Anyone else from the Smogjuaquine Valley ?

“Just curious if there are any other central Cali. hikers out there?
If so where is your favorite place?”

“Haven't heard that name before, but having looked out over the big brown blanket from Moro Rock, I know exactly what you're talking about. ;-)

Anyway, everybody I know in the Central Valley heads up to whatever part of the Sierra is closest to where they live. It's hard to go wrong that way.”

“Yeah, the great thing about Fresno, is the fact that I can be at a number of trails and lakes in a couple of hours....I love the Dinkey Lakes area. You can be at the first lake after only an hour of hiking. It's a lovely place.


I guess we don't have many Californians here.”

“Hey, Thin Air, I don't think people "get" your nickname for the valley. I didn't (thought it was probably somewhere around Snohomish...or however the heck you spell that and wherever the heck it is!) However, I figured it out with Tehipite's response. It's a cute name...maybe if ya spelled it "Smog Joaquin (Is that how you spell that second word??)... well maybe then people would "get" it.

I'm from Ioway, BTW. Went from Yosemite to King's Canyon/Sequoia one summer. We're far from dolts, but sure had a h%ell of a time getting on the right road out of Fresno to go east!!! (No wonder there's so much smog... all those people get trapped in Fresno and can't get out!!!)

Too bad about the pollution (and energy problems, and 300 million people, etc. etc.)... I'll take Iowa and be more than content to just VISIT you guys!!! ;-)”

“lizs--that's funny, I had the same reaction when I first saw it; I was thinking it was one of those Washington names like Snoqualmie. BTW, don't worry about the energy problems in CA. If the power goes out, we'll just post to TT via carrier pigeon.
;-)

ThinAir, I've never been to Dinkey Lakes but I've gone out of a couple of trailheads in the general vicinity--Courtwright (to Blackcap Basin) and Crown Valley/Rancheria (to Tehipite Valley). Lots of great country up there, and not as busy as the eastside trailheads. Ever hike out of Cedar Grove? The Monarch Divide is my favorite stomping grounds, and I'm leading a trip there this summer.

There are a few more Californians here, but mostly either LA or Bay Area. I know a guy in Fresno who does a ton of Sierra hiking and has a great website--name's Bill Finch. I don't have the url handy, but I'll post it later.”

“Didn't catch the reference right away myself. However, I have seen that blanket while camping at Kings Canyon (Sunset Camp) and looking down.

I like the Sierras. My local wilderness area, San Gorgonio, is nice.”

“Sorry about the misspelled word, I got an F in that subject.
You should check out the Dinkey Lakes area, All the lakes are around 9000ft and there are a couple of 11,000ft peaks to climb near by.

I've also been up in the Mt Goddard area, my dad and I climbed that peak a couple of years ago. It was one long but beautiful hike. I've been to a few more areas, but Goddard was quite awesome.

This summer my dad a friend and I are hiking from Tolumnie Meadows in Yosemite to Clarks Fork Meadows, just north of Sonora Pass. I can't wait.

^^^ThinAir^^^”

“You had me fooled.
I've been looking at the name here for a couple of days and I couldn't figure out what it meant.
Ah, so!
I finally came in to see what it was about.
I live in California.
Nearly dead-opposite Fresno, on the other side of the state.
I'm IN the Sierras.”