June in Yosemite

Boundary Peak, Nevada's highest point
as seen from Highway 6.

There's no excuse for me not being in Yosemite more often. It's an easy 5 hour drive from Las Vegas through Nevada's open desert and California's high sagebrush hills to Yosemite's eastside entrance of Tioga Pass and the fresh air of high alpine forests.

Marmot flattened on a rock
soaking up the sun.

I met up with my grad school friend, Sarah, who was in California for a cousin's wedding and had the brilliant idea to follow that up with a few days backpacking in Yosemite. We spent the first night in a campground tent site. Conditions in Yosemite like most of the western US are very dry this year, but we were lucky enough that fire restrictions in campgrounds wouldn't start until the next day. We had also been warned about bears, and we were very dutiful putting food and everything scenty in the bear box. Besides the mosquitos that afternoon and the mule deer walking near camp in the morning, it was a quiet time acclimating to the thinner air of 9,000 feet.

The signing getting onto the trail was a bit confuing, but all things considered, we did manage to get on the Young Lakes trail from Tuolomne Meadows fairly early. Our plan was straightforward: hike the 6.5 miles to the Lakes, set up camp, and relax. The first couple miles were flat and easy. Then we hit the uphill, which went on and on and on. I am a bit of a work-horse (or maybe even more appropriately, a tortoise) when I hike. I just go slow and steady on the uphills. I tend not to stop to catch my breath or take breaks because once I stop, that's pretty much all I want to do. My tortoise approach went well for me up until mile 5 when I stopped. The break was nice but after we started hiking again my boots seemed to shrink a few sizes, my backpack's hipbelt seemed to be made of plyboard, and my tummy was growling like a rabid dog.

Hallelujah! My backpack is off.

Young Lakes is a series of three lakes: the lower, middle, and upper. We were intent because of a recommendation from a friend to get to the middle or upper lake to set up camp, so we kept trudging upwards past the lower lake. Wow, was I happy to take my backpack off when we found our campsite at the middle lake, and even happier when the boots came off.

Our campsite tucked in the trees above the middle lake.

The middle lake at dusk.

Low-intensity backpacking is kind of my favorite way to go. I can set the tent up and just dayhike from that site without taking my 50-pound backpack. It's easier on my joints and muscles, and it lets me enjoy the scenery without being in a rush to get to the next site. That's exactly what Sarah and I did for the next couple days before hiking back out to the real world. For as close as this semi-looped trail is to busy part of the park, we saw very few other people and just enjoyed the scenery and quiet. Little specks on that big Sierra alpine landscape. I really love it. Colors and smells seem to have a heightened intensity. Skies are bluer, trees are greener, and the air is oh-so clean and fresh. No excuse. I've got to get back soon.

Where has the summer gone and what have I been doing?

Over the long 4th of July weekend, I headed to Mount Whitney in California with John and Dave to summit the highest peak in the United State's lower 48. Located just outside of a bunch of little towns (e.g., Lone Pine, Independence, Bishop) hardly anyone's heard of but in an area I love, I could easily see the still snow-packed peaks rising above the forests and drier salt desert shrub valleys further below.

Knowing I would be arriving from Las Vegas and acclimated to elevations between 3000-4500 feet, I was kind of worried about being above 10000 feet. I've never experienced altitude sickness but have seen friends struggle and knew it was one experience I wanted to avoid. With that in mind, we decided to spend a few nights at the lower elevations (8500 feet) of the Whitney Portal area before putting our packs on and heading up. Don't you love that name, the Whitney Portal?? I've heard John talk about it since I've know him, and a sort of mystique has been built up in my brain about it, like we were going to be transported somewhere once we entered. What I imagined was pretty vague. As it turns out the Whitney Portal consists of campgrounds for car and RV campers, parking lots for folks hitting the trails, including the Whitney Peak trailhead, creeks, a pond, which was surprisingly packed with avid fisherfolk and fish (hardly seemed like fair sport for the fish: imagine a big, couple-feet deep swimming pond that the fish can't escape and that tantalizing foods keep getting tossed into; we were a little worried there was one pair that appeared to be catching enough to serve at a restaurant ruh-ruh), and a shop that contains mostly souvenir-type stuff but also a cafe, an amazing and wonderful cafe. Check out that cinnamony pancake!!That'll get you ready for a backpack trip. Although the day I consumed at least half of that monster (plus bacon and eggs), I mostly sat around camp trying to keep the mosquitoes at bay. That's tough work too.

Out of two nights camping at the Portal, we did hear neighbor campers whistling and ringing bells like there was a gypsy wedding going on or something. Turns out they were "scaring" off a bear. I think Pepper-dog had the right idea for where the safest place in camp is should a bear of come by... Hey, isn't that box supposed to be used for keeping bears from our food, Pepper-dog?!?!?Anyway, to make a long story short, the Whitney Trail is pretty and long and kicked our butts. All along the trail, we kept running into folks who said there was still a lot of snow above Trail Camp (12000 feet), the highest campground and still 5 miles from the Summit, and that crampons and ice axes would be necessary. We had been planning a pretty mellow walk up the mountain and really weren't prepared with that kind of equipment, so we quickly scrapped the idea of summiting. With that change of plans, we ended up camping at the lower camp and just day hiked up to Trail Camp. Yes indeedy, there was still a lot of snow above Trial Camp, and I'm sure even more above that. Wowza, going down is faster than going up. Check out Dave's quick downhill descent. This was much steeper and scarier looking in person than in film.

This is what we saw as we bailed off the mountain around 5 p.m. on day two. Because we were all trying to save weight in our packs, none of us brought rainflys for our tents. This was unfortunate for us as we watched thunder clouds build all afternoon before we made the decision it would be in our best interest to be in dry hotel beds instead of soggy sleeping bags that night. This is one of those 'where's Waldo' pictures. Can you find the rainbow or lamebow as John called it? It really was bright and vivid in person but uncaptureable on film. And here is the really pretty Mirror Lake, which is an easy day hike, along the Whitney Trail.