When I woke in the morning, the B. sisters had arrived and set up. SaB, JuB and MdB, who I met via KeJ, who I met via KeM. from linkup! Isn't life funny and exciting? JuB drove us into the valley, and I rediscovered the Aerosmith song "Dream On" from one of her compilation cd's.
The sisters didn't have any plans, so I suggested that we try the Vernal Falls hike (3 miles, 1000 ft gain, strenuous). The first part of the trail is dry and forrested. As we took a brief rest under the shade, I was nailed on the shoulder by a very impertinent bird ... yuck! Grabbed a bit of nature's TP (ie: a leaf) and wiped off the rude offering and moved on.
I should probably state that I like trails that go up, have water along the way (or even better, at the top), and then descend. I slightly resent ascending trails that have descending portions ... it makes me feel like I've wasted energy when I have to regain "gain" that I've already put out for!
The last part of the hike is called the Mist Trail. I should have realized how "mist," in years of heavy rainfall, is a euphemism for drenching! The power of the falls was so great that all hikers were absolutely soaked about a third of the way up the stone staircase. It was vastly refreshing, and made for the most spectacular rainbows. When we finally made it to the top, the sun was a welcome friend and warmed our cold and tired backs with its golden rays. It was amazing to contemplate the plummeting waters and realize that I had propelled my body to "Such Great Heights" (one of my favorite songs).
When we made our way back to the car, it seemed much too light outside to return to the campground. Instead, we took the hybrid shuttle over to the Visitors' Center. The a/c was chilly, but we were all still drying off, so there was nothing to be done. At the VC, we waited to see the "Spirit of Yosemite" movie. The footage was amazing ... but the narration was ridiculous AND I was absolutely freezing! To make matters even worse, my t-shirt (which I had carefully packed inside my day pack) was slightly damp. I tucked my arms inside the shirt, and blew on my fingers to conserve heat. Add to this the fact that they kept on repeating, "The spirit of Yosemite ... this, that, yadda yadda" over and over. I thought I would blow a gasket! Luckily, the movie was only 30 minutes long. As soon as it was over, I bolted for the door and found a wonderful patch of sunlight to console me.
We shuttled back to the car, and took another jaunt over to the Yosemite Falls. Back at the camp, we closed the day by slathering on Deet, roasting hotdogs and marshmellows, and wondering if Dan would ever show up. We assigned him all sorts of duties (esp getting more firewood), and left a sign for him at the ranger station before turning in.
No comments:
Post a Comment