Yosemite (not dschosemeit but josimiti)

The Sierra Nevada is a 400 mi long and a up to 80 mi broad granite block mainly located in California. Some of its most astonishing features lay in the Yosemite National Park along it’s 800 mi of hiking paths. So of course Yosemite was a magnet for us.

The visitor center gives a little impression of what you by into, if you decide to hike in the Sierra Nevada – countless steep accents.

Glacier shaped granit stretches out before your eyes for miles and miles in Yosemite and you are allowed to hike every single one of them.

After six hours by bus and train (for a distance that you cover by car in 2 h) we arrived at the visitor center in Yosemite village (more an enormous camp ground than a village). Loaded with our hiking gear and food for seven days but otherwise completely unprepared we were standing there a little confused. The first sign wasn’t promising: campgrounds full! The very friendly and very gay ranger behind the desk sent me off to the wilderness office the second I asked for the wilderness permit and a bear canister. Against all hopes, here the also very friendly ranger provided everything: a wilderness permit including a permit to climb the halfdome (otherwise only given out by lottery and hard to get hands on), actually two bear canisters and the permit to sleep on the backpackers campground the first night. Fully equipped we headed for the backpackers campground to arrange all our food, toiletries and some of the pharmacy stuff (everything that gives of a scent) into our 10l bear canisters to find out, it won’t fit. So either bear canisters are not designed for a week hiking our we are simply eating to much (I guess the later).

Slightly overfilled bear canister. We squeezed it shut and ate the leftovers.

Bear canister inside my backpack. You just have to squeeze the rest of the equipment all around it.

The next evening after a beautiful but strenuous 3000 feet (yes we are in the US) ascent into Yosemite highlands with many day hikers we (actually Tom) found a cozy campground at the base of the North Dome overlooking the color changing Half Dome (exaggerated coloured as the background picture of the current MacOS software „Yosemite“) in sunset. When we finished the last pack of Asia noodles and it was getting dark we tried to pack our bear canisters again and only with a lot of good will and squeezing we could fit everything into them. And because we are little paranoid germans we jumped through the woods in or pyjamas to hide the canisters 100 m from the tent (The ranger told us to just through it a few yards away into the trees, but we didn’t found this sufficient.).

Little Halfdome in fading twilight. Familiar?

So even though we were already in the highlands the next day made us climb at least another 3000 feet in tough endless woods up to little lake May. There were two distinct features in these woods that made me wonder. Countless dead trees were blocking our path, as if some strange disease is killing them off (We later found out that the cause is a combination of drought weakened trees and very hungry douglas-fir tussock moth caterpillars). And then we crawled over increasing numbers if snow patches, leaving me with the fear of a cold night. I should be proven right, when we ended up in bed before 8 pm due to the freezing winds.

Lake May at the following starlit night (Tom toke the picture, I would never have left the tent at these temperatures.) And yes thats snow in the lower left corner.

The weird thing was, the warmer the day, the wetter the socks.

We survived the second night without being eaten by a bear which caused for Tom doubts of their existence. Surely enough we were finding bear prints several times during the day leaving no doubt and a certain respect while packing our stuff up for the night. We finally left the big ascents behind and walked through leveled woods along impressive waterfalls and golden canyons. At a point we met the pacific crest trail (2500 mi from the Mexican to the Canadian boarder) and even a guy who already walked the 900 mi to here.

This dammit bear print was fresh, but to Toms disappointment we never met it’s owner.

White water rushing through a golden canyon before falling a thousand feet deep.

Our (my) coffee stock was running low and hopes were getting high, when we approached Toulumne Meadows the next day. Our map stated the presence of a shop and a visitor center. But at the beginning of May the road was nearly closed, the shop was still a half destructed barack, but the visitor center containing to rather unfriendly ranger was open so at least we could charge one phone before heading back to the wilderness. Since we had to get over the no camping zone (which we unknowingly violated the night before) we had another 7 mile hike to cathedral lake. It turned out to be a beautiful spot to camp for the night but the wind was unusually chilly and campfires prohibited.

Low season colours the highland meadows in a vivid khaki brown.

Setting up our home for one night at Cathedral lake got a cold venture after sunset.

The chill that froze our tent at night continued the whole next day. So though the highland meadows are amazing we kept our breaks pretty short. The original plan was to hike up Clouds Rest (roughly 3300 m) continue to the Quarter Dome and camp somewhere up there. But wearing three layers, gloves and beanies at the foot of Clouds Rest, we continued into the direction of Yosemite Valley. Literally from the frying pan into the fire we found ourself in burned woods for miles. A thunderstorm (as claimed by the park rangers or a careless camper as told by the gossip) did a good job here and we ended up setting up the tent in ashes of burned trees. But at least we had a nice view (very important to Tom).

The white patches reminded us again and again, why we were the only hiker in this amazing place.

The burned land, definitely has it’s one beauty, but finding the path in the soft ashes wasn’t always easy.

And though burned the land is not death and gives space for new life. Next to the strange fungus why met hundreds of hungry ants on our campground.

Although burned, the land is not death and gives space for new life. Next to the strange fungus why met hundreds of hungry ants on our campground.

I don’t know a single place in Europe, where you get a view like this, while laying in your tent and even be the only person in this spot.

The next morning we were woken by a funny sound on our tent. A bit like rain but not exactly. A peer out revealed: snow! We had expected everything but not snow. The sad thing about it wasn’t actually the snow but the clouds bringing it. It wrapped the trail in fog making a climb to the top of half dome impossible (we turned around 300 m before the top, when we absolutely failed to make out the trail). So all we could do was to climb the 4000 feet down into Yosemite Valley, get a coffee to warm us up again, buy a toothbrush and wine and get a shower and laundry.

The beginning of 10 cm fresh snow going to fall during the day.

Can you make out the Halfdome behind this white wall?

I still believe that we made a wise decision. The hiker we met this day turned around the next day (on the second day of his 29 day trip), because he couldn’t find the path in 30 cm fresh snow.

By the way, the richest wildlife the we observe in Yosemite Valley. Pizza stealing squirrels, deeply relaxed deers, hungry wildcats and through the campsite strolling bears (actually we only heard the story from three days before).

By the way, the richest wildlife did we observe in Yosemite Valley. Pizza stealing squirrels, deeply relaxed deers, hungry wildcats and through the campsite strolling bears (actually we only heard the story from three days before).

Losses of the trip:

1. 3 kg each due to a pretty high energy consumption (should make trips like that into a new diet approach).
2. One pair of hiking socks forgotten at May lake.
3. One toothbrush fallen from a pocket at Cathedral lake.
4. One water filter frozen to death at Cathedral lake.

Steffi and Tom on the Road

With Tommy traveling in the trains of this World.

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