SNEP field page

Materials from the 2005-7 SNEP field deployment

2006 SNEP information flyer (2.2 Mb, 1/25/06)

2005 SNEP information flyer (mainly for permitting, 4.5 Mb; revised version, 5/29/05--better map at end, fixed phone numbers)

2005 Installations:

HQs: (now defunct)

Truckee:

Sagehen research station. Details on tracker. 8.3 miles north on Hwy 89 from I-80, just past county line sign.

Oakhurst: 50738 Critter Creek Lane, Oakhurst, CA, 93644 (1 May - 14 August 2005), (559)-658-8238.

Directions: Turn south at the RiteAid on Hwy 41 (0.2 mi. east of Hwy 49/41 junction; Crane Valley Road), drive about 2.9 mi. to John West Road. Turn left (north) and then quickly turn left again onto Critter Creek. House (a double wide trailer with addon is behind a small storage building) is on the left about 0.2 miles down. Airports: Fresno is closest but is frequently both expensive and poorly served. Sacramento is a three hour drive, has decent service. Oakland and San Francisco are not much farther than Sacramento but there are traffic issues (Oakland might also be only 3 hours with minimal traffic, San Francisco a bit more). Late afternoon arrival will be a long drive with traffic. Los Angeles is about four hours away when traffic is light, can be really long in afternoon.

Mammoth: SNARL Mt. Morrison Rd (late May - July 2005); lodging in June at 24 Hidden Valley Dr. #6, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546

Directions to SNARL: east on US 395 from Mammoth Lakes 13 mi., turn towards Convict Lake. Airports: Mammoth Lakes has a tiny airport; not sure of scheduled service. Reno is probably the most convinient; traffic through Carson City is a bit daunting, but the drive is about 3 hours. Ontario is probably the best option to the south but about 4-4.5 hours to SNARL.

TransSierra: It is about a 6-7 hour drive Mammoth to Oakhurst with winter closures. The fastest in this case is to drive through Tehachapi, though Carson Pass is not much longer timewise (it is noticeably shorter). As summer passes open, it gets easier going over the passes to the north, but even with Tioga open (24 June 2005) it is probably 4 hours across. Sonora Pass is 5 hours. Oakhurst to Truckee is just over 4 hours, driving straight through.

Land use agencies:

• Yosemite NP research info
• Inyo National Forest (region 5)
• Sierra National Forest (region 5)
• Stanislaus National Forest (region 5)
• Toiyabe National Forest (region 4)
• Eldorado National Forest (region 5)
• Plumas National Forest (region 5)
• Lassen National Forest (region 5)

Local Info:

• Sierra Star (Oakhurst newspaper)
• Mammoth Times (Mammoth Lakes, CA)

Weather/Access:

• California SNOTEL page (snow depths, water content)
• California Snowpack (Calif. Div. Water Resources)-more comprehensive-summary plot over region
• California snowdepth table (Weather Underground--one stop shopping....)
• NOAA snow info center (much better overall graphics)
• USGS California streamflow page
• Streamflow graphs, last 7 days, northern Sierra and vicinity (can also build your own page )
• Forest service road conditions: (main stem roads; side roads will vary)
  • Sierra National Forest
  • Northern Inyo National Forest
  • Stanislaus National Forest
  • Eldorado National Forest
  • Plumas National Forest
  • Lassen National Forest
• Caltrans Mountain Highways page
• Yosemite National Park plowing update
• Daily weather forecasts:
  • Southern Sierra (NPS) to Yosemite
  • Foothills to north of Oakhurst ("Motherlode")
  • West slope, northern Sierra
  • Greater Tahoe area (down to Markleeville)
  • Mono County (east slope, Sierra)
• High country accommodations/food:
  • Mono Hot Springs (between 24 and 34)
  • Vermillion Valley Resort (Lake Edison, near 34)
• Snowmobile rental, Huntington Lake : Rancheria Enterprises

Backcountry:

• High Sierra Pack Station (for site 14)
• Kennedy Meadows Pack Station (northside access to site 75)
• Virginia Lakes Pack Station (access to site 65 before hunting season)
• Yosemite Park pack stations (access for 65?)

Old maps

• Final SNEP phase I map, small or large. Map of stations (SNEP sites, round 1) with EarthScope Bigfoot stations (with underscore in name) and 1997 SPE experiment stations (towards south, three letters). Click on the map for stations on a 1:500,000 scale USGS map (larger). Colored circles indicate status and access): outer margin: red, road out, orange, have to notify landowner before visiting, yellow, notify landowner as visiting (drop by and say hi), green, access whenever; light blue, ski or snowshoe in winter; deep blue, snowmobile (possibly plus ski) in winter; purple, inaccessible in winter, absent, station removed. center circle: CHANGE now is performance over year 1: green is >270 days of mostly good data, yellow is 180-270 days, light orange is 150-180 days, dark orange is 120-150 days, red is under 120 days (some sites are downgraded owing to bad components), blue is still unknown, black is removed station. Simple blue transparent dots highlight TA stations. Some sites shown as always accessable might be inaccessible for short times due to storms (either snow or muddy roads).
• Permitting status map of phase II stations: small or large. Blue are Transportable Array or associated stations (outlined indicates not installed 4/06), green at lower right are 2005-6 SNEP. Click for bigger version. Outline of point is status: Green is approved, yellow is tentative approval, orange is approval subject to payment, red is no approval yet, purple is potential colocation with UNR seismometer. Center is red if nothing done, light yellow if vault preinstalled, green if installed and running.

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