Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Aug 17, 2018 - 06:07pm PT
|
First time to mineral king, NPS says the marmots munch rubber up until mid July. Is my car going to be safe, I am doing a long day with an alpine start
|
|
Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
|
|
|
Aug 17, 2018 - 06:42pm PT
|
HaHaHa! How is a tarp gonna slow the little monsters down? I thought they were after anti-freeze? Or just to be jerks. Last time we were there (about 5 years ago) we didn’t do anything and were OK. We saw people with chicken wire around their rigs. They were probably cabin owners who were there for longer periods. It might be worse now?
|
|
johntp
Trad climber
Little Rock and Loving It
|
|
|
Aug 17, 2018 - 06:49pm PT
|
Haven't been there in many years. When we were there, chicken wire was readily available at the trailhead from previous hikers that left it behind. We used it. And yeah, a tarp won't do sh#t to stop the buggers. If they can chew through vulcanized hoses, a tarp poses no barrier.
|
|
Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2018 - 07:00pm PT
|
Word (from NPS) is that the marmots have the chicken wire dialed and it does not work any more. Apparently the tarp still works. Really dont want to be buying a tarp this evening and rigging it at 4 am if I do not have to.
|
|
tom woods
Gym climber
Bishop, CA
|
|
|
Aug 17, 2018 - 07:32pm PT
|
.22?
|
|
Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2018 - 08:02pm PT
|
Thanks Jody, nice pictures too.
|
|
Radish
Trad climber
SeKi, California
|
|
|
Aug 17, 2018 - 08:15pm PT
|
Was there on a 3 day BackPack just a couple of weeks ago. The Marmots are a real thing to worry about! They are cute and even friendly but don't let that fool you, they want what you have! We wrapped the car with a big tarp provided by the NPS at the Mineral King Ranger Station and all was well when we came back. There's lots of horror stories of Marmots eating wiring and hoses and leaving you stranded 25 miles from anywhere that has automotive stuff. The insulation on wiring in a lot of Toyota and Nissan and others is soy based so you can guess some of the attraction. We camped our first night at Monarch Lake and had a hose from a water filter taken by the Midnite Marmot avengers! Its still way worth going to Mineral King though!
|
|
Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 17, 2018 - 08:19pm PT
|
hahaha, now you tell me, Harbor Freight closed at 8. If I can not fish a tarp out of the shed I guess a 24 hour Walmart will be the first stop
Are they nocturnal?
|
|
Radish
Trad climber
SeKi, California
|
|
|
Aug 17, 2018 - 08:31pm PT
|
Yes they are nocturnal and there were many blue tarps in that shed to use!
|
|
Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 18, 2018 - 10:16pm PT
|
So I got there at 530 am. 40 cars in the lot 4 had tarps and no evidence of marmot activity. I could have put a tarp on or got a 2 hour power nap after driving all night I took the nap. That road in there is a real PITA to drive.
|
|
Bargainhunter
climber
|
|
|
Aug 18, 2018 - 10:44pm PT
|
I lived in Visalia for 6 years and frequently parked at that trailhead. After my 1st visit complete with an encirclement of chicken wire, I stopped doing anything to my car and never had a problem. Maybe I was lucky?
Spring Lake Wall is a day hike over Glacier Pass, shocking that that alpine wall doesn't get done more often. Hell, Black Kaweah has been day hiked car to car from that parking lot. It's also a brutal bike ride up and back from Three Rivers.
Saw my first mountain lion on the Mineral King road (a huge one), then a few minutes later, saw the biggest bear I'd ever seen in California. That's a wild part of Sequoia. The book "Mineral King: The Story of Beulah" by L.A. Jackson provides a interesting overview of the human history of the area. Summary: Hopeful miners dream big but loose everything, over and over, and a utopian community that tried to establish a livelihood near Three Rivers, after building the road to Moro Rock to log giant Sequoias, got the boot when the National Park was created (Uncle Sam thanked them for the road). They restarted in Mineral King but subsequently also got kicked out AGAIN when Mineral King valley got annexed to the National Park! Lots of work and no payout.
The Sierra Club had a pivotal impact preventing the Disney Corp from turning Mineral King into a winter theme park in the 1960s, helped by the burgeoning popularity of backpacking. A total win for wilderness preservation.
|
|
Matt Sarad
climber
|
|
|
Aug 18, 2018 - 11:22pm PT
|
My friend, Nile, made the first page of the Wall Street Journal after marmots ate the hoses under the hood of his Alfa Romeo. It cost quite a bit to have it towed to Three Rivers. I towed it back to LA with my Dad’s Silverado.
Last time we were there in 2016 we ran into Jody. The marmots were not a problem for us.
|
|
Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
|
|
|
Aug 18, 2018 - 11:46pm PT
|
I don’t get how a tarp will keep them out when wire mesh won’t. Those are some retarded marmots!
|
|
kunlun_shan
Mountain climber
SF, CA
|
|
|
Aug 18, 2018 - 11:48pm PT
|
TFTW! (The Warning)
|
|
Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 19, 2018 - 12:00am PT
|
I was surprised at how light the traffic was on the road. I left at 730pm. Some of those curves are tricky at night. I bet they see some epic hucks off that road
I hiked to Crystal lake and climbed the unnamed peak 12102. Deservedly unnamed. But it was fun until I did a face plant on the descent. Nasty cut and broke a pair of cheap glasses
|
|
i'm gumby dammit
Sport climber
da ow
|
|
|
Aug 19, 2018 - 12:14am PT
|
I don’t get how a tarp will keep them out when wire mesh won’t. Those are some retarded marmots! I think it's more odor prevention and/or redirection.
It would be interesting to see how they learned to deal with the chicken wire
|
|
Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 19, 2018 - 04:28am PT
|
For some reason they quit munching on cars in mid July. Move higher up?
|
|
limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
|
|
|
Aug 19, 2018 - 09:06am PT
|
I can’t count how many day trips and overnight trips I’ve done in mineral king, never done a thing about the marmots and never had a problem in the parking lot.
In the backcountry, on the other hand, those little jerks have chewed lots of holes and stolen many things.
|
|
Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
|
|
|
Aug 19, 2018 - 09:15am PT
|
I’m about to start selling my motion sensor rattlesnake to put under yer vehicle.
And if you try to steal it you’ll find out it is connected to the battery with a large capacitor.
|
|
Mike Honcho
Trad climber
Glenwood Springs, CO
|
|
|
Aug 19, 2018 - 02:31pm PT
|
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!