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We reserved a site a while ago but haven't posted it up here yet. It will be myself (Danny M) with Kristin and our 2-year old son. Also joining us at the site will be Manfred and Michelle, and maybe their daughter Hannah.
We'll bring our bikes and trailer to go for a nice ride towards the coast. I'll probably bring a few items to sell, if possible.
Looking forward to it. Thanks for organizing.
Great! Look forward to seeing you all there.
I've been packing and re-packing for a couple of weeks already. Vacillating between full-blown car camping with a big dome tent, queen-size air mattress, double-burner Coleman stove and ice chest, vs. SUL without having to trek there first. Will probably end up bringing everything.
David,
Is there any way that the park could be contacted? I know that parks will sometimes work with an organised group and issue a permit/give permission to have an exception to the rules. A lot of the time the picnic area is a “day use” area and they want day users to leave when it gets dark. They might grant an exception if they knew we were staying overnight. Just a thought.
That said, I’m OK either way with dinner times (early or in dark). I like having people all in a given area though, so I guess I’d lean toward a daylight dinner unless they grant us an exception.
Jim,
Just called the rangers. They're going to check and get back to me on whether we could get a special dispensation to use the day picnic area for an evening dinner up to 7-8 pm. I will post again when I know the answer.
David
Fabulous. Even if they let us stay until 6:00 (one hour after dark), that would be very helpful I would think.
Looking for more info on the wood fueled burn-off. I have a couple of designs . . .
Maybe David will add details, but I think you have two basic categories: fan assisted (think BioLite or Sierra Zip Stove) or not fan assisted (think BushBuddy, Ti-Tri, etc).
If your design has a fan, it’s in the first category. If it doesn’t, it’s in the second.
Jim is 99.99% correct.
WOOD STOVE BURN-OFF
WOOD STOVE BURN-OFF
Each contestant will be given one 3' piece of fir 2×2 to use for fuel (approx. 14.5 oz of wood). It will be up to the contestants to saw, chop, shave, split, etc. their wood as they wish, and they will need to bring their own necessary implements/tools to accomplish the task. In the spirit of realism, contestants will be given only 15 minutes to prepare their wood, and it is hoped that the wood-working tools will be ones that would actually be carried on a camping trip (i.e., no full-size axes or 24" bow saws). Contestants will be permitted to use 5 grams of any kind of fire starter they want, which will be weighed first. 500 ml of water will be provided to each contestant. Everyone will start their fires at the same time. First to bring 500 ml of water to boil wins.
There will be two categories of wood stoves:
1. Assisted: any type of stove with a built-in fan, or any type of stove used in conjunction with a hand-held fan, air mattress inflator, bellows, foot pump, tube blown from the mouth, etc.
2. Unassisted: Contestants will be permitted to blow by mouth for the first minute to get their fire going, but after one minute no assistance of any kind.
ALCOHOL STOVE BURN OFF
1. Speed: any and all kinds of alcohol stoves will be permitted, as well as any kind of assisted aspiration. 20 ml of Klean Strip denatured alcohol and 500 ml of water will be provided to each contestant. All stoves will be lit at the same time. First to boil 500 ml of water wins.
2. Efficiency: any and all kinds of alcohol stoves are permitted, as well as any kind of assisted aspiration. Any amount of Klean Strip denatured alcohol requested and 500 ml of water will be provided to each contestant. The amount of alcohol provided to each contestant will be recorded. All stoves will be lit at the same time. The stove which begins with the least amount of fuel and is able to boil 500 ml of water wins, regardless of how long it takes to achieve a boil.
Let me know if you have particular questions.
[Edited to substitute 2' of fir 2×2 instead of clothes pins for fuel after I went to the hardware store and saw how much they were charging for clothes pins!]
Hiking Jim, Manfred and Michelle, and the rest of you lot are going to be there? I'll try to find a way to pop in for a bit. Hell, it's only 2,146 miles from home.
David, that would be awesome if you can make it. Looking forward to thanking you personally for the little micro-saws that got me headed down the SUL saw path. Hope you can pull it off!
David, I've got another fourteen more 9" saws I made up that I haven't done a PIF posting about, yet. Maybe I'll bring them along and hand them out at the GGG. I drive past Samuel P Taylor a few times a year on the way to the in-laws. I met my wife at Point Reyes, got married on the shores of Tomales Bay, and our son is named Drake after SFD.
Very interested to see the saws. You have quite a connection to the SF Bay Area. Will you be traveling alone, or might your lovely wife be accompanying you? Any thoughts about spending a night? I have multiple extra tents and sleeping bags and cook kits if you want me to bring them with me and save you the trouble of schlepping all that gear down from the Kenai Peninsula.
Thanks. I'm solo this time. We're all down next in March. I'm coming down to visit relatives (I'm a 5th Gen SFer and my grandmother had the same Chemistry Prof at UCB in 1917 as my father, uncles, sister and I did). When those dates settle down, I'll let you know. Spending one night might work well as I wander throughout the SFBA Friday-Sunday.
