The 360’s

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22, 2021 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

Update:  September 22, 2023:  This is more important now than ever.  Be vigilant and speak in your own way.  Love Wins.

This entry was prepared for publication in The John Muir Trail Hikers 2023 Facebook Group.  It was published on September 15, 2023.  The backpacking trip featured here was from August 18-September 1, 2023.  "SOBO" means southbound and "JMT" refers to the John Muir Trail.  The John Muir Trail runs between Yosemite and Mt. Whitney.   

My two 60+ year old companions and I started SOBO from Tuolomne Meadows in Yosemite National Park on August 18 for what was planned to be a 14 day adventure on the JMT. On the second day out, we arrived about 500 vertical feet below Donohue Pass.

The winds were gusting at 40+ mph (estimate) and the three of us henceforth to be identified as “The 360’s” decided to turn back to Tuolomne Meadows.

We left Yosemite and spent a couple nights in Bridgeport assessing Tropical Storm Hillary before seeking out a new wilderness permit in an attempt to continue our hike. Three libraries and two ranger stations (or was it two libraries and three ranger stations) later we were granted a new permit to continue our trip thanks to an awesome ranger in Mammoth Lakes.

Our permit took us out of North Lake just west of Bishop over Piute Pass and back over to the JMT where we made our way back to Muir Trail Ranch to pick up our resupply of food and continue SOBO.

We had decided that Mt. Whitney was not going to be our final destination, but wanted to see the Evolution Basin. That involved getting across the south fork of the San Joaquin River. We arrived at the damaged bridge on the day that a Forest Service crew was detonating the bridge thereby assuring that we and no one else would be crossing it to continue SOBO.

From our camp we heard the blast. The next day with the ranger crew still onsite at the bridge, we were directed to the only available route around the downed bridge. This was the “Up and Over” route. We were told along the way that this would take anywhere from 1 1/2 hours to around six hours.

After a grueling six hours, we decided to camp on the east side of the canyon. The next morning we used Gaia to successfully get out of the canyon and make our way down to Evolution Creek and its basin. It took us three plus hours on the second day to trailblaze our way down to the valley. Our hats are off to the people who design, build and maintain our Sierra trails.

We enjoyed dazzling sights and sounds of the high Sierra including Muir Pass and the Dusey Basin before exiting over Bishop Pass to South Lake on September 1.

Best wishes to any of you that decided to go over Donohue Pass and take your chances with Hillary. I’m thinking in particular to the Aussie couple that I talked to on my way back to Tuolomne on August 19. And to the mother and son who we reconnected with after getting back on the JMT.

What a marvelous experience. Lots of water, downed trees and rock damage made the trails difficult. But, all the challenges of the 2023 Summer hiking season were infinitely worth it. The power and beauty of the natural world have rekindled my desire to save and protect it in any way that I can.

Congrats to everyone out on the trail and may you return safely and share your experiences.

I will get back to sharing my Europe experience sometime this Fall.  Right now I'm occupied with processing the experiences of the two week backpacking experience that I shared with Kelvin and Jerry this Summer.  This post is the first expression of what we experienced together.