Campsite Cling-ons

Sitting under an overpass outside of Baker,CA at the moment, enjoying the shade, but more on that later.

Day 9: I actually slept pretty well in the tent for a change. That was nice. We made oatmeal, did dishes using river water, packed up & moved to Donna & Walter’s spot to set up there. We packed a lunch & biked over to some trails for hiking. We took the Mist Trail all the way up to Nevada Falls which also passes by Vernal Falls (where all the mist comes from). It was a beautiful day, steep hiking, gorgeous views. We got soaked along the misty part which was kind of fun. Took a break at the top of Vernal Falls to soak up some sun after getting wet. The squirrels are way too tame. A guy was literally petting one! They’re pretty cute but damn! We hiked to the top of Nevada Falls, which was even steeper. Lots of people, crowded trails, hard for going your own pace. You often have to pull over & wait to let others through or go slow behind people. We pulled off at the top & walked up river to a quiet spot for lunch. Ahhh, just how I like it: rushing river, sitting on the rocks, hidden in the trees, just us, sunny day. Doesn’t get much better than that. Back to the top of the falls, the view was great, the water powerful. So much of it! We hiked back down in no time, passing people constantly. I needed to go faster for several reasons. A) it’s more fun, B) gotta keep the momentum going, C) it made my legs shake to hold back. It reminded me of the Porkies again (in MI, on Lake Superior). I like to run the trails a bit-it makes me feel wild, free, liberated & slightly like I’m doing parkour when we’re jumping, hopping & dodging all the rocks & tree roots. It certainly got us down the mountain quickly.

Back at the campsite, we grabbed clean clothes & hit the showers in Half Dome Village. Quick nap then off to The Loft cafe for Wi-Fi & blogging. We were able to have our fancy dinner at the Majestic Yosemite Hotel. It was fancy alright. So many different kinds of silverware! 3 of everything: knives, spoons & forks. I’ve never understood that. One should do the trick. We both couldn’t figure out what one of the knives was for (1 for butter, 1 for meat, 1 for…?) until they took our salad away, with the extra knife. Ooohhhh, a salad knife! Yeah, those other knives just wouldn’t have cut it… 🙂 As for fancy, even Ben was nervous about my camping neck buff (like a scarf but more like a big head band) & asked if I was going to wear it in there. Ah hahaha, if they want to kick me out for wearing a buff around my neck in Yosemite (where that is the typical wardrobe) I don’t need to eat there. Food was pricey, mostly tasty, it was a neat experience but not something I’d need to repeat. We just wanted to celebrate making it to our 1st major destination. Back to The Loft for blogging, then straight to the campsite for bed.

Day 10: Slept well again, yay! Ear plugs & chiller weather help. Oatmeal as per usual. Donna made us coffee & dishwater, that was nice. We chatted about their summer travel plans & her son’s restaurant with noteworthy gourmet burgers. They gave us some extra eggs & water, took a quick picture of all 4 of us & off they went.

I scouted out another family with an RV to let us pitch our tent on their site. This couple, John & Nicole, live in Switzerland & have been traveling the world with their 2 kids for the last year! They’ve been to 12 different countries, with the US & Canada last & then back home in a few weeks. The mom does their schooling with them on the road. They’re really nice & easy to talk to.

After setting up our new site (we only had to drag the already setup tent over about 30 yards) we went back to the same hiking spot as yesterday, in search of Sierra Point, where you can see 5 waterfalls. Andrea, Dawn & Marty had all suggested it. The problem was that it used to be a trail but rockfall ruined it & is no longer open. They had given us tips on how to find it & we tried our best but in the end failed. We did find it but lost it & couldn’t find a good way to the top. Oh well, maybe another time. It was fun wandering off path & making our own trail but in the end I was bummed we didn’t find it. It took lunch & laundry for me to get over it. Ben napped, I read.

Later, we biked down to Yosemite Falls & wandered around for a while. A group asked us about our bikes so we chatted about our trip. They had just run a half marathon that morning & still wanted to go hiking around Yosemite. Hat’s off to them! Back to camp for curry dinner. Yum. Blogging at Visitor Center, then straight to bed.

Reflections:

1. Everyone assumes this trip is Ben’s idea & I’m just tagging along but it’s definitely the other way around. It seems most people assume this type of adventure is a guy thing. Hmmmm… 🙁 I was amused when a guy at one of the turnouts climbing to Yosemite entrance gave me props for being ahead of Ben. He said he always sees the wife way behind & wishes it was more balanced so he was happy to see me in the lead & kickin’ that hills butt.

2. I had the song lyrics “Rocky loves Emily” stuck in my head all day (I think from seeing all these rocks around here) & for the life of me couldn’t figure out what movie it was from. Anybody know without Googling it? Someone help me!

3. I miss our computer back home. It’s so much faster to get things done on a computer than a phone.

MILEAGE:

1. San Fran to Fremont 55

2. Livermore 22

3. Ripon 43

4. Fox Grove Park 25

5. Lake McSwain 36

6. Mariposa 32

7. El Portal 29

8. Yosemite Valley 15

Well, gotta roll! Til next time.

Whitney