Two coyotes and a high pass.

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Yosemity Valley, Wawona Campground.
27-10-2002.

After several days of pleasant and relaxed hiking I'm back on my old steel lady, my cr*ppy 100 dollar bicycle. My *ss feels once again like it belongs where it now is, right on top of the old fashioned leather saddle.
I'm on the way to the south entrance which is only 16-odd miles but the first 8 miles or so gonna be up, up all the way to 8000 feet, up to Chinquapin Pass. I know I will have to work myself into a sweat but I also know it's gonna be worth it.

just before leaving the valley I see a nice little spectacle, a queue of cars parked at the site of the road, people running up and down the road, camaras flashing and numerous ohs and ahs and Oh my God ringing in my ears.
I decide to stop and investigate, find out the cause of all this commotion, why are these people disturbing the early morning tranquility?
Two coyotes trotting happily along the site of the road totally unperturbed by all the rowdy attention they're getting from over-excited human park visitors.

I quickly leave this weird scene alone, I've a serious pass to consider, a laborious and sweaty job ahead of me through dark green pine forests, fresh air in my lungs and misty panoramas of the world around me from high obversation posts.
I'll have to be carefull of bold squirrels crossing the road right in front of my wheels. I'll have to consider the high shrieked sounds of different species of birds that inhabit these forests, RVs that will overtake me, people asking me from open car windows what the h*ll I'm doing cycling so far away from civilised society while other people will tell me how much they admire what I'm doing.
I won't really need all these distractions, I'll want to be on this natural mental high, adraline racing through my mind while trying to keep the going up easy and relaxed.
But I know eventually I'll get there, I'll cross over Chinquapin Pass, and from then on it'll be a simple matter of keeping my eyes on the road, my hands on the handle-bar of my bike, let grafity do its thing and bring me all the way down to the south entrance, to Wawona Campground.

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Photos

bold squirrel
on the road to Wawona Campground.

Forest birds in..
Yosemity National Park.