Yosemite 2013

We attempted to spend the Labor Day weekend in Yosemite, but only stayed one night after smoke, from the Rim Fire, entered the valley on Saturday.  It was a little smoky, but blue skies on Friday.  By Saturday morning, it was raining ash.  We started driving home, but all came down with food poisoning and ended up staying the night in Fresno before making the rough drive home on Sunday.  We all slept 14 hours once we got home!!

 

 

More photos:  https://picasaweb.google.com/FreqTravelers/YosemiteAug2013#

Yosemite National Park

We visited Yosemite over Labor Day weekend.  We couldn't get a campsite, but we got the next best thing.  We stayed in canvas tents at Curry Village in the valley.  It's so nice and convenient staying inside the park and waking up every morning to the magnificent cliffs on both sides.  You also don't have to worry about driving in the crazy traffic.  We arrived on Saturday and did 2 short hikes and Sunday we did a long hike that took most of the day.

Our tent in Curry Village

On the Taft Point and the Fissures hike

Sentinel Dome hike

View from the top of Sentinel Dome

Cute deer

Yosemite Falls

Hiking the valley floor

A break for swimming the freezing cold Merced River

Another swimming break, it was so cold it took my breath away.

Tunnel View - the first sight of the valley (which we took on the way out)

Joshua Tree National Park

We went camping and hiking in Joshua Tree over the weekend with friends, Ben and Erin.  We camped in Black Rock Campground and broke in our new camping stove.  It was awesome, although we still cooked on the campfire a little.  On Saturday, the four of us hiked Rattlesnake Canyon and 49 Palms Oasis.  On Sunday, Mike and I stuck around and hiked Barker Dam and Ryan Mountain.  It was actually pretty cool, temperature wise, mostly because of the wind.  It was actually warmer back at home in San Diego than it was in the desert.

Our campsite.

The view from our site.

Our new campstove

Scaling Rocks in Rattlesnake Canyon (not my favorite terrain)

49 Palm Oasis

Ben and Erin in the Palm Oasis

Enjoying the Keys View

Joshua Trees

Snow capped San Jacinto Peak - 2nd highest peak in SoCal

Tough climb to Ryan's Peak

View from Ryan's Peak

Skull Rock

More photos:

Joshua Tree Apr 2011

Mammoth Lakes, CA

Mike and I went up to Mammoth Lakes for a blues festival a couple of weeks ago.  We decided to go on this camping trip with some people from Meet Up mainly to check out Mammoth for the first time.  Mammoth is so pretty and it smelled so good because of the pine trees.  We hiked the Devils Postpile National Monument on Saturday morning and drove back home through Yosemite on Sunday.

Our campsite.

Bluesapalooza

Hiking on Saturday

Devils Postpile

Rainbow Falls

Driving through Tioga Pass through Yosemite

Half Dome from Olmsted Point

You can see all our photos here:  Mammoth Aug 2010

Yosemite National Park

Over Memorial Weekend, we and some friends went hiking and camping in Yosemite.  The waterfalls are at their fullest in the spring and early summer.  We drove up on Friday morning and camped about 20 miles outside of the park.  The campsites in the park went on sale when we were in Australia in January and by the time I got online when we were home, they were all sold out.  We found a spot by Bass Lake and it ended up being pretty nice.  The next time we go back, hopefully we can get a spot in the park.  It would be a lot easier to get to the trail heads.  We usually had to drive an hour or more to get to a trail staying outside the park.

Our Campsite

On Saturday, we hiked the Panorama Trail from Glacier Point to the top of Nevada Falls.  It was a 10.4 mile hike out and back!  10 miles may have not been all that bad, but it was all up and down the whole way.  Some of the hikes go up in the beginning and down at the end, but not this one.  The finish was really hard since we were all tired and the incline was pretty steep!  But, we survived!

The View From Glacier Point (Half Dome to the Left)

Mike and I were the only ones interested in hiking on Sunday, everyone else was sore and tired.  We hiked the Giant Staircase trail from Happy Isles to the top of Nevada Falls.  It was all very steep in the beginning, but all downhill the second half.  It was an awesome trail!  We walked up stairs next to a waterfall, Vernal Fall, and got sprayed with it's mist.  We were soaked when we got to the top.

Vernal Fall

After 2 days of heavy hiking, I could barely walk.  I really would have liked to hike more on Monday, but my legs said no way.  Yosemite is a majestical place!  Please enjoy the photos, which include a lot of nature and waterfalls!

Us with Mike's Sister, Kate

 Starting The Hike

 Finishing The Hike

Yosemite Falls

 Part of the Giant Staircase to the Top of Vernal Falls (click on it to see the people)

 Overlooking The Valley From the Top of Nevada Falls

The rest of the photos:  http://picasaweb.google.com/purplecat76/YosemiteMay2010#