Day 43 – May 16

Jane, Ike, Diane and I headed out at 7:30 on our bikes for the camping reservation area to put all our names on the first come first served waiting list for camping spots. There was already a group waiting the office to open when we arrived. The ranger recognized Jane and Ike from the day before and said that he would treat us like a group and would see if he could find a site that would fit two vehicles as we have done in the past. We were told to come back at 3:00 to check for availability/cancellations. As the weather was calling for showers he was optimistic.

Diane and I headed out to take the 2 hour valley bottom tour while Sean and Carla rented bikes to tour with Jane and Ike on their bikes. Diane and I had enough time to take a quick hike into the Yosemite Falls, the largest vertical drop falls in North America. It was a short and very accessible trail, so very busy but provided opportunities for uncluttered photographs of the both the upper and lower falls. We ran into the rest of the group at the falls.

Our tour left at 12:00. It was in an open topped and open sided vehicle so we were both glad to have worn heavy sweaters with our shorts as the temperature was dropping. It was a very informative tour and offered a great overview of the park with two dedicated stops where we could take photographs, the most spectacular of which is called the ‘Tunnel View’ a spectacular vista down the canyon.

Jane and Ike and Sean and Carla had had a great day cycling and hiking. After our meeting at the Yosemite Falls in the morning they had biked to the Vernal Falls parking lot and hiked the steep trail to the footbridge below the falls.

We all returned in time to meet up with the rest of the group and check out our luck at the campground lottery. As it turned out, the misty weather had dissuaded some campers so we had no problem getting two campsites, one for the BRT and one slightly larger one that was shared by the MRT and LRT.

We had decided earlier that due to the weather we would be eating in the BRT. Jane and Ike barbecued a chicken that we had bought a couple days before, and in addition to some baked potatoes, broccoli and carrots we had a great feast. The final touch was fresh home made ginger bread that Carla made from ingredients she packed from home. We baked it in a silicone pan in the BRT oven. Topped with real whipped cream it was a treat, with enough left over for another dessert.

Day 44- May 17

Sean, Carla, Jane and Ike planned a hike to Bridal Veil Falls and then an early departure to our next rendezvous in the Napa Valley. We wanted to hike both the Vernal and Bridal Veil falls so we were up at 6:40 and rolling by 7:40. The overcast and showers of the day before had passed and we were greeted by beautiful blue skies and nicely contrasting fluffy white clouds ( without consulting our resident cloud expert, Sean, I am going to hazard that they were cumulus clouds).

We parked our vehicle at Curry Village and then biked to the trailhead. By 8:30 we were on the trail. It was an asphalt trail and the distance was marked as 1.3 miles to the falls. Not far into the trail it became quite steep, certainly as steep as anything we had walked on our previous canyon walks. The path followed the valley created by the river and there were frequent opportunities to see the fast flowing river crashing over the rocks below.

At the footbridge over the river the scenery really started to improve (as impossible as that would have seemed earlier on the trail) but conversely the trail deteriorated. The asphalt trail began to disappear in lieu of gravel and rocks as the upper end of the trail moved closer to the route and elevation of the river fed by the falls. About 15 minutes of steep hiking later the path became so steep that stone steps had been built, very slippery stone steps with no handrail that required very careful attention to our footing, somewhat contradictory to our desire to absorb the fantastic scenery that was unfolding all around us.

As we rounded a sharp turn the falls came into full view, along with the associated spray that filled the air with a cool, drenching mist. As we turned around to look back down the river we were treated to beautiful rainbows forming and disappearing in the mist filled air. We took some time to let the magnificence of the scene sink in, along with the penetrating mist before we headed back down the trail.

The hike down was of course faster than the hike up but a different set of muscles lent their voices of complaint to the ones we had abused on the way up. We met a steady stream of hikers on the way up the trail and silently thanked ourselves for our early morning departure and the relative solitude of our journey to the falls. We were back to our vehicle by 11:00 and took a break to have a drink and to try and catch up on the blog using the free wi fi at the restaurant. My efforts of the previous day were fruitless due to all of the folks logged on in the rainy weather. I was behind in my blogging duties (my apologies) but I managed to get three postings off, hopefully that will keep people from calling out the national guard to search for us.

After the break we headed out for our last hike, to Bridal Veil falls. That short trip was interrupted several times as I got Diane to pull over so that I could take ‘just one more’ picture of El Capitan, Cathedral Spires, Sentinal Rock and of course Half Dome, vistas immortalized by so many authors and photographers but none more effectively than Ansel Adams. As I looked at these magnificent mountains I started photographing in black in white, the way I have always seen them and want to remember them.

Well behind our anticipated schedule we left Yosemite just before 2:00 heading out through the Tioga pass road. This is a road that, in some years, requires the use of tire chains when driving through the pass in early May. Again, new views were presented as we dropped from the elevations of the pass through the switchbacks that wound down the mountainside.

We passed through more yellowed grassland where cattle were grazing. At one point we drove past the largest wind turbine farm I have ever seen. At that moment, the hundreds of slowly spinning windmills in this scene from some Quixotic nightmare were converting the same wind that was buffeting our vehicle into the electricity that was cooking someone’s supper – very cool.

The road to Napa then passed through some rich agricultural country, where like in other areas we have seen, the countryside is crossed with miles and miles of irrigation ditches and pipes. Roadside stands were selling fresh asparagus, strawberries, blueberries, apricots and oranges. Driving past the fields of U pick strawberries was a reminder of how far we are from the frost and snow warnings we are hearing in the weather at home.

We arrived at the RV park in Napa at about 6:30, about an hour after Sean and Carla had arrived and about 30 minutes after Jane and Ike. Carla had hunted out and reserved spots at this park on line several days before. As we were going to arrive in Napa on a Friday night, and would be travelling independently, we thought that pre booking was a good idea.

The weather was clear but cool so we hosted a supper of wok fries in the BRT while we made plans for our wine tours of the upcoming day.

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From Sean and Carla: We had a similar experience to Phil and Diane and almost identical to Jane and Ike, just 20 minutes earlier. We hiked the Bridal Veil Falls path to the base. Lots of spray and the sun was exactly at the top of the falls so pictures were not an option but squinting provided the option of not rinsing your eyeballs out of your head. Again, some nice warnings about slippery rocks, how many people had died doing stunned things, etc, etc.

A trip up to Tunnel View provided the most spectacular vista we have seen since flying over the rim of GC in a helicopter, wow!

Then off and out of the park on Route 120 which took you through 6000 feet and sprawling canyons, rivers and big trees, very nice.

Lunch happened along the way in a small bar/cafe’ in Big Oak Flats where Bloody Mary’s were the recommendation. Not sure why booze is needed at lunch but hey, the bar chairs were all full so maybe this is a local custom.

Once in the bottom of the valley it was orchard after orchard with all manner of fruits and veggies on offer. Roads in the area are biased north to south not east to west where we were headed so it was a series of jumps from major highways to much lesser paths that finally got us to Napa where we are currently ensconced.

The day was topped off with an excellent meal in the BRT and some FaceTime with Casey in Nepal, excellent!

Ike and Jane – ditto. ; )