Took a quick trip up to Monache Meadows this past weekend with Ken Kemasa. It was our 5th annual Dana Adams Memorial Trip. Short story, after an inaugural trip to Monache in Sept. 2009, I had my heart attack in October. Dana Adams who had organized the trip with Ken emails me in January with similar symptoms, etc. and on the same meds as I was on. After three days at UCLA Hospital, they discharged him. Sadly, Dana passed away not two weeks later of a heart attack. We've been trying, unsuccessfully to make this an annual trip. Haven't been in a couple of years and this year Ken and I made it up there for a very quiet, relaxing weekend at our favorite campsite.
Needless to say, water levels were at an all time low! There was a little, and I mean little water flow past the campground on the South Fork of the Kern River. Ken and I took a hike down river to see where it ended as there was NO water in the river out in Monache Meadow! Not 2-3 miles downstream, there was one final small puddle of water and nothing after that. We walked another good mile or so past there and saw nothing but a dry rocky river bed.
Here are a few pics. Up/down river and the crossing. In a 'normal' year none of those rocks are visable. End of the river and the meadow.
Needless to say, water levels were at an all time low! There was a little, and I mean little water flow past the campground on the South Fork of the Kern River. Ken and I took a hike down river to see where it ended as there was NO water in the river out in Monache Meadow! Not 2-3 miles downstream, there was one final small puddle of water and nothing after that. We walked another good mile or so past there and saw nothing but a dry rocky river bed.
Here are a few pics. Up/down river and the crossing. In a 'normal' year none of those rocks are visable. End of the river and the meadow.
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