Day 7: Ben had picked up a single serving size of milk at the market across the street so we could have cereal for breakfast. We needed a break from oatmeal, especially since we knew we’d be having it every morning in Yosemite. Cereal – so basic but still so good. Today’s destination: El Portal,CA. The ride started out with a 5-6ish mile steep climb (6-10% grade). Again, lots of breaks. But once we reached the Midpines summit we had an 8.3 mile bomb downhill to Briceburg. Wowza! Ben enjoyed it. He likes downhills & kicks my butt. I was thankful for no pedalling but also scared. You can gain some major speed when it’s that steep & that long. My brakes got a good workout! At least we covered a lot of distance in no time. That was fun! We stopped partway down for a look into the valley below which was cool. We also stopped at the bottom in Briceburg at a visitor center. There was another biker heading the opposite direction (back up that huge hill we bombed!) so we both shared tips about the roads ahead. Good luck! A local who works in Yosemite, Marty, chatted with us & said we could pitch a tent on his porch in El Portal if we wanted (perfect!) & that there would be a taco truck in town tomorrow night that we should stay for. He was so nice. We took down his address & phone number & were back on the road.
The ride to El Portal felt flat compared to the climbing we’d been doing but it was a very gradual uphill (1-2% grade). Along the way we took a pit stop for lunch on the side of the road under a shade tree, rinsed in the cold Merced River & filled up water at a lodge. When we got to El Portal our phones didn’t have service so we couldn’t find Marty’s address or give him a call. I suppose we could’ve asked someone but we just settled on camping in the campground down the road. We stopped at the market for food & another local woman there, Andrea, asked if we needed a place to stay. Sure! Her husband, Edward, works for the park & she works for Yosemite Conservancy. Everyone in El Portal has to work for Yosemite in order to live there. She let us put our food in her truck, then we followed her on our bikes up the road & into the hill a bit to their house. Wow, the land there is beautiful! The rushing Merced River is right below (you can always hear & see it), it’s covered in rocks & trees, & is right on Crane Creek. Their house was cool too. Edward was home shortly & showed us down to the creek so we could take a dip. I can’t even tell you how good that felt. For those who know me, I felt like I was up at the Porkies (in MI), my favorite place to be. I was so happy. Ahh, just 100% at peace. We rinsed our clothes & headed back to the house. They showed us around the house, said we could use the bathroom & kitchen & told us to store our food inside. They warned us about a mountain lion in the area, it’s the beginning of rattlesnake season & of course, bears. Gulp… lions & snakes & bears, oh my 😉 We set up our tent on their deck & Ben took a nap while I started charging things (phones, Garmin, head & tail lights). I had a nice chat with Andrea about her & Edward’s bike touring days (US, China, South America). It was fun to hear her stories & experiences. She’s very kind, knowledgeable & welcoming. I felt like we already knew each other.
While we waited for their teenage daughter, Dawn, to come home from school we helped Andrea make dinner. She did most of the work but she actually let us help & I loved that! Most of the time people refuse to let us help & I feel like a big mooch. It was nice to feel useful & pitch in. I need to remember that when the roles are reversed. I tend to want to do it all to be nice & take a load off others but when they want to help I should listen. Once Dawn arrived we sat out on the deck & had veggie burgers, roasted potatoes & salad. We all got to know each other & I just love their family; they’re good people.
After dinner, Ben & I helped with dishes. Andrea & Dawn then showed us the path to a waterfall up the hill so we hiked the short distance & sat up there a while just enjoying the peace & rushing river. Once it started getting dark we went back to the house, & on the way noticed the name of the street Marty lived on… We mentioned Marty to Andrea & he’s one of their neighbors! There was a gathering next door so we shared the bottle of wine we bought in town with Andrea & went over. That was nice meeting other locals & getting their advice on Yosemite. They were all lovely. On the way back the 2 of us stopped at Marty’s & chatted a while. What a small & special world to run into him again.
Back at Andrea & Edward’s for the night we watched a Netflix documentary about climbing (Valley Uprising) that was really interesting. While we watched I helped fix the straps on Dawn’s prom dress that she needed in 3 days. I was so thrilled to help! She wanted the adjusters off & to shorten & stitch the straps. Easy peasy. It was fun! After that, bed time under the stars – no rain fly. Great day.