Jul 25 2009
Yosemite National Park
One of my college friends decided to take a little summer vacation and visit us in California! He and his girlfriend arrived on Thursday evening and left Monday evening, for a long weekend. We took it pretty easy Thursday night, with a nice dinner (thanks Ashley!) and just chatted for a while. I took off on Friday, and we embarked on a leisurely 4 hour drive to a campsite at Yosemite Lakes, which is a private campground about 5 miles west of the Highway 120 entrance to Yosemite National Park. The campgrounds were pretty crowded, but luckily ReserveAmerica had a deal where we could stay in the “members only” spots. I can’t imagine the other spots, they must have been tiny!
We were able to setup camp rather quickly, and then walked down to swim and lounge around in the stream at the campgrounds. We cooked up some filet mignon and ribeyes with loaded baked potatoes for dinner and had a great time hanging out by the campfire. We were lucky to have a campfire at all, it took us quite some time (and money) to find someone who would sell us firewood!
The next morning, I used my fancy 3-burner camp stove to cook up some bacon and scrambled eggs to fuel our big day. Driving through Yosemite was incredible! The scenery there is unlike any I have ever seen, and the park is so big - there is so much to do! There are 5-6 campgrounds within the park and even a 4-star hotel. It’s really commercialized, but it does not detract from the beauty of the surroundings. We also found out that the weekend we were there was free entry to the park! It was a nice surprise when we got there, but it also meant that it was incredibly crowded. It took us nearly 15 minutes to find a parking spot so that we could get out and begin our hike. We set out on the John Muir Trail, which happens to extend for over 212 miles! We only made it about 2 miles up the mountain, and it was one of the most strenous hikes we have ever been on! It was pretty much 2 miles of huge stairs up a steep cliffside. We grew very tired and had to take several breaks, but the views were well worth it.
When we got up to the top of the falls, my friend and I decided to go for a swim in Emerald Pool. The snowmelt was pretty cold, but it was a hot enough day that it felt great! Yosemite valley was carved by glacier movement, so I have swam around in a glacial pool at the top of a waterfall! Refreshed by the cool waters, we started our trek down the mountain. It was MUCH easier going downhill, and we were able to get down in about 45 minutes. We walked around a little more in the park, and then started the 4 hour drive home (it took 45 minutes just to get out of the park and on the road)!
On Sunday, my friends borrowed our car to do the Alcatraz tour, and then Ashley and I took CalTrain to meet up with them later that afternoon. We had lunch on Pier 39, walked around there, to Ghiradelli Square, and Lombard Street. Then, we got back in the car to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and take some pics from the other side. We also explored a little around a beach near the bridge and found a great place for a picnic next time we visit!
All in all, it was an outstanding weekend and it was really cool to catch up with old friends around the city!