Our time outside was prolonged by a very time consuming bathroom break by yours truly. The last 30 minutes to the car was full of me saying, “Any minute now,” or “Just a few more switchbacks.” These comments seemed to make things drag on longer. We reached the car just before 8pm. It was a 21 mile day after our little detour to Mist Peak, but even still 14 hours was a much longer time than I expected.

The drive back home was a long one. That Kaiser Pass Road is full of potholes and very windy. I was thankful to have climbed my 15th SPS peak of the year.