I am here at Yosemite, and I never want to leave. The high Sierra's are incomparable. There is nowhere else I'd rather be. Part of me wishes I'd gotten here sooner, but I have no regrets over the detours I made.
I got here the Saturday of 4th of July weekend and still managed to find a campsite. Even more miraculous, this campground is only $10/night. It is just down the road from Tuolumne Meadows, my favorite part of Yosemite. The Valley is too hot and crowded. Up here, most of the people are backpackers, and temperatures are in the 70's with lows in the upper 40's. And the scenery is spectacular- it's all lakes and meadows and wildflowers and these rock domes that are just begging to be climbed.
Today I did a 7.5 mile hike to Mono Pass, elevation 10,599 feet. The whole first half was ascending, and my lungs were burning. I told myself it was because I'm not used to the elevation, but let's be honest, I am not in great shape. Most of my summer has consisted of sight-seeing.
But Yosemite does not allow laziness. I powered through this hike and will hike another 7 miles tomorrow. There is just so much to see here!
When I returned to my campsite tonight, I busied myself with the important task of arranging some of the stickers I've bought over the years on my back window. (This is what I love about camping: tonight's agenda was 1. Put stickers on car 2. Read a book. It's a nice slower pace of life.) A few minutes later, a guy pulled up in the campsite next to mine. He came over and introduced himself and informed me that a bear had been about 20 feet from my campsite no more than 10 minutes before I got there.
I think I would've preferred not knowing this. And I definitely could have done without seeing the picture he took.
So tonight, I am trying to stay calm as I get ready for bed. I took a Xanax. I'm listening to Bon Iver. I am trying to think of the lakes I'm hiking to tomorrow. And my bear spray is within arm's reach. The bear didn't find anything interesting here, so why would it come back? Nothing to worry about.
Video on Mono Pass:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Key82C6wEdI
I got here the Saturday of 4th of July weekend and still managed to find a campsite. Even more miraculous, this campground is only $10/night. It is just down the road from Tuolumne Meadows, my favorite part of Yosemite. The Valley is too hot and crowded. Up here, most of the people are backpackers, and temperatures are in the 70's with lows in the upper 40's. And the scenery is spectacular- it's all lakes and meadows and wildflowers and these rock domes that are just begging to be climbed.
Today I did a 7.5 mile hike to Mono Pass, elevation 10,599 feet. The whole first half was ascending, and my lungs were burning. I told myself it was because I'm not used to the elevation, but let's be honest, I am not in great shape. Most of my summer has consisted of sight-seeing.
But Yosemite does not allow laziness. I powered through this hike and will hike another 7 miles tomorrow. There is just so much to see here!
When I returned to my campsite tonight, I busied myself with the important task of arranging some of the stickers I've bought over the years on my back window. (This is what I love about camping: tonight's agenda was 1. Put stickers on car 2. Read a book. It's a nice slower pace of life.) A few minutes later, a guy pulled up in the campsite next to mine. He came over and introduced himself and informed me that a bear had been about 20 feet from my campsite no more than 10 minutes before I got there.
I think I would've preferred not knowing this. And I definitely could have done without seeing the picture he took.
So tonight, I am trying to stay calm as I get ready for bed. I took a Xanax. I'm listening to Bon Iver. I am trying to think of the lakes I'm hiking to tomorrow. And my bear spray is within arm's reach. The bear didn't find anything interesting here, so why would it come back? Nothing to worry about.
Video on Mono Pass:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Key82C6wEdI
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