What an enjoyable week! Tuolumne Meadows and Yosemite Valley are beautiful and chock full of things to do. Farrah and I hiked, climbed, swam and watched sunsets together all week. Tuolumne and Yosemite were fairly quiet and we found it easy to find a little solitude here and there. It appears that the Hantavirus scare has kept the amount of visitors down over the past few weeks. A fortunate consequence to a very unfortunate occurrence. Our campsite was set back from the other sites which made for a nice private setting and a great place for meals and hanging out in the hammock.
The views around Tuolumne Meadows were beautiful in every direction. Despite its glacial origins Tenaya Lake was the perfect temperature for a swim.
On my birthday we hiked to the top of Lembert Dome for a sunset picnic. Spectacular!
After the sun went down we hiked out in the dimming light and were treated to beautiful moonlit views of the mountains in the distance.
We headed to Yosemite valley to see what all the fuss is about. Wow. Dramatic landscape surrounds you as you descend the steep canyon sides to the valley floor.
El Capitan…so big…so grand…and covered with people climbing all over it. Like a giant stone anthill. A 3,000 foot tall, sheer faced anthill.
Fascinating forest decomposers! Paul Stamets would appreciate this.
I wonder how many times this photograph has been taken. Maybe a million or more but I still had to take one of my own.
Overall a great week. My legs are sore from hiking and I think it was a great start to my 33rd year!