Yosemite

At almost 10000 feet I entered Yosemite via Tioga Pass from the east. It was a beautiful, still morning and the reflections in the lakes were stunning. I climbed Lembert Dome, a granite colossus that reminded me of the Pyramids at Giraween although I guess that is like comparing an elephant and a mouse. They're both mammals with 4 legs and a tail but exist on a very different scale. As I travelled down into Yosemite Valley I began to realise just how massive a scale we're talking about. These are some serious granite mountains.

Like many of the national parks I have visited it is difficult to describe Yosemite in a way that does it justice. In the valley I did 2 hikes - both about 4miles one way and that way is straight up then straight back down again. The first was to the top of Yosemite Falls, an 11.6km round trip with an 823m elevation gain and the second to the top of Nevada Falls, a measley 8.6km round trip with a 610m elevation gain. I can tell you that I've found some new muscles in my legs!

I stayed in the valley for a night of very little sleep as every few minutes a voice would yell 'Get out bear, get out!" followed by some earth shaking as said bear ran by my tent, grunting and snorting into the forest, only to return a moment later. My mid-night pee was the scariest of my life!

I'm now in Fresno and it's a balmy 110 degrees (43 in the rest of the world). Aaaah summer at last!