Florence taxi service closed 9/9/12

[overheadx2]

I was just at Florence, and they had planned on stopping the water taxi on the 15th, but as of 9/8/12, they planned to close on 9/9/12 due to lack of water. the story was that they had done some dam repairs to shaver lake, and are needing to refill it. They drained Edison first, but now need more water from Florence, so the closure date was moved up. Unfortunately for many of the folks we met at and around the Muir Trail Ranch who had been told that the taxi would run until the 15th it looks like they are in for a long hot hike around the lake.

[Wandering Daisy]

Once I missed the ferry by about 5 minutes (I could see it out in the water). I hiked around the lake and it really was not that bad. Those planning on using the ferry for their exit will have light packs so I think they will be just fine. I did not have a map showing the trail and I had no trouble staying on it. It does, however, have more elevation gain than I had anticipated.

[ERIC]

Story I heard is that Edison Co. started draining Florence early and neglected to inform MTR of the change in date. Flow needs of the SJR Restoration Project was apparently the cause of the shift in dates.

[Backpack2Fish]

If anyone is interested, I went kayaking on Florence Lake last weekend. The taxi service has definitely stopped. The water is very low.