Our plans to wake up at 7am and be hiking by 9am naturally devolved into waking up at 7:30am and hiking at 10:30am. Not a big deal, as it was only about 5.5 miles (but with about 2200 feet of elevation gain), and I'm cutting ourselves some slack as the hordes of day hikers sort of clogged up the trail anyway. I could see clouds brewing up beyond Half Dome as soon as we hopped on the trail and we all felt like the forecast thunderstorm was going to arrive at an inopportune time.
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| Getting packed up |
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| Look at that smile |
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| Anne, one of our "trail angels," helping us out! |
But before officially setting out, we stopped by Curry Village for one final breakfast, which for me, included eggs, toast, ham, and hash browns. By all other standards it was completely mundane, but in anticipation of our month-long diet of bars, nuts, and jerky, it taunted my taste buds with flavors they knew would soon disappear. With me "hiking heavy" (stuffed full of rich, indulgent, coma-inducing food) and Maddie, Liam, and Anne having snacked in camp, we walked to the trailhead.
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| Leaving Housekeeping Camp |
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| At the official start point, Happy Isles |
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| Liam being awesome |
Anne walked a mile or so up the steep, crowded trail with us before we said our farewells until we would meet again this week. Our ascent up the trail consisted of some of the most incredible scenery I've ever seen. In addition to marveling at the open vistas, we watched as the impending storm clouds grew darker and darker, until at last claps of thunder reverberated across the valley. With many hikers descending the trail to flee the lighting and rain, we felt slightly nervous pushing forward and higher. Nevertheless, we made it safely to Nevada Falls, where the rain came down hard. Sweating in our rain gear (I'm rethinking a couple of rain gear choices at this point), we trudged forward until we finally hit the 1-mile-to-go mark, where the rain let up for a little bit.
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| One of many incredible vistas...you know...if you're into that sort of thing... |
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| Sibling pic in front of Nevada Falls |
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| It was at this point that the thunderstorm really started rolling |
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| Over Nevada Falls and into the valley--it was pouring at this point |
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| Rain gear takes stylish hiking attire to a whole new level |
I didn't take many pictures of our campsite because I believe I can masterfully paint an image in your mind by describing it: picture a forest...and, boom, there you have it. You get the idea.
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| Our pleasant, if crowded, campsite |
We made camp just in time as it started raining again and we bolted into our tents until it subsided. Liam and I then cooked Trader Joe's organic white cheddar macaroni and cheese (delicious, and cheap by the way) while Maddie set up our sleeping pads/bags.
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| Liam preparing himself for some delicious mac n cheese. Looks uncannily like his dog Marley waiting for treats... |
With bellies full (I also devoured a sleeve of fig newtons and some turkey jerky), we filled up on water from a nearby river and washed some clothes/dishes. Food is an incredibly fascinating subject in the context of backpacking. I would say that my mind's attention while backpacking is devided as follows:
-55% admiring the scenery
-35% imagining all of the food I want to eat at that moment (read: In'n'Out)
10% whining in my head about how heavy my backpack is
I have packed as much yummy food as possible into my bear can to last me until the few waypoints along the trail at which I plan to devour as much fresh food as possible. I have to actively stop myself from transforming this blog about our trip into a blog about the myriad delicacies I dream of moment to moment. I'm less than 12 hours in and the wheels are already turning...fresh vegetables...roasted chicken....
As our particular campground is notorious for bear activity, we tried to be as careful as possible so as not to attract them to our site. This serves not only to protect us, but to protect the bears, who, once habituated to receiving human food, are in danger of having to be put down by the parks service. A FED BEAR IS A DEAD BEAR!
With that PSA out of the way, I think it's about time for us to retire to bed. Yes. You heard me. BED before 7pm. Despite the many rowdy campers here tonight, I am looking forward to getting some zzz's. It's not too cold, so I am grateful not to be forced to wear all my layers. Here's to a hopefully bear-less, rain-less night...although it would be kind of cool to see a bear...
Due to thunderstorms we may not climb Clouds Rest tomorrow, but instead continue to Cathedral Lakes to arrive at Tuolemne a night early. We shall see. One thing's for sure, I'm looking forward to swimming and basking in some sunshine soon! See ya mañana!
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| Nighty night, kids! |
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