Yosemite and Whitewater

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As promised here is our Yosemite blog.

As we write this we are driving from Auburn, CA as far as we can (probably somewhere around Salt Lake City).

We arrived at Yosemite on Sunday afternoon. After checking into the campground and finding our site we decided that we needed to head over to the general store to purchase an additional tarp since they had had about three days of straight rain. After getting the tarp we setup camp. Setting up in Yosemite wasn’t as easy as the other places we had camped so far. As each of the sites had a bear locker in it, the park rangers were very adamant about putting everything into it. They tell you to treat the box as if it were a fridge and put anything that is food, smells like food, looks like food, or a bear might think is food (toiletries) into the locker. The locker has to be locked at all times and can only be opened while you are eating or actively cooking and even then it has to be within an arms reach. So after emptying the entire car and setting up the tent we were pretty wiped out.

Monday we got up and got ready for the day. Our plan was to do some wandering around Yosemite Valley. Most of the park is still closed due to the weather so we were restricted to the valley for the most part. We ended up hiking around the lower Yosemite falls (one of the largest water falls in North America) it was awesome to see it, absolutely huge. After that we went over to Mirror Lake which is a flooded meadow during high water season. It was really cool, you could look into it and see a perfect reflection of half dome (if you don’t know what half dome is look at a California state quarter). On the way up to Mirror Lake there is a sign that tells you that you are entering Mountain Lion country and gives some helpful tips at what to do if you see a Mountain Lion. These include; raise your arms into the air and make yourself look big, scream and make a lot of noise to try and scare it, pick up small children to make them look bigger then they are, and finally if attacked, fight back. Sounds like fun. The Yosemite Falls hike wasn’t to long and the Mirror Lake hike was around 3 miles round trip I believe. We went back to the campsite for some dinner, a fire, and protect all of our things from bears. Culver was very anxious to see one and kept looking for them. I asked her what she would even do if she saw one. She told me that she would probably scream and tell me to go scare it away, very reassuring.

Tuesday we decided that we would hike up the mist trail to the top of Vernal Falls. What an awesome hike. We went about 3 miles or so round trip and when up around 1100 feet in elevation. Totally worth every step of the way. The hike starts out along the Merced River, after about a half mile or so into it you come to a bridge where you can see the falls in the distance (great views). You continue on for a while and finally start to move up the side of the waterfall through some switchbacks. They call it the mist trail because as you start to climb up next to the falls the mist from the water hitting the river below hits you during the climb and you get very wet, we wore rain gear. We made it up to the top and had something to eat. We then decided we would walk a little farther to the half way point of Nevada Falls (also very cool). We checked that out for a while then made our way back down to the valley. For the afternoon we figured that we would need to re arrange the car, take some showers, and get some dinner. We had to get the car squared away because Wednesday morning would be an early departure. We had to be at white water rafting by 10 AM and it was an hour away. We had to take apart the campsite and take everything out of the bear locker and load up that morning so we had to be as ready as possible. On a side note, the whole time we are looking out for bears while we were moving the car around I had to chase a squirrel out of the car that had jumped into an open door. We got some showers and went to dinner. We decided that we would hit the buffet in the cafeteria because we couldn’t eat anymore Chef Boyardee raviolis and Italian wedding soup, it was time for some real food (even though the Yosemite cooks think tri tip steak is Salisbury steak and rice pilaf is white rice with corn in it, still very good if you are hungry enough). After dinner it was time to make a fire and burn the rest of the wood we had and get some sleep.

Culver’s Notes on Yosemite: Yosemite is a fabulous wood to wander in. There is bright green moss on everything and some really good smells between the mountain water and plant life. The summer shuttles weren’t running otherwise I would have loved to visit the giant sequoias in Mariposa Grove (think the tree that cars used to drive through). My favorite part was the rocky ledge steps on the Mist Trail. If you can handle some steep steps I suggest getting a walking stick and going up at least to this part. There are rainbows and much spray to get wet in.

