We woke up on Sunday morning from one of the most quiet nights of sleep in the woods I think I have ever had. Sun rays through the trees is a wonderful way to wake up.
Kim and I have become quite adept at our morning camping routine... I usually get up first, start boiling water for coffee (or espresso or tea or hot chocolate) and oatmeal (or grits). Kim heads off to the bathroom and I strike the tent, pack up the sleeping bags, sleeping pads, etc. We have our breakfast and Kim cleans the dishes while I pack the Jeep. It's about an hour long process.We left Tamarak Flats in the morning, driving higher and higher in elevation to Olmsted Point. Here, we can see yet another side of Half Dome. At a high enough zoom, we could make out a trail of hikers, which look like ants, climbing up to the summit of Half Dome.
I can't tell you how many times it took us to get this picture right, on the timer. Every previous time, someone walked across the field just as the shutter snapped.
Past Olmsted point, we were quite high in elevation, at the shores of Tenaya Lake.
This crystal clear, icy cold water is sparkling and pristine, formed entirely of snow melt and mountain rains.
It's much colder than it looks!
But having camped for 3 nights in a row, it was time for a bath. Well, a clean face at least.
I had to "sell" the experience a bit, but Kim bought it, and decided to try it for herself. She said it was awesome!
Here we are, finally at Toulumne Meadows, near the east entrance of the park. The peaks you see in the distance are entirely snow covered over about 9500 feet.
We heard from the locals that there was a recent dusting, about a week earlier.
The temperature and the sun was actually quite nice. I'd like to spend some time hiking around Toulumne Meadows. We were talked out of camping up here by a ranger the day before, though, having told us it would be quite cold at night.
So back to the cold... We just had to pull over and play in the snow :-)
"Smile, Kim...wait, let me get it focused...dang, it won't focus...hold on...just a little longer...okay, now, say 'cheese'..."
The proof...
This is one of the creeks that feed down into Tenaya Lake.
And near the highest point along Tioga Pass, the snow coverage was really quite heavy.
I'm not sure what the elevation was in that previous shot, but a few miles later we passed Ellery Lake, at 9538 feet.
Just after Ellery Lake, we exited Yosemite National Park, on our way down through the High Sierras toward Death Valley.
The Sierras we just a little to our east, on our left as we drove south. It looks like winter has arrived for the High Sierra.
And this is the highest point in California, the summit of Mount Whitney.
We drove away from Mount Whitney toward Death Valley, and the lowest point in California (actually, the lowest point in the western hemisphere).
I can't tell you how many times it took us to get this picture right, on the timer. Every previous time, someone walked across the field just as the shutter snapped.
Past Olmsted point, we were quite high in elevation, at the shores of Tenaya Lake.
This crystal clear, icy cold water is sparkling and pristine, formed entirely of snow melt and mountain rains.
It's much colder than it looks!
But having camped for 3 nights in a row, it was time for a bath. Well, a clean face at least.
I had to "sell" the experience a bit, but Kim bought it, and decided to try it for herself. She said it was awesome!
Here we are, finally at Toulumne Meadows, near the east entrance of the park. The peaks you see in the distance are entirely snow covered over about 9500 feet.
We heard from the locals that there was a recent dusting, about a week earlier.
The temperature and the sun was actually quite nice. I'd like to spend some time hiking around Toulumne Meadows. We were talked out of camping up here by a ranger the day before, though, having told us it would be quite cold at night.
So back to the cold... We just had to pull over and play in the snow :-)
"Smile, Kim...wait, let me get it focused...dang, it won't focus...hold on...just a little longer...okay, now, say 'cheese'..."
The proof...
This is one of the creeks that feed down into Tenaya Lake.
And near the highest point along Tioga Pass, the snow coverage was really quite heavy.
I'm not sure what the elevation was in that previous shot, but a few miles later we passed Ellery Lake, at 9538 feet.
Just after Ellery Lake, we exited Yosemite National Park, on our way down through the High Sierras toward Death Valley.Somewhere along the way, we spotted this gorgeous bird of prey. My first thought was that this might be a Golden Eagle. I'm not so sure now, having talked to my buddy Tim. Can anyone identify this bird we spotted near Mammoth, CA?
The Sierras we just a little to our east, on our left as we drove south. It looks like winter has arrived for the High Sierra.
And this is the highest point in California, the summit of Mount Whitney.
We drove away from Mount Whitney toward Death Valley, and the lowest point in California (actually, the lowest point in the western hemisphere).
Open highway and open skies were consistent for the rest of the day's drive.
:-Dustin
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