WHITE MOUNTAIN STAR PARTY INFORMATION

From Friday, August 18 to Friday morning, August 25, we will have a Star Party in the White Mountains, home of the world's oldest living things, the four thousand year-old Bristlecone Pines. On the day before you go up (Thursday August 24 for many of us) to Barcroft Lab, we ask that you stay one night either at a motel in Mammoth at 8,000 feet (we usually stay at the Swiss Chalet) or at Grandview Campgrounds in the White Mountains at 8,600 feet to get acclimated to the altitude. On Friday, in the late morning, most of us will go up to Mt. Barcroft Laboratory at 12,400 feet. The skies are extremely dark in the White Mountains, perhaps the darkest in California due to their remoteness. We will have access to warm meals (they'll cook for us and the food is GREAT!), bunk beds (bring ear plugs for your fellow snorers and eye shades), satellite TV, videotapes, the kitchen (they have a microwave), the radiotelephone, the showers, the bathrooms, tools in an emergency, and most importantly of all, the oxygen tanks in the dining room. The staff is extremely helpful.

Barcroft is a little bit like Shangri-La and a lot like an Antarctic Research Station. The road up to it is a tough dirt road. I used to barely made it with my '78 Toyota Celica GT fully loaded (I was running on regular unleaded, not premium) at about 90 horsepower. Bring a good spare tire; a couple of tires were once shredded going up there by folks who drove too fast. You might want to lower your tire pressure at Grandview by a few pounds to the lower end of your recommended range so as to compensate for the lower pressure, higher temperature, and rough road. Making sure your air filter is clean will also increase the probability you will successfully make it up to Barcroft. If you know how, adjusting your carburetor for the higher elevation will also be a big help if you don’t have automatic fuel injection. If you have fuel injection, as most do, you’re in good shape. I suggest taking it easy on the road up; there may be washouts due to the rain, snow and precipitation. I usually go about 10 to 15 m.p.h. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the lab at that speed from Schulman Grove, the last spot where it’s paved. A few miles before you get to the lab, you’ll come to a gate by a small parking area that looks locked but isn’t. Open it and put it back the way it was.

Seeing can be outstanding (sub-arcsecond), if the weather cooperates, as there simply isn't much air up there. Solar viewing should be excellent. It should be an especially good spot for astrophotography as that's not oxygen dependent. White Mountain was the second choice for the Keck Telescope. You'll never forget your view of the Milky Way from Barcroft.

On the down side, it is hard to function when there is no air. A good source of information is Mountain Sickness: Prevention, Recognition and Treatment by Peter Hackett. It's available at R.E.I., Mountain Travel in Albany, and at many good Mountaineering and Camping Shops. One just doesn't think as clearly at 12,000 feet. Visual astronomers should remember that the human cornea requires oxygen to function. It will take about two nights for your eyeball to fully get up to speed. One problem I noticed while I was up there is that I got colder than I usually do because my body wasn't metabolizing as efficiently. The fact that it got down to 17 degrees and there was a slight wind didn't help either. SO DRESS WARMLY! Bring several sets of long underwear (I found that three long johns were about right). There are a few survival suits available at Barcroft.

The weather is unusually variable in the White Mountains due to their location. Don't be surprised if there are severe thunderstorms and even snow during the late afternoon. It often clears out in the early evening after such weather. The White Mountains are one of the coldest places in the continental U.S.

There are several things to watch out for at high altitude. When you first get to Barcroft, TAKE IT EASY! Please go slow for the first day and night. There is an oxygen dosimeter in the station. Upon arrival, I want everyone to go in there and measure their pulse and oxygen saturation level and write it in the log on the table in the dining room. You'll be amazed at the numbers you get. You might also want to compare them with the numbers you'll get just before you leave. Oxygen saturation at sea level is usually 99% to 95%. Don't be alarmed if you get 80%. Your pulse will probably be around 100. Watch what happens to the numbers after you take a whiff of Oxygen. Dr. Don Parker believes that Vitamin E ingestion before and during high-altitude stays alleviates symptoms. There is also a prescription drug called diamox (acetazolamide) that can help some people who have problems at altitude. Unless you are a severe case, you are probably better off without it. Sleep the first night will be a little difficult for some people due to the altitude, especially if you drive straight up. IT HELPS A GREAT DEAL TO BE WARM, so bring your sleeping bag!

Another thing to watch for is dehydration. You don't perspire at altitude --- you vaporize, so you won't notice how fast you're losing water especially as your thought processes will be somewhat muddled. So make sure you drink more fluids than you normally would, except for caffeine drinks and alcohol, of course. Caffeine is a diuretic, so you lose even more water. Alcohol impairs judgment (as if your judgment needs to be even more impaired at 12,000 feet!) and the functioning of the retina and its effects are heightened by the altitude. So do as I say and not as I did.