Wednesday morning we got up at 7 AM so we could have our usual breakfast (oatmeal and tea), pack the car, and hit the road in time to make our 10 AM appointment. We made it to the rafting outfitter by 9:30, plenty of time to check in, get our wetsuits, splash jackets, life jackets, and helmets. There were about 20 people there with us, we went down the river in four boats. Our boat had six people in it and one guide. The other people in the boat were interesting so we will talk about them for a minute. There was a retired couple from Chicago. The husband (Lee, I think) was pretty adventurous; he had been rafting a number of times and was very excited. He told me they had been on vacation for about three weeks and spent most of the time visiting their son in Vegas. His wife was Ci Ci, or as Culver called her Nervous Nelly. She was scared to death to be on the trip and only went because her husband basically made her even though she has also been before. All I could think was 'I hope she can paddle.' She ended up sitting right next to Rob (the guide) for the trip so he could keep an eye on her. The other two people was a younger couple probably in their late twenty’s or early thirties. Richard (the guy) was a prison nurse, interesting we thought. He was a cool guy, he had been rafting before and rode up front with me. He and I were responsible for setting the rowing pace for the rest of the boat. His girlfriend (Jennifer) was really nice too, she was also a nurse we both forget what kind of nurse she was but it had something to do with sick babies. She and Culver rode next to one another for the trip and we all became pretty friendly. We ended up taking pictures of one another and are going to e-mail them. It worked out well. The trip itself was AWESOME. We had a blast, we went down about 12 miles or so and hit some category 3 and 4 rapids. You hit the first category three as soon as you get into the river. They have you get into the boat in a little eddy where we entered the river and go over some basics and they give us the go ahead, next thing you know you are riding a rapid, awesome. The trip included lunch and we stopped about half way down and ate on a little island. The guides put out a nice spread and everyone ate their heads off. Personally my life jacket didn’t fit the same after lunch, oops. Rob told me it was because they dried out a little bit, I though it probably had more to do with the two sandwiches, chips, and cookies I ate. After lunch it was time to get back on the river. We continued down into “the gorge”. Rob told us that the gorge was where the fun happened and that in low water season there weren’t to many rapids but since we were in high water it was going to be a lot of fun. The way he described it was he told us that each rapid had a name (some of the ones we saw were Ned’s Teeth, Ned’s Gulch, Fluffy Bunny, The Imitator, The Percolator, etc.) and when you get into the gorge there were a lot of rapids that were unnamed because in low water they aren’t anything but little ripples. Also, we were at the 2nd highest water level the guides had run in this river because of the rainy weekend mixed with warm weather the snow pack was getting. This made for some great rapids, and water so clear you can see the stony bottom. When we entered the gorge we pass under a bridge and next to one of the sides of the bridge was a vista point tourist turnout. When we all looked over we saw some un assuming girl changing clothes on the other side of the brush from the vista point but right on the river! It was hilarious! I wonder what went through her head as 20 rafters came around the corner. She looked totally shocked, tried to cover her butt and we think in the confusion she threw her shorts right into the river. The rest of the rapids were really fun. At one point we came out of a hole and hit a wave and I completely came out of the boat and landed back in my seat. It was an awesome ride.

Culver’s favorite rapid was Ned’s Gulch as there were many giant waves to conquer and Rob the guide was yelling ‘Move this boat’ which means you better paddle your arm off. Huge waves came in to the boat and the rafting party was all very shocked that we had come out of it. Rob was highly excited and screaming because he didn’t tell us he was going to direct us in the ‘meatiest’ part as not to scare us, but we ‘went big’ without issue and made his whole day. I believe this was our first category 4 rapid. Most other rafters’ favorite rapid was Split Rock as there are some rock chunks to avoid. Besides the nudie we saw some other fun things along the river. A 100,000 ton rockslide, a still active gold mine run by ornery miners, a mountain lion den (very similar to something you would see in the Lion King when Mufasa was running the show).

After rafting we changed back into street clothes and hit the road. The plan was to drive as far as we could before we got tired but to at least be pointing in the right direction, east. We stayed the night in Auburn, CA at a Best Western. It was a nice room and everyone at the hotel was wicked friendly. Not only friendly when talking to us but when they were talking to one another. It was like watching one of the those how to interact with fellow employees and guests videos but in real life. It was also really nice to watch American Idol, we haven’t had much exposure to TV in a while. Culver like the No Doubt performance and was really into it.

This morning we again hit the road. Today we are also going to drive for as long as we can heading east the whole time. We are on interstate 80 and will be here for a while. We are aiming for Salt Lake City or just past somewhere. We are thinking we should be in Chicago sometime in the next two days. We will update you again from the road to let you know how the drive is going.

Pete and Culver

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Comments

[Aunt Jackie]

Have a safe trip home...
Thanks so much for all your updates, it's almost like we get to travel with you both! This is such a wonderful trip of a life time and from what you have written, it seems as if you have really taken advantage of the time together on this journey. I am so happy for you both! Have a very safe trip home. We miss you and can't wait to see you! Hugs and Kisses, Love your very favorite aunt!