Changing leaves in Yosemite Valley. Photo by Arun Inapakolla.

Unfortunately I’m not one of those lucky few that gets Veterans Day off but if you are then head up to Yosemite because you won’t have to pay a dime to get in. You’re also in luck because there’s still a little bit of fall color left.

The free fee day has been around since 2006 when former Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne waived the entrance fees for all public lands on Veterans Day as a way to show appreciate for the millions of men and women who serve in our armed forces and fight to keep America’s public lands accessible to all Americans.

Keep in mind only the $20 entrance fee is being waved. Fees associated with camping, lodging, or activities within the park are not waived.

Mat Honan found one of Yosemite’s more nefarious inhabitants while hiking in the park, a rattlesnake. I haven’t actually heard of anyone being bitten in the Park but man, coming across a rattler on the trail puts your adrenaline through the roof even if you don’t have a confrontation.

Hopefully Matt didn’t shoot this video with an iPhone. The snake didn’t look too far away.

By the way, if you think you’re safe from rattlers when you’re climbing think again. I’ve heard of people pulling up to a ledge on El Cap to find a rattler coiled up trying to get warm in the sun. Nothing like staring a venomous snake eye to eye.

A thunderstorm brews behind Half Dome. Photo by Mathew Grimm.

The tail of a storm bringing showers and snow to parts of Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming bringing with it more winds and a slight chance of more showers.

The storm is pulling unstable air in from the north bringing with it moisture and cooler temperatures. Gusts are expected to be around 40MPH with winds as high as 60MPH through the passes. Thunderstorms are expected throughout the Central Valley, Sierra Foothills and into the Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon region.

Highs are expected to be in the low 50s with overnight lows dropping below freezing (28-31F).

I think what really captivated me with today’s Photo of the Day was the saturation of colors. I love shooting digital but sometimes I miss the saturation you get from color positive film. And, if you don’t know what I’m talking about the music is too loud and you’re too young.

I’m going to turn on Lawrence Welk (once again you’re too young) now and look through my thousands of slides now.

Great shot, John.

Photo by JohnB49.

$5.8 million can do a lot. Already this year the Yosemite Fund paid for the rehabilitation of the Half Dome Overlook improving pedestrian and vehicle access, making the site handicap accessible, adding educational signage and viewing terraces for a mere $800,000 – a drop in the bucket compared to most government projects.

Yosemite Fund donors also funded projects to restore Wawona Meadow, repair trails in the backcountry and Yosemite Valley, provide protection for endangered Peregrine Falcons within the park and restore amphitheaters near several Valley campgrounds.

For more information on the Yosemite Fund or how you can check out this great organization visit yosemitefund.org.

A NPS helo brings in a load of SAR gear before beginning a “rope down”. Photo by Brian Zambrano.

A report by two researchers in the field of wilderness medice have come to some interesting conclusions. Yosemite seems to account for 1/4 of Annual NPS Search and Rescue costs at nearly $1.2 million in 2005.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve ($29310) and Denali National Park and Preserve ($18345) were found to have the highest average SAR costs along with Yosemite National Park.

Hiking and boating were the cause of most SAR activities with most of the fatalities occuring from Hiking (22.8%), suicides (12.1%), swimming (10.1%), and boating (10.1%).

Fortunately for us it was money well spent. The researchers also found that 1 in 5 (20%) of all SAR requests would have resulted in a fatality if NPS personnel had not responded.

For more information you can check out the abstract at the Wilderness Medical Society journal at wemjournal.org.

The pass shouldn’t be closing anytime soon as the forecast through the end of the month is for mostly sunny skies with only a few clouds and a very low chance of rain or snow.