Two-Heel Drive

He camped out at Mississippi Lake, saw much evidence of last year’s fire.

From this morning’s Mercury News:

Two hikers lost at Henry W. Coe State Park walked into the command post of searchers out to find them Saturday night, Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies said this morning.

The hikers, deputies said, had apparently spotted the lights of the search-and-rescue team’s command post and walked toward them.

Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Sgt. Don Morrissey said one of the hikers had text-messaged his wife from his cell phone at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, informing her that he and his fellow hiker were lost. She notified the sheriff’s department at 6:30 p.m., and the search and rescue team as well as state park rangers began searching for the hikers, both 28.

The hikers’ truck had been was found near the park’s main ranger station.

Actually no need to click on the link, this is the whole item. Two things of note: a) Getting found after dark can be easier because lights can be great directional tools — so there’s no need to panic in such a situation; and b) text messaging often works in areas where cellphones don’t.

It’s still happening on Super Sunday. Gambolin’ Man wants to come along but he may have to bike it, as his ankle’s been nagging him lately.

So Far Dan Mitchell and Tom Clifton also want to come. Which means: three graying white guys with cameras; don’t expect us to move fast.

TC asked me about car-pooling. Here’s my plan: Meet at the Mercury News Parking lot (750 Ridder Park Drive, it’s the lot on the west side closest to I-880) at 9 a.m. Sunday and head down from there.

If you want to come along, we’ll be at the park headquarters around 10 a.m. Can’t imagine being out there more than four hours. Likely route: Up to Ponderosa Trail, stop by Coe Monument for pictures, down Hobbs Road to Frog Lake and loop back from there on a trail of our choosing. If we’re feeling lazy we might just return on Flat Frog Trail.

Reply in the comments if you want to come along.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority prefers to send a bullet train through Pacheco Pass, right past the southern border of our beloved Henry Coe State Park.

The Pacheco route would link the Bay Area to a 700-mile, statewide, high-speed rail system, with trains traveling at speeds in excess of 200 mph from Sacramento to San Diego. The trains would have the capability to whisk travelers from the Transbay Terminal in downtown San Francisco to Union Station in Los Angeles in 2 1/2 hours.

The proposed system would cost about $40 billion to build, but the project has no money - or promise of funding - for construction. A $10 billion bond measure, on the November 2008 ballot, would start construction of the first phase: from San Francisco to Anaheim.

The Pacheco route was seen by supporters as the speediest, most-direct route to Los Angeles. It would sweep into the Bay Area over the pass between the Los Banos area (Merced County) and Gilroy, head north to San Jose, then up the Peninsula along the Caltrain right-of-way to San Francisco.

Of course they’ve been fixing to get ready to do something with this high-speed rail proposal for over 30 years and the costs keep climbing. Fortunately, this page describing a route through Henry Coe’s Orestimba Wilderness is two years out of date. Looks like the actual route will parallel the highway going through the pass.

Cynthia caught a squad doing a helicopter rescue drill at the park over the weekend.