Friday, June 24, 2011

Yosemite Part 2 - Red Rocks and Corlieu Falls

This post will be mostly pictures as I'm tired and I don't have a ton to say about this hike. But I'll post more over the weekend.

We initially decided on a fairly short hike for the day so we could do any other random explorations afterwards. Then we realized the Giant Sequoias were very close to that hike so we decided to do both. But those trees deserve a post all their own.

To avoid traffic in the Valley we went a bit south and took a longer route to the hike. Except it probably took us less time than the Valley. Traffic in a National Park is kind of annoying! Anyway, we were in lower mountains for awhile and John had to stop to take in the view. Sometimes being the driver sucks.




When we got to the trailhead we got all prepared to fight mountain lions and possibly bears. I ran off into the woods to pee and John had to distract and old couple who couldn't find where the trail started and were headed my way. Thanks dear!

Anyway, the trail was woodsy and along the water. We were on our way first to Red Rock Falls. Then we would backtrack slightly and head down another trail to Corlieu Falls. The Red Rocks trail was very easy but had some good sites. We saw some backcountry campsites that would have been pretty nice. At the top of the falls we found a nice roofless rock cave and jokes were made about fooling around there. We ate cherries and learned I do not spit like a man.





On the way from Red Rocks Falls to Corlieu Falls we had a display on manliness that involved breaking large pieces of wood into smaller pieces. Jumping on the wood was one tactic. You really had to be there.

The Corlieu Falls were much more impressive. And required a steep downhill, which meant a fun climb back to the top! Once at the bottom we found a cool tree, ate peaches and clif bars, and sat under the cool breeze.




Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Yosemite Part 1

Ok I still haven't gotten a good night's sleep. I think it's a combination of being on West Coast time, wanting to hear from the mountain man, and general antsy feelings - wanting to be back hiking not stuck at a desk. But I figured I should at least start a little vacation talk, since it will take awhile!

Day 1 meant waking up at 3:30 am to get to the airport for our flight. When we tried to check in I didn't show up on the reservation. We could not get anyone's attention to fix the problem and both John and I got grumpy. Mostly due to lack of sleep I'm sure. Once it was resolved the whole trip to California was uneventful. But once there we had to wait in line forever to get our rental car. Then we got on the road.

It's about a 4 hour drive from San Fransisco to Yosemite, but we stopped for food, fire starting materials first. And we went to our campsite (25 miles from the park entrance) to set of camp before heading into the park.

Windmills not far outside San Fransisco.

Driving through the low mountains.

Man-made lake in the foothills.

Driving higher.

Meadow drive-by shot, actually inside the park.

When you first go through the entrance to Yosemite there's just a lot of wilderness. Then you go through a tunnel and suddenly you're hit with amazingness. I was awe-struck. I teared up a bit because of how beautiful it was and how happy I was being there experiencing it with John. Seeing the high cliffs and waterfalls with him for those first few moments was simply perfect. And we hadn't actually gotten to the famous Yosemite Valley yet.

*The pictures just don't do it justice but they'll do.









Once I had taken it all in we continued our drive to the Valley. I continued to be amazed by the abundance of waterfalls and the height of the rocks. Of course we weren't just sightseeing. We had to find John's rock climbing partner, Kevin. The problem with boys making arrangements is the plan was "meet at the pizza place sometime after 5." Well it was way after 5 because of all the delays in rental car pickup, stops on the drive, and us setting up camp - all things I would have anticipated when estimating a timeline. And no one had cell service. Well first we had to find this pizza place - and I must say I'm not to thrilled about all the stores that exist in the park. Anyway, Kevin wasn't there but we did miraculously find him close by. He'd actually just been on the patio as planned but ran inside for a coffee. So we picked up the guy and headed back to camp. Stopped at a different pizza place for dinner and went to bed. A day full of amazing sites but I'd been up since 3:30am EST and it was about 10/11 in CA. And there was much more to come!



Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Patience Please

I promise I will blog in detail about my trip to Yosemite. But first I need a good night's sleep, no family drama, and a chance to regroup. My flight was delayed and I didn't get home until 4:30 Monday morning. Life hasn't been the same since. And I'm seriously missing John because I am apparently emotional.

I managed to upload 100 out of 300 pics to Facebook but that's mostly because work was slow. So for now I will just say the trip was fabulous. And I will leave you with cuteness: