Now THIS is the Yosemite we love!

Star standing at the top of Gaylor Lakes Basin pass. Yes, we hiked down thru the snow!

Our picnic location at Granite Lake

The Gaylor Lakes hike starts from a little parking lot just inside the East Gate of Yosemite off of the Tioga Pass Road at about 9,900 feet. As advertised by the "Yosemite Hikes" website, everybody in their rush to reach the valley passes right by it. We saw absolutely nobody from the top of the pass to Granite Lake. It was the most snow we have ever crossed in our years of hiking, and the highest (10,500 ft.) we have ever been on the trail. The temperatures stayed around 50 degrees for the entire hike. We've never reached such an incredible destination in a 5+ mile hike with only 1,100 feet of total elevation gain.

I have linked a short video. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwljmSqJZyw

Ben

Yosemite

It was a challenge to take pictures of our day at Yosemite that weren't crowded with hundreds or even thousands of people, but we feel successful about these. They show some of the most famous spots in Yosemite: Half Dome, the Merced River, Yosemite Falls, and the meadows. Two other positives were an excellent lunch at Ahwanee Hotel and the fact that we managed to walk about six miles without getting run over by the bicyclists. (That was close; one errant cyclist screeched to a halt inches from us.) The day over, we've decided to stay on the less populated, eastern, side of the park from now on. Star

Greetings from Wild Rose Station

It's Sunday morning here on Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierra, home of the Clint Eastwood movie "High Plains Drifter". After a 16 hour journey yesterday, we finally made it to our home for the next two weeks. I am convinced we will never stay in a more picturesque and peaceful vacation home again in our lifetime. There is no traffic noise, and there appears to be only one other house within 3-4 miles of us. Star immediately fell in love with the influence of Ansel Adams and the voice of art that speaks throughout the house.

Today, we are heading out to either Lee Vining or June Lake for lunch and to check out the area more closely.

Keep checking back with us, as we are sure to have much to share with everybody back home in the coming days. I've included some pictures, but there is absolutely no way to capture this place with a camera.

Ben and Star

March 12th...Athens!!!

Here go some pictures of our temporary home away from home. Star looks tired because she IS tired. We just finished a marathon shopping trip at Wally World. The place doesn't look like much from the outside, but is really nice inside. We've already made a trip to Star's favorite food store, Earth Fare, which is right around the corner.

Sunday Afternoon...

After two tries, we finally found Lee Falls. The trail gets smaller and harder to follow and finally just disappears.

Alex found plenty of rocks to climb on. We forgot the camera and took these with the cell phone. Not too bad.

Friday Afternoon at the Fish Hatchery

When we left Clemson, it was 58 degrees. When we got to the trailhead for the East Fork of the Chattooga, it was 44 with plenty of snow on the ground. Amazing what a difference 35 miles can make in the mountains.

Duckabush River

Pictures are from this past weekend's hike to Duckabush River.

Since getting here just over 3 months ago, here's what we've hiked so far. We're posting this as a reminder to ourselves. S0, as we continue to lose brain cells, we'll have the blog to jog our memories. Of course, that's if we don't eventually forget we even have a blog. So, here it goes...

Day Hikes

Duckabush River (Brothers Wilderness Area): 6.5 miles / 800 ft.

Fort Flagler (near Port Townsend): 6.5 miles on the beach

Deer Park to Grassy Mountain: 6.5 miles / 1,200 ft

Hurricane Hill (twice): 5.0 miles / 700 ft

Lake Crecent (Spruce Tunnel Trail): 4.0

Rica Canyon and Goblins Gate: 4 miles/ 1,000 ft

Sol Duc Falls: 4 miles

Ho Rain Forest: 4 miles in the pouring rain

Backcountry Hike/Camp

Obstruction Point (Grand Lake Trail to Gladys Lake, returning through Badger Valley: 11.5 miles / 3,500 ft.