Day 15, August 2: Yosemite

Day 15, August 2: Yosemite

I left Lake Tahoe this morning, thinking I was disappointed in what I’d found there. And I was, for about five miles. Then, suddenly, I was in the wilderness part of the area. The houses and condos and bars and stores gave way to rocks and trees and wilderness. The lake, although there were still boats moored regularly on its shoreline, showed the beauty that it is.

Lake Tahoe at Emerald Bay

I stopped some to take photos along the way, and before I knew it, I had wrapped around the bottom of the lake, heading southeast toward Yosemite. The mountains were beautiful and varied – for a while the road ran along Carson Creek, a stunning, fast-running river with fly-fisherman standing knee deep in it.

Mono Pass

Mono Lake

I drove over Mono pass that took me to about 10,000 feet before dropping back down to around 4000. I passed Mono Lake with its haunting hoodoos sprouting from the blue blue water. And before long, I was pulling into Yosemite. I stopped every few miles to photograph the shifting scenery, and watched at one point as a helicopter passed over, carrying a huge piece of metal to shore up the power lines running through the mountains. I stopped to inquire about the construction and roped the worker to photograph me in front of a nearby waterfall.

When I reached the campground I met Henry, my campsite mate. He’s in his late 60s and has hiked all over the world. A wonderfully sweet man, we’ve bonded already. We’ve decided to share the backpacking load – he’s bringing his stove and I’m bringing my water filtration kit.

I’ve also met a man who has the campsite across from us. He’s not going on the backpacking trip, but I spent the afternoon over there as he advised me of some not-to-miss hikes here. He’s also offered to let me pitch my tent in his site while he’s off backpacking with a friend. What nice people I’m meeting! I also met another man going on the trip, Rick, who is from the area and is giving me much advice on hikes, parks to visit, and routes to drive. He’s a fire chief in a fairly small town, and just a great guy.

I haven’t had this much company and companionship since I’ve left home, and it’s been nice. It will be interesting to see how the hike goes. In addition to Rick and Henry, there’s a woman, Kim, who’s a bit older than I am, and a group of six Chinese people who live in California now. The woman, Suzanne, who is leading the hike, has written numerous books on hiking and survival, and she and her sister are in their 60s. I feel like a youngster here, except for the Chinese. The Chinese are very talkative and loud, so it will be interesting to see if they calm down a little once we’re hiking.

Tomorrow should begin a very interesting three days.