Breakfast at the Comfort Inn Oakhurst which proved to be a perfectly adequate lodge for our two nights. We have found picking up a Subway as a lunchtime sandwich very effective and we had one across the road so collected that, filled up with fuel and headed off for Yosemite around 10:30.
Our plan was to visit the giant sequoias at Maricosa Grove which is just inside the park but all the parking lots were full and we would have had to use the shuttle but from 4 miles away. This type of holiday is marked by having to decide what not to do as you did in here and there. Before you leave everyone has what you must see, do and where you must eat but you have to play it as it comes. We decided that seeing the sequoias here would have too bad an impact on the day.
We drove straight through non-stop to the central valley as we had seen it all yesterday then joined the road up to the Tioga pass which would take us East over the mountains.
On the North side crossing the attractive creek where families played we passed directly under El Capitan. From the meadow adjacent we could just see 2 climbers high on the face. The climb is over 3000ft up a vertical face and apparently takes most climbers 3 days bivouacking on ledges on the way. We know this as we chatted to an old Dutch guy in the meadow who had climbed it in his younger days. It seems the hardest aspect is the temperature, many hours on the face in excess of 30 degrees and the rock is also hot to touch.
Shortly after the road intersection in the valley we reached Tuolumne Grove, another of the few location where Sequoias can be seen. A mile and down 400ft from the car we saw trees as wide as 10ft and over 300ft tall. Some of the Sequoias in the park are 3000 years old predating Christianity and Roman empires. We were just about to head back up the 1 mile 400ft hike when some little buzzing b**stard decided to take a chunk out of Lynne's arm so we headed up rapidly to get to the antihistamine cream. Her arm still hurts now 8 hours later but seems ok.
Yesterday's Southern side was carpeted with pine forest but the North opens out more with bare domes of granite rock scattered with trees hanging on in cracks. We stop occasionally marvelling at different views but generally keep moving. On sop late in the journey looks back across high ground to Half Dome. Asa we reach the eastern side of the Sierra the terrain changes from domes of solid granite to volcanic with softer stone and reader hillsides. Finally, we see Mono Lake and drop down to the plains, a diversion to Lee Vining to the general stores and then down to June Lakes.
I had expected more sharp dark peaks but the area is a softer low mountain scape, sitting around 8000ft with sage brush giving the hillsides that frosty colour.
We're inside now at Reverse Creek Lodge. Our lodge is a wooden building with about ten others, compact and quaint. Pizza and Garlic bread cooked and eaten and most of the wine drunk. There is an amazing dark sky but our neighbours have their outside light on :( and there aren't many gaps in the trees overhead. I'll have another look later. Good night.
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Statistics: Miles today: 136 miles; Miles so far: 1010; Fuel today 9.2 gals; Fuel so far: 35.632 gals; States: California; Time Zone: Pacific(UK-8)
10:30-18:45
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