May 2012
Leaving Lake Tahoe we headed south to one of the places I
didn’t know much about, but was keen to see – Yosemite (pronounced
Yo-sem-it-ee, not Yo-sem-ite as I initially thought!). It was roughly a 6 hour
drive, passing back through Nevada and a stunningly picturesque lake, and
rather bizarrely an agricultural inspection station. Which we pulled into (the
wasn’t any way around it) only to be asked where we had come from, where we
were going and then let go. Pretty useless inspection if you ask me! I drove
the first stint, keen to drive, and changed driver in a small town beside the
huge lake we were driving round. I then took the wheel again as it was 3pm, and
therefore rum o’clock for Wahid. No comment… As it was I rather enjoyed driving
the RV – it was something to do on the long journeys!
 |
| Scenery on the way to Yosemite |
The drive up to Yosemite was a slow one – being all uphill
and the RV particularly grumpy that day, Reaching nearly 1000ft elevation we
entered the National Park (again, $20 for 7 days – bargain!) and then descended
back down into the valley. It was decided to go and watch the sunset from
Glacial Point, one of the high points surrounding the valley. The route up was
again a slow one, but also rather hair raising with the road being rather
narrow and twisty. Not fun at all in a 30ft RV! The heart-in-mouth sensation
not felt since Route One oh so many years ago (or so it felt) returned in
force, especially on one very tight corner with a car coming the other way
causing me to have to squeeze into the inside of the curve and clipping a tree
stump. Luckily a slightly bent wheel hub was the worst damage. Apart from my
nerves being well and truly shaken! As it was, I managed to slowly drive the RV
up the rest of the route, hogging the middle of the road when going round
corners and pissing off a few drivers in the process!
 |
| Watching the sunset |
 |
| Glacial Peak (courtesy of Amy) |
Glacier point is basically a vista point waaaaaay up one of
the sides of the Yosemite valley, looking back over the valley towards the half
dome. Getting up there is a (very) short walk from the carpark, and easily
marked by the millions (ok, slight exaggeration-tens of thousands) of tourists
flocking to the same place. As the sun set behind us it cast an amazing red
effect onto the half dome in front of us. Truly spectacular. As the sun went
down over the horizon, one had to indulge in the rock clambering tradition,
trying to get as near a possible to the edge, with little ledges sticking out
from the main rock face receiving more man points. It was however a real
headfuck looking over the edge and seeing the 1000+ foot sheer drop to the
valley bottom below. Even those with a head for heights (including me) were not
particularly comfortable being near the edge for long! Even more astounding was
getting back to the trail only to see a Dutch woman literally run and scramble
up these rocks right to the edge. No dramas. Amy, Antonia and I had our mouths
open for a good while after watching that feat!
 |
| Looking down the mountain |
 |
| Oh so arty! |
It was decided to stay up the mountain that evening, and
many giggles were had at Michaels panicking about mountain lions and coyotes
(one of which we had seen earlier) and almost OCD nature at ensuring the doors
were locked shut every time someone went in and out. Because coyotes are
renowned for their RV door unlocking skills of course!
 |
| RV shenanigans |
Jon had planned a hike for the next day, so I woke early-ish
to drive back down the mountain to the start point. It was a greed we would
aim to leave at 11, to try and make some headway before the heat of the day.
Everyone disappeared for food etc, and we set off at 12.30 with Wahid trying to
be a smart arse and ask if he needed bog roll for the trip. I was surprised at
the delayed start and expected as much from the other. It just annoyed me that I
got ready before everyone else and they all took their sweet arse time.
Obviously starting so much later meant we were in the heat
of the day (something both Jon and I were keen to avoid), and as a consequence
it was pretty tough going. And that was before the trail starting getting ridiculous…
Supposedly a 3.5mile trail we figured it wouldn’t take too long to get to the
top, take some photos, have lunch and come back down again. Then we saw the
elevation. To say it was steep would be an understatement – it was a 2700ft
climb in the 3.5miles! Factor in the heat and it was a tough climb. Especially
with my cardio fitness dropping over the past few months from too much eating
and not enough doing. Both Barney and I really struggled as the trail
progressed.
It was a cool experience hiking in Yosemite. It seems that
all hikers, whatever their nationality, have a need to say hello and comment on
the weather, or how far to go (no bad thing whatsoever!). Except for the
Americans who put their own spin on this lovely thing by wooping and high
fiving everyone who passes. Bless. There were also some incredibly ninja kids
scrambling up and down (I wish I had their energy!) and a bunch of blatantly
rah English students coming the other way, all decked out in Ralph Lauren and
pastel coloured polo shirts. Which caused everyone to look at each other and
burst out laughing when they had passed. Except for Wahid who was lost in
translation and had no idea what was going on! As we ascended the trail the view over the valley grew more
and more amazing, and getting to the top was a fantastic feeling, stopping for
lunch and the customary photos. It was especially amazing to look over the
waterfalls as it cascaded down the valley side. Me being me had to get my feet
dangling off the side, prompting a Japanese tourist to call me crazy. Better than
being boring mate!
 |
| The lads |
 |
| Scenes on the way |
Heading back down the trail caused a separate set of muscles
to start screaming in protest at the sudden activity being unleashed upon them.
Jon and Wahid surged on ahead driven by the idea of a cold cocktail by the
pool. Barney, Michael and I took our time, having to stop to give a hand to a
lady who had fallen and hurt her ankle, and became incredibly pissed off at the
endless turns in the trail making us think we were nearer to the end of trail
than we actually were. Eventually arriving back at the RV with feet aching, it
was time for that lovely feeling of getting the boots off, followed by the old
man shuffle to the pool showers to de-sweat and de-odorise – bliss!
Chatting to the girls about the afternoon, we
learnt they had spent the whole time by the pool. Who spends all their time in
Yosemite by a pool?! Sounds like they had fun though so I guess that’s fair
enough…
Barney took the drive out of Yosemite that evening, and with
the windows down, music playing and sun setting it was a glorious drive. Except
for the cheeky U-turn we had to do on the highway when we missed a turn,
causing some backed up traffic, angry honking and nearly going over the road
barrier to drop into the valley below. Oops! Stopping of at a random vista on
the way out of the National Park we watched the sunset over the valley, with
the Chilli Peppers playing out of the RV and the feeling life couldn’t get any
better. Getting towards the end of the trip I realised that despite hating it
at times and getting wound up with the attitudes of some others, I really did feel
like I had (in part at least)become close to those on the trip with me;
something that can only be bought about through spending time traveling
together, and I would like to think I would stay in touch with them all after we
go our separate ways.
Once the sun had disappeared behind the hills we departed
from the vista, music still blaring. We stopped for the night at a huge RV park
on the way back towards San Fran, which I don’t remember the name of. I do
remember that there was gold panning and a lama farm. And an overly friendly
cleaner who got a little too close to me trying to show me where to park the RV
on the map…
Yosemite was an amazing place to stop, and I am so glad we
did stop there, and actually had a proper hike; something I had been keen to do
for the whole trip. At the risk of repeating myself (for the umpteenth time), I
would love to go back to Yosemite, camp there and hike a bit more around the
place. The amount of time we spent at places just wasn’t enough, simply because
of the nature of the trip meaning we were trying to see as much as possible in
the time we had. Not that I’m complaining at all because ive seen so much of
the USA now and I so glad I have been able to!
 |
| Yosemite (courtesy of Amy) |
(map from Google maps)
No comments:
Post a Comment