Yosemite's Tioga Road clear, will open Monday

Tioga Road, the high-altitude highway that bisects Yosemite National Park, will open to cars at noon Monday, park superintendent Don Neubacher announced.

The seasonal mountain road has been open since Saturday to bicycles after crews cleared remaining snow from the Tioga Pass entrance station last week.

Vault toilets will be available in several locations. However, the Tuolumne Meadows area will be without electrical power and visitor services until repairs can be made to two damaged transmission lines.

Monday's scheduled opening will be the earliest for Tioga Road since 1988. That's what happens when the snowpack at Tuolumne Meadows is less than half of average. (Remember, the road didn't close this year until Jan. 17, when folks were still ice skating on frozen Tenaya Lake.)

Glacier Point Road is already open, and so is the road to the Mariposa Grove.

Other seasonal roads in the Sierra Nevada are rapidly thawing out as well.

In Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, the Generals Highway is open between Lodgepole and Grant Grove, as are the roads to Panoramic Point, Redwood Canyon and Moro Rock/Crescent Meadow.

Highway 180 is currently open as far as Boyden Cave. It's scheduled to be open to Roads End on Friday.

In the Sierra National Forest, the road to Wishon Reservoir is open, and crews are set to start plowing Kaiser Pass Road next week. It should be open for Memorial Day weekend.

Mud Mash X

When: May 19

Where: Santa Margarita Ranch, near Paso Robles

Forget about what Mom said. Go ahead and play in the mud, especially if you're doing it on a Navy Seal-designed course with steep hills and obstacles integrated along the way.

The event offers both a 10-mile course for experienced mudders and a 4-mile course for beginners. All participants must be 13 or older. Details and registration: MudMashX.com.

News & notes

• More than 900 public comments were submitted last year for Sequoia & Kings Canyon's Wilderness Stewardship Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for wilderness management in the parks. Read them at parkplanning.nps.gov/sekiwild.
• Adult and youth artists are encouraged to submit original artwork for the Department of Fish and Game's 2012 Duck Stamp Contest. Submissions must be received by May 30. Contest rules and entry forms can be found at dfg.ca.gov/duckstamp.
• Registration is now open for the Lake Kaweah Trout Derby on May 19-20 featuring $60,000 in cash and prizes. Sign up by May 16 at lakekaweahtroutderby.com.
• Skateboarders Chris Cole, Trevor Colden, Kyle Frederick and others from the Omit Apparel Pro Skate Team will give a demo and sign autographs at 3 p.m. Friday at Herb Bauer Sporting Goods in Fresno. Details: (559) 435-8600.