More snow pics

[rayfound]

well, I took the day off yesterday and my wife and I headed up the hill to 7-oaks to take the dogs to play in the snow. Pack in the area seemed to be about 12-18" we post-holed everywhere we walked, and our Jack Russel was running by jumping-belly flopping, then jumping again.

We started heading out around 2:30, as the snow had started falling in earnest, and we had a feeling the traffic on the way down would be backing up. We were right, we passed 1 smashup (4-5 cars involved), and everyone was driving very cautiously. All in all, a nice day, though too much of it spent in the car. I didn't fish, but I did visit a stream.

The dogs absolutely loved the snow.

Its still amazing to me how little most locals (i mean so-cal locals, not the mountain-dwelling locals) here understand about driving in low-traction conditions. Your car will slip - deal with it. slow down, leave more space, do NOTHING quickly; Don't turn quickly, don't accelerate quickly, and for the love of god, don't Brake quickly.


Now: Anyone want to trade a pair of snowchains(cable style) that fit a passenger car ( I can get the exact tire sizes they will fit) for ones that will fit a midsize SUV? (P225/70R16) Conditions deteriorated later in the evening and I understand the requirements went to chains on all vehicles no exceptions.

Here's a few pics... not much for fish

[Flyjunkie]

Beautiful Pictures there RAY....

I never grow tired of seeing dogs just go Nuts playing in the Snow, they really know the secret of Life : Have fun and go crazy enjoying One's Self...

[Sasha]

Great snow pics!

Hopefully you guys down there get a lot more.

[rayfound]

PS - Snow was falling down to about 4000 feet at 3pm yesterday. Not much accumulation below 5000.

[flybob]

Good stuff Ray!

Did not know you have doggies!

Don't just love the attitude of terriers!

[Eric]

Nice set of pics of Ray. Nice stream shoot.
Eric

[midger]

Great outing, and I'm sure the dogs would vote for another one real soon.

Stream looks like it is in great shape and the fish probably would've been lock jawed anyway with the temps the stream is running. Besides, 'tis better to accumulate DTI points with the wife when the fishing wouldn't be that good so you can cash them in later when the fishing will be good. Just sayin'.

More snow accumulated from around 4-9PM. We ended up with 10-11 inches out of this front and are looking/hoping for 2-4 feet out of the Sunday-Tuesday front.

And you are right about the socal drivers and snow. I was watching the scanner online last night and the number of collisions, snow bank entries, road blockages, etc was huge. My wife ended up staying down the hill due to road/traffic conditions. She's home now and we're ready for the crazies.

Thanks for sharing your outing with us.

[Papasequoia]

Nice report, Ray. Love seeing the snow pics, rain fell for about an hour in the desert here yesterday and I was almost giddy with glee thinking about how it is adding just a bit more to the water table.
As for driving in the snow, I grew up in New England and when we were young and had our licenses whenever there was a big snowstorm we would head out to empty parking lots to purposefully try to 'spin out' our cars. We would do all kinds of 'stunts' like going as fast as possible then locking up the brakes, turning the wheels hard (or soft) in one direction or another to try and force our cars into a 360, or at least a 180, etc. etc. I'm sure that growing up and driving in the snow taught me a lot, but I often think that all of that screwing around is what really taught me how to handle a car in the snow, very likely saving my life one winter day in Yosemite when the car I was driving went into a slide on a road with no guard rails and a steep drop off to the side. There were four of us in the car on our way to the Badger Pass ski area, it was snowing hard. I came up over a hill and started down the other side when the car suddenly turned sideways and went into a slide headed for the cliff. As Ray mentions, it was subtle turns and not slamming on the brakes that saved us. The car straightened out and we continued. No one said anything for several seconds, then we all let out our breath and a friend in the back who was from Vermont said, "Thank God you grew up in New England." So my advice to those who want to get better at driving in the snow or to teach their kids how to do it is to find a big church or school sized parking lot when it's empty and unplowed and have some fun!

[Chris Kuhn]

Its still amazing to me how little most locals (i mean so-cal locals, not the mountain-dwelling locals) here understand about driving in low-traction conditions.

Especially when you consider how many of the locals are natives of Buffalo.

Great report. This picture of the dog is just too cute.

[stanbery]

Ray

Great pics of the dogs having fun.

Jon

[Sheriff Joe]

I think most drivers in SoCal are just dumbasses, period. Same thing happens in the rain. Tailgating, unnecessary engine-revving that leads to skids, going too fast in adverse conditions. Jon-it was a trip reading your story, because I did the exact same thing as a kid in Wisconsin. We called it the "bat turn"-pull parking brake, controlled slide around a corner, release brake, floor it and power out like the Batmobile. All learned in a parking lot at the UW.

Stay safe. Ray-I love the pics. Isn't it funny how snow, which we Northerners used to take for granted, has now become a novelty?

[rayfound]

Stay safe. Ray-I love the pics. Isn't it funny how snow, which we Northerners used to take for granted, has now become a novelty?

Absolutely... I mean, i snowmobiled virtually every day from november through march when I was growing up... but I understand the novelty of it too. Its been a few years since I've been back during the winter, and I miss the snow, I miss being able to run and belly-flop onto the grout without getting hurt. Its cool beans man.


I, like many here, spent my 16th and 17th years trying all sorts of things to get cars to do what they didn't want to do. When it rained, I would take a car out to a little clearing in the orange groves, and have at 'er.

But I also understand the So-Cal mentality... My wife was in the car with me, and every time she'd feel the ABS modulate, feel a little bit of slide, she'd get nervous... tense up... I can only image that the others with that feeling who were DRIVING would react by stepping hard on the brakes... worsening the slide. I've never been a fan of traction control for the same reason: it makes you never experience any skidding and learn to feel comfortable with it.