There is an oxygen tank in the cafeteria. I strongly urge you to use it if you are having trouble. Don't be shy or embarrassed about using Oxygen. It's a lot of fun and will appreciably improve the functioning of your retina. Your biggest problem will be getting me to get off the mask. The people who usually get high altitude sickness are those who "tough it out". The symptoms are very hard to notice until you get pulmonary and/or cerebral edema SO WATCH IT. The first symptom is euphoria. Headaches and/or fatigue follow in a few hours. A whiff of oxygen will help almost immediately. Aspirin will help you sleep and help with the headache, so bring some. Another symptom that occurs later is irritability, which will be a problem since we will probably have about a dozen some people up there in close quarters. Try to be patient with your fellow astronomer, no matter how stupid he or she may seem to be at the time, because chances are that you are being equally stupid. Keep a watch on your fellow astronomers. If someone seems to be having problems or is behaving erratically or irrationally please tell me. If a friend, or I tell you to take it easy or to go take a whiff of Oxygen, please cooperate. And please feel free to reciprocate.

Another often over-looked high-altitude problem is sunburn. You think you tan fast at 7,000 feet? Wait till you try 12,000 feet! Remember, there is very little between you and that star up there, so make sure you bring a hat and sunscreen!

Finally, if I haven't scared you enough, try to stay away from rodents and rodent excrement! I know it's hard, but one U.C. researcher has died from Hantavirus that she got while in the Eastern Sierras 25 miles north of Bishop. This was the mysterious virus that plagued Indian reservations a few years ago. It seems to be caused by either very close contact with deer mice or by breathing aerosol or dust contaminated with urine or feces. Watch for flu-like symptoms. In addition, some of those cute little rodents are carrying bubonic plague. You remember, the BLACK DEATH that wiped out one-third of Europe from 1348 to 1351. You may laugh but I had to evacuate my campsite in the Eastern Sierras a few years ago due to a plague infestation of the local rodents. More information is available upon request.

If you're having any questions, please call David Rodrigues at (510) 483-9191, day or night. My cell is 510-410-6047.

Grandview campground should be no problem. At Grandview there are pit toilets, tables and fire rings but NO WATER! So bring your own. I will leave a note on the bulletin board at the entrance to Grandview informing you of our whereabouts and other information on Monday, late afternoon. Don't be surprised if I'm late, I'm legendary in that regard. Other amateur groups from Southern California will probably be at Grandview and surrounding campsites. This will be an observing experience that you won't forget!

To get there, take Interstate 580 east to Interstate 205. Continue east on Interstate 205 past I-5 to Highway 120. Continue east on 120 to Highway 99. Take 99 north one mile to the Highway 120 exit, then take 120 east towards Yosemite. Take 120 over the Tioga Pass to U.S. 395 just south of Lee Vining. If 120-Tioga Pass Route is closed, take the Sonora Pass Route to the north via Calif. 108 to US 395. Take 395 south (a very beautiful drive along the dramatic eastern front of the Sierra Nevada) past Bishop to Big Pine. MAKE SURE YOU REFUEL THERE! This will be a good time to fill your tank with Premium gas. Take 168 east towards Westgard Pass. Just before you get to Westgard Pass, 12.9 miles out of Big Pine, make a left and go north on a paved road that leads to Grandview Campground, Schulman Grove, Patriarch Grove, and Mt. Barcroft Laboratory. At 1.7 miles you'll go through a gate. At 3.4 miles past the gate make a left turn onto the dirt road that leads into Grandview campground. The entrance is labeled. The message board is a short ways inside.

From Grandview, just continue driving further north on the paved road that runs up the spine of the White Mountains. You might want to stop off at Sierra View, with a spectacular view of the Sierra Nevada. Make sure that you stop off at Schulman Grove nature center, where the Bristle Cone Pines are. It’s about a fifteen minute drive from Grandview.

If you're a AAA member, I strongly urge you to get the AAA map "Guide to Eastern Sierra." It's an excellent guide to this whole area. Another good AAA map that covers the whole route is the "Bay and Mountain Section" map. Good maps make this process a lot easier. There are a number of absolutely gorgeous side trips to make in the Eastern Sierra Nevada such as to Mammoth, the Minaret view, Mono Lake, and the hot springs. This area is Volcano country!

For those of you who are interested, just off this route, north of Mono Lake, is the Bodie State Historic Park. Bodie was a legendary (or perhaps infamous is a better word) mining town that was famous for its bars, murder rate (at one point it had the highest per-capita murder rate in the world), and houses of ill repute. People used to say, "Goodbye God, I'm going to Bodie!" It's now a ghost town. Just thought I'd mention it.

In an emergency, feel free to call Denise or John Smiley (the station manager) at the White Mountain Research Station in Bishop at 760-873-4344. Make sure you take these numbers with you, just in case. The number up at Barcroft, if the phone is working, is at 760-937-5202.

Often, one or more of the traditional roads up there is washed out due to weather or forest fires. For that reason, before heading up, it would be a good idea to call CalTrans at 800-427-7623 to confirm the roads are open. Even better, check their web site:

Caltrans - California Highway Information - Caltrans search engine allows users to enter the number of a particular highway or route and get the latest road conditions for it

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo

Also useful in this regard is:

Mono Basin Weather and Road Information Mono Basin Weather: Current Conditions - Local Forecasts Live weather from Lee Vining, Paoha Island, and Mono City Mammoth Lakes Weather and WebCam

http://www.monolake.org/visiting/roadinfo.htm

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