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| Grotto Trail. 2013 and 2010 |
Last month, I began planning a ski trip to Lake Tahoe. I was pretty surprised to see than many of the ski resorts were only 20% open in January. I knew that we were in the midst of a drought, but I had no idea how serious it was until I started reading a few articles online. This is the driest year in recorded history for most of Southern California. The bears in Yosemite National Park are apparently waking up from hibernation 3 months early. Hikers in Yosemite are experiencing summer like conditions. Glacier Point is still accessible without snowshoes. Personally, I would be weary of back-country hiking for fear of running into those hungry bears desperate for food.
We've been seeing summer temperatures at the beach. It was 88 degrees two days ago in Newport Beach. We've had less than 4 inches of rain total in the past year. Don't believe that its serious? Go take a drive to a reservoir and look at the water levels. I have barely hiking at all because the waterfalls are all dry this year.
The picture at the top of this post is a side by side comparison of the Grotto Trail in Malibu from 2013 and 2010.
http://www2.macleans.ca/2014/01/18/epic-drought-in-california-bewildered-wildlife-hikers-in-juneuary-and-prayers-for-rain/
