Mark Grossi is a wiry California Angels fan with a sly smile. He's been a heavyweight in environmental journalism for some years, and the Fresno Bee's been fortunate -- and smart -- to keep him on that reporting beat (as beats continue to be spread-sheeted away in traditional media).

Mark's taking a hike into the Sierra for a "legends of the lost" look for planes that've disappeared over the years, particularly in the Mendel Glacier area. You can follow his exploits from Aug. 31 to Sept. 17 at http://www.fresnobee.com/lostflights/ 

(In 1998, I lost a friend -- the Rev. Lowell Magsig, father of Clovis City Councilman Nathan Magsig -- in a plane crash on Mount Goddard at Kings Canyon National Park.)

I shipped my former reporting compatriot a list of questions -- about training for the trip, sore knees and other worry points. He's answering them in his blog at the site listed above. Hopefully, he and I will get to exchange some thoughts while he's playing mountain goat and historian in the coming weeks -- satellite-telephone willing.

Just for the record, Mark, I was big into archeology at my alma mater, New York University (had a great teacher, the late Kenan T. Erim). Even had a fleeting chance to spend a summer excavating in Turkey. But opted to become a New York City police reporter instead. (So much for my intellectual credentials.)

Best of luck, dude. Maybe somewhere on your trek you'll stumble across a state budget.