Hey, always wanted to come to one of these but never had the weekend off. I'm currently living nearby but would love to share a campsite if there is still an open space that anyone knows of, probably just saturday night.
Also the bolinas ridge cross marin trail makes a really nice loop straight out of the orchard loop campsite area if anyone wanted to hike sunday (around 11-12 miles I believe). Across the street up to the fire lookout is also a nice hike (Barnabe peak, around 6 miles).
Maya
Unfortunately, a family emergency has come up and I can't make it. Does anyone know if I can transfer my reservation to someone else, or should I just cancel it to free it up?
Gene
Hi folks! I've been very interested in attending this but hesitant to make a reservation because I haven't been able to pin down how many nights I'll be free. (Friday for sure, probably Saturday, maybe Thursday.)
Would anybody whose life is a bit more predictable than mine be interested in sharing a space? I'd contribute a fair share of the reservation cost and set up small–bringing my bivy unless the weather takes an unexpected turn toward rain.
Alternately, is this the sort of thing that people arrange on-site? That is, should I just show up and ask around? It's my first GGG, so I don't know the routines yet.
Looking forward to meeting you all!
PM sent.
Hiking Jim, Manfred and Michelle, and the rest of you lot are going to be there? I’ll try to find a way to pop in for a bit. Hell, it’s only 2,146 miles from home.
Well, hot dang! Looking forward to meeting you. (Yes, I am coming).
Unfortunately, a family emergency has come up and I can’t make it. Does anyone know if I can transfer my reservation to someone else, or should I just cancel it to free it up?
Sorry to hear about the emergency. Hope everything turns out OK.
As for the camp site, maybe a quick call to the ranger station? It sounds like we’ve got a number of people coming who didn’t reserve a site (including me). I bet we can use it.
"Hot dang" – yeah, especially when you and I start refilling butane canisters with propane for better cold-weather performance without all that annoying heavy steel to contain it!
Something I'm throwing in my luggage:
So if anyone has a Victorinox knife missing a piece, bring it along and we can find the right-sized tweezer, toothpick, scissors spring, pen, etc. I think I'll insist you bring the knife because your chance of guessing which is the right-sized bit is pretty low (this ain't my first time at this).
I'll have prizes for the wood-burning stove contest winners – something very appropriate for a wood-burning BPLer.
And I'll bring some smoked sockeye salmon.
I'm guessing I get there around 6 pm on Saturday – I'm coming from a family event in Palo Alto. David – it would be great if you have a tent/pad/bag for me to use that night. It doesn't have to weigh less than 8 ounces. I wouldn't turn my nose up at a 3-pound CampRest.
What time are people arriving? I have to drive through both greater Los Angeles and greater San Francisco en route. I’m thinking about leaving really early in the morning to try to avoid traffic. It’s about 8 hours drive with moderate traffic. I might get there as early as noon depending on when I leave.
Any good “beat the traffic” tips appreciated. Tentative route (bypasses much of the urban area hopefully).
HJ
Hey David, glad you'll be coming for sure!
I have the tent and sleeping bag packed and ready to go. Are you OK with a 20" x 70" x 1/2" blue CCF pad, or should I bring an air mattress? I'll be set up in site #56, but I'll PM my cell phone number to you so you can call me if I'm not there when you arrive.
What, no prizes for the winner of the alcohol burn-off contest(s)?
@Hikin' Jim – It's about 50/50 people arriving Friday/Saturday. What time are you planning to leave Tustin? I drove up from Riverside a couple of weeks ago leaving at 6 a.m. on a weekday and I made it to SF in 5.5 hours (going 75 most of the way). If you did similar, you'll get to the greater SF Bay Area around noon-1pm, when there is no commuter traffic. I would take the direct route up I-5 to I-580. I-580 joins with other interstate freeways at various points, but continues all the way to CA-101 in Marin County, very close to where Sir Francis Drake Blvd. takes off to the park. Unless there is heavy traffic this is definitely the most direct and quickest way to get up here. When you get close to the I-580 split from I-5 call 511 and ask for traffic conditions, to see if there are any major hang ups on your route. I think you'll be able to make it the entire way in 7 hours or less.
Your tentative route does avoid going through the heart of urban areas, but is longer and on slower roads near the end. Perhaps a bit more aesthetic if you don't like urban areas. On the other hand, you'll miss seeing the new eastern span of the SF Bay Bridge which is pretty spectacular.
The dates are listed as “Jan 29 to Feb 1, 2015”. I assume that some people are coming up Thursday night, yes?
I have PowerMax canisters.
I walked into a little shop, and boom there they were sitting on the shelf, $6 each, a very reasonable price.
You want ’em, I got ’em. Lemme know, and I’ll bring a bunch to the GGG. There were at least a couple dozen on the shelf.
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