Sunday, September 14, 2014

Quick trip to the Sierras

On Friday I took a quick trip to the Sierras to grab some Ponderosa pine forest images with a drone.  Initially, the logging road was just gorgeous.


Then I got to some bits that were less than gorgeous.  These roads don't see much use (I saw one other couple in a pickup during several hours on site), and I think these portions are probably just completely ignored until it's time for another logging operation, at which point they probably fill in the worst spots with gravel.  There were 18-inch-deep gullies in places, and nasty rocky bits that looked like a dry stream bed.  I walked several of these before trying them in the minivan.  There were a few uphill sections on which I was glad to have 4 wheel drive.


Eventually I got up to my target location.  That pile of wood is slash from a logging operation that probably happened in the last few years.


Target.  Life is good.

No crashes, nothing broke.  However, there are new noises coming from the minivan's power steering system now.  So, perhaps I did break something.  Overall it was a successful trip.