Tuolumne Meadows 2003

Detail
Friday Jul 11th, 2003
Tim and I started our journey to Yosemite National Park, a most popular attraction, on Friday night. Tim drove to my place after work where I made us a dinner of egg burritos. We were soon on the road. Unfortunately, we hit our first traffic jam shortly to the North of Goleta. Eventually we overcame this obstacle and continued until our muffin stop at Templeton.

Our plan was to camp the first night at Millerton SRA rather than drive the entire distance to Yosemite. This was primarily due to the necessity of acquiring bear canisters, but also in part because of the long distance and the lateness. Millerton SRA was full. The ranger with whom I spoke earlier that week suggested there would be plenty of spaces open. I should have been more skeptical since I knew this was the busy season, but she was the expert and should have known. Oh well.

We decided upon Chilkoot, a campground near Bass Lake. Tim had been to Chilkoot before and asserted that, since this campground doesn't have water, there should be fewer people there. Upon arriving, we quickly secured the very first campsite—# 1. Although the park is a pay site, there is no station to pay, only a sign stating that a ranger will come by to pick up the money. No ranger, no charge.

Saturday Jul 12th, 2003
Saturday morning we arrived at Yosemite. The drive to Tuolumne Meadows from the South entrance is long and mostly single lane. There are turn-outs which seem to be vastly underused. The road goes part-way through Yosemite Valley which afforded Tim his first view of El Capitan and Half Dome, if only from the car. There are also some tunnels that are hewn out of solid rock. Some drivers enjoyed themselves by honking their horns while passing through, but Tim would not deign to beep his horn, even at my request.

The previous night we should have filled up the vehicle with gas at Fresno, but it had slipped my mind at the time. So, we purchased a few gallons at Crane Flats at hyper-inflated rates. We also rented our bear canisters for $5 apiece.

I became somewhat car-sick due to the winding roads and altitude, so we pulled over for a brief respite where I took both Advil and Sudafed. I dozed a few moments before our final destination.

Finally reaching the Wilderness Permit office, I proposed my route to one of the rangers who said that he could help us. Permits are free, but there are limited numbers assigned per day per trail, a percentage of which are walk-in permits. We finished our packing and were off.

The hiking was beautiful! We chose the John Muir trail toward Lyell Canyon to start our hike. This trail followed the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River. The temperature was in the low 80's, the sun was shining, nature was beautiful, and I was hiking—what could be better? We saw meadows, wildlife, bridges, and river crossings.

After some hours of hiking, the trail became steeper, bringing us through different terrain, specifically mosquito territory. I have never in my life experienced so many mosquitoes at one time. They were blood-thirsty opportunists coming to us from every angle. Although tired, I kept my pace quick so as to avoid these flying hypodermic needles, but, eventually, they got the best of me. As Forrest Gump might say, "hot is as hot does." I donned my shell pants and blue shell coat, eventually adding mosquito netting to the ensemble. The mosquito netting was the cat's meow. I could have made a fortune selling these.

I proposed to Tim a variation in our original agenda to camp our first night at Ireland Lake rather than Vogelsang. My idea was to avoid possible crowds that Vogelsang was purported to have. Also, it might be more pleasant to camp near a lake. Tim agreed to this proposal.

Ireland Lake was absolutely stunning! The meadows preceding the lake were green and lush with winding creeks cutting through rich earth. Here we reached snow level; in fact, the mountains surrounding the back side of Ireland Lake were mostly snow covered.

The first item on our agenda was, of course, to escape the mosquitoes—the binding theme of this narration. We took great pain when adding or removing items from the tent so as not to allow any uninvited guests. Unfortunately, I didn't see the myriad clinging to my black shell pants. Perhaps twenty mosquitoes entered the tent with me. Tim and I made sport of their demise while proclaiming choice expletives. Mosquitoes in a tent are rather easily destroyed; you simply mush them with a single finger against the side of the tent. However, care must be taken to not mush them on the screen, or the mesh may dry in an altered pattern.

Tim wasn't feeling well and soon crashed. I, myself, dozed for a bit, but got up to filter some water. While at the lake, a nearly full moon snuck out from above the mountains behind the lake. I was moved. I ran back to the tent yelling "Tim! Moon! Tim Moon!" Tim still wasn't feeling the best, but he did get up and move around.

Perhaps 9:00pm the mosquitoes finally gave us a reprieve, at least until morning. I was enamoured by the beauty of the land. The cascading moonlight upon the rippling water of Ireland Lake was breathtaking. It wasn't eerie—just beautiful. I stared for tens of minutes. I felt so good! This, to me, was the highlight of the trip.

Sunday Jul 13th, 2003
Sunday morning blinked us awake shortly after six. I made a deal with Tim that if he boiled water for my coffee, then I would filter water again. I sweetened the deal with hot chocolate. I don't think that Tim enjoys filtering water. Soon, the flying battalion of evil started their blood-thirsty plunder; so, we were off.

The terrain turned boreal as we headed toward Vogelsang. The mosquitoes seemed lesser by degrees here, so Tim and I considered this as an option for a place to stay the night. Less by half is still not less enough in my book.

A couple who camped at Evelyn Lake confirmed our fears about the mosquitoes at Vogelsang. We also confirmed this in the flesh as we stopped for a bite to eat—or vice versa! I lobbied to head back toward the vehicle and find a campsite at lower altitude. My theory was that the mosquito density might wane at lower altitude, since we hadn't seen many on the way up. Tim accepted this arrangement.

The tent was pitched somewhere near Rafferty Creek in mid afternoon. A meadow with a creek running through it was to be our home for the evening. Although I was fatigued and desirous of a nap, I was denied any peaceful slumber because the sun made the tent a furnace and outside the tent were the flying denizens. I guess I finally dozed for fifteen minutes outside the tent wearing my full gear and netting. Eventually the sun would subside, but the mosquitoes didn't abate until much later.

Tim decided to cook some macaroni and broccoli. While doing so, he kept a tally of the mosquitoes he killed. I believe he killed over twenty-five in only a few minutes.

Monday Jul 14th, 2003
After breakfast we prepared for the relatively short journey back to the car. While still packing my gear, the mosquitoes hit in full force. We boogied on out of there.

Tim and I stopped to wet our clothing at a creek to help with the heat. When we had dropped our packs, apparently two of Tim's Compact Flash cards fell out of his camera case. This plays into our story later.

Returning to the vehicle, we quickly shed our packs, returned bear canisters, and retrieved stored items from the bear boxes. Although we had a long drive ahead of us, we agreed to see Tuolumne Grove on the way back.

Tuolumne Grove is known for its Sequoias. The sign at the trailhead suggested "1 mile," but didn't mention the elevation difference. People not in good condition or not bringing adequate water might find danger in this situation. The grove had its charms, but wasn't as impressive—to me—as the redwoods in Northern California.

Within the grove, Tim realized that his Compact Flash cards were missing. Remembering back, he realized that he must not have picked them up. When we returned to the car, he did a thorough search, but to no avail.

We drove back to Tuolumne Meadows where Tim made some inquiries and filed out a missing property report. Together we hiked back to the area where Tim had dropped the cards. Along the way, Tim asked various people if they had seen the cards. One man said that he had seen them, but it was early in the morning. From his description of the location, Tim realized that he had indeed not picked them up. We continued hiking at fast speed to the particular place, but they were gone.

They were gone.

We stopped in Fresno for dinner and gas. We were back in Santa Barbara around midnight. It made for a late return.

See some images of the trip.