Program Visit and Radar Training

Vernal Falls

Tony was the lucky Temple program manager to be simultaneously overwhelmed and captivated by Yosemite this summer.  I was given five days to immerse Tony in as much of the park as possible, and give him and overview of all the fantastic things I've been doing this summer, which was no small task.  The first full day we played tourist and hiked up the Mist Trial, viewing Vernal and Nevada Falls.  After the 3.5 mile trip up, we took the John Muir Trail (JMT) back down, which is a little longer with the switchbacks, but is less brutal without all the stairs!

Tenaya Lake

The next day we did a quick and dirty tour of a large portion of the park which tends to be forgotten by many when they visit Yosemite.  We started the day off by touring Hetch Hetchy.  After spending a fair amount of time learning about the Raker Act in Tony's class last fall I figured he would enjoy seeing the O'shaughnessy Dam in person.  We then headed east to Tuolumne and checked out some beautiful scenery there, including: Olmsted Point, Tenaya Lake, and Tuolumne Meadows.

From this point forward I was in Radar training, which Tony attended with my for the first of three days (three too many days).  The training was run by a California Highway Patrol (CHP) instructor, hence the three day course, but the instructor was extremely engaging and knowledgeable about radar so it flew by.  The last day of the class included a multiple choice test and going out in the field and visually estimating vehical speeds.  To pass your visual estimation had to be within +/-5 of the radar.  I successfully passed, and have one more cert in my pocket.  Tony was set up on an itinerary my other two days, which I'm sure you'll hear all about in his posts to come!