We got back from our vacation last Monday. I went back to work Wed. and Thurs. and I've been busy getting my photos uploaded.
The photos from the climbing class the kids took are at:
http://gerryseifert.typepad.com/photos/yosemite_2005_crack_climb/index.html
The photos from our hikes:
http://gerryseifert.typepad.com/photos/1_yosemite_2005_hiking/index.html
Yosemite and Tuolumne Meadows was just incredibly beautiful. There was still snow on the peaks and in some places in the forest. The mosquito's were very heavy, but with enough deet you were able to tolerate it pretty well. It was quite hot, in the high 80's in the Meadow during the day, down the Valley it was getting into the high 90's. It did get a bit cold at night down to the low 40's - high 30's.
The kids took an all day crack climbing class the 2nd day and they had a great time. There were 4 other people in the class and they had two instructors so the ratio was ideal.
We then went on an over-night backpacking trip to Glen Aulin. The trail follows the Tuolumne river down to the White Cascade falls. It was simply gorgeous and quite green from the abundant water and snow melt. We forded one creek on foot, I didn't trust myself to do the "log balancing act", so we switched to Teva sandals and got a little wet. It was quite refreshing, since it was pretty hot on the trail. The White Cascade falls were incredibly beautiful, and the trail follows them quite closely. It was an awesome trail. We didn't stay at the High Sierra camp which was closed, but went on down to the glen and found a nice secluded campsite. We didn't see another soul at our camp, which was real nice. We did have a visitor though. A bear came around about 2:30, I heard him walking around our tents. Then I heard it knock over our bear canister and roll it around a little. He was not able to get into the food, and he soon left for better pickins elsewhere. His presence was confirmed the next morning by a huge pile of scat!! A back-country ranger we met later on the trail said a bear did get into some daypacks at Glen Aulin. The trip was fun, but quite exhausting for me. I was not able to keep up with the kids, so my spirits flagged quite a bit, especially the second day on our way back (which was all uphill too!!). I had to stop frequently to catch my breath and cool down. It was also quite hot in certain parts of the trail, which also took it's toll on my energy levels. I am re-evaluating whether or not I should go on another backpacking trip in the Sierra's I've signed up for with some men from our church.
We took a break from hiking and went down to the Valley to see the water-falls and get souvenirs. It was very crowded and pretty hot too. Bridal Veil and Yosemite falls were quite spectacular and I was glad the kids got to see them with some water in them!! The last time we were at Yosemite was in September during a drought year, and the falls were quite pathetic. We also took baths at Curry Village which refreshed us quite a bit.
The rest of the week we took day hikes to Cathedral Lake one day, and May Lake the next. Those were not so tough as the Glen Aulin because I wasn't carrying a big load, but the kids still managed to leave us in the dust. At least Debbie stayed with me, and we had a nice time together. It reminded us of our dating days back at the Grand Canyon, and so we enjoyed it a lot. The trails were very pretty although challenging at times (steep and hot). The scenery was just spectacular and made it all well worth the effort of the hike. We didn't see any bears, but heard reports of them. We did see deer a few times, but they were quite shy. Sometimes out on the meadow a small group would come out to graze during the day.
We really enjoyed Tuolumne Meadows and we are looking forward to coming back another time. I don't think we'll ever bother to camp down in the Valley again, it's too hot and too crowded. We enjoyed the trails and relative uncrowdedness, and the incredible scenery.
