Yesterday was a mostly uneventful day. I had to go to Lee Vining to get Internet access to deal with job stuff. On my way, I stopped and did the little hike to Soda Springs, which is a naturally carbonated spring. The interesting thing is that scientists don't know why it's carbonated. There was no one around when I got there, so I took a sip. Very mineral-y. Ew. But definitely carbonated!
I hung out by the Tuolumne River for a while, reading my book. Some of Aron Ralston's stories make me crazy. I want to tell at him, "What were you thinking! You could die just because you wanted to do something stupid!" But he's a really good writer and I have trouble putting away the book to do other things.
I was going to hike to Lembert Dome to watch the sunset last night, but it was overcast. I chatted with Kristin for awhile instead, then headed back to camp. On the way, I pulled over to take a picture of one of the most spectacular skies I have ever seen. In front of me, the whole sky was bright pink. Behind me was a full rainbow.
This morning I did a 9.5 mile hike to Cathedral Lakes. It was hard work, but worth it. You end up in this meadow, and one side of it is a glacial cirque, which is kind of like an amphitheater. There are ribbons of streams winding through the meadow floor. If you look one way, you see the jagged Cathedral Peak, which actually looked like something from a horror movie because it was covered in clouds. When you turn around, you have a view of Cathedral Lake, with its dark blue water and granite shores.
On my way back, I encountered a group of nine guys who were out backpacking and smoking a lot of pot. We started chatting, and they invited me to join them. I laughed at how my parents would react if I told them I was going out into the woods for five days with nine guys I'd just met. But they were really cool (potheads are always so nice), so I gave them my number and we're going to hang out when they get back from their trip.
After this hike I was ready for a shower, so I drove over to my favorite river spot. I may be getting a little complacent, because I lingered a little longer than usual. As I was sitting on a rock, shaving my legs, I saw a guy come down the river bank about 50 yards from where I sat. My dress was on the other side of the river. I dove towards it, then stood up to put it on, figuring the worse case scenario would be that he'd see my naked butt. When I turned around to see how close he was, I saw that HE was now buck naked! I don't think he saw me. And luckily, he was far enough away that I really couldn't see anything. I turned around to gather my things, and when I looked back again, he was gone. He must have finally seen me.
On my way back to camp, I picked up a couple of hitchhikers. They were college students who had done a 15 mile hike down into the valley because a ranger had told them there was a shuttle that would take them back up to their camp. There wasn't.
When I got back to camp, there was a guy sitting alone at the campsite across from mine. We started chatting, and he is a canyoneer from southern Utah. We had a lot to talk about! He does Wilderness Therapy, which is where you take adolescents with issues and leave them out in the wilderness for a few months. His friends pulled up a little while later, and I spent the evening hanging out by their campfire. Super nice people, and I'm hoping Eric and I can do a canyon together someday!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABuLn0cJrqc
I hung out by the Tuolumne River for a while, reading my book. Some of Aron Ralston's stories make me crazy. I want to tell at him, "What were you thinking! You could die just because you wanted to do something stupid!" But he's a really good writer and I have trouble putting away the book to do other things.
I was going to hike to Lembert Dome to watch the sunset last night, but it was overcast. I chatted with Kristin for awhile instead, then headed back to camp. On the way, I pulled over to take a picture of one of the most spectacular skies I have ever seen. In front of me, the whole sky was bright pink. Behind me was a full rainbow.
This morning I did a 9.5 mile hike to Cathedral Lakes. It was hard work, but worth it. You end up in this meadow, and one side of it is a glacial cirque, which is kind of like an amphitheater. There are ribbons of streams winding through the meadow floor. If you look one way, you see the jagged Cathedral Peak, which actually looked like something from a horror movie because it was covered in clouds. When you turn around, you have a view of Cathedral Lake, with its dark blue water and granite shores.
On my way back, I encountered a group of nine guys who were out backpacking and smoking a lot of pot. We started chatting, and they invited me to join them. I laughed at how my parents would react if I told them I was going out into the woods for five days with nine guys I'd just met. But they were really cool (potheads are always so nice), so I gave them my number and we're going to hang out when they get back from their trip.
After this hike I was ready for a shower, so I drove over to my favorite river spot. I may be getting a little complacent, because I lingered a little longer than usual. As I was sitting on a rock, shaving my legs, I saw a guy come down the river bank about 50 yards from where I sat. My dress was on the other side of the river. I dove towards it, then stood up to put it on, figuring the worse case scenario would be that he'd see my naked butt. When I turned around to see how close he was, I saw that HE was now buck naked! I don't think he saw me. And luckily, he was far enough away that I really couldn't see anything. I turned around to gather my things, and when I looked back again, he was gone. He must have finally seen me.
On my way back to camp, I picked up a couple of hitchhikers. They were college students who had done a 15 mile hike down into the valley because a ranger had told them there was a shuttle that would take them back up to their camp. There wasn't.
When I got back to camp, there was a guy sitting alone at the campsite across from mine. We started chatting, and he is a canyoneer from southern Utah. We had a lot to talk about! He does Wilderness Therapy, which is where you take adolescents with issues and leave them out in the wilderness for a few months. His friends pulled up a little while later, and I spent the evening hanging out by their campfire. Super nice people, and I'm hoping Eric and I can do a canyon together someday!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABuLn0cJrqc
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