2008 – Week 4


Tuesday, May 20, 2008:
Up and on the road a bit earlier than usual. We wanted to beat the traffic jams that are the result of road reconstruction inside the park on CA140. They are reinforcing the retaining walls, adding stone safety rails, adding drainage and repaving. This project has been going on for several years as the road in from the entrance has all been done. Due to the heavy winter snowfall, all construction work must be done during the tourist season. It will be great when it gets done. When we entered the park, when found a terrific parking spot in “Day Use” Lots. It seemed to be in shade all day and that was great for Daisy. We went to the Visitor Center, but had a detour into a deli to get egg omelet sandwiches for lunch. The young ladies behind the counter seemed more interested in talking to the customers than producing product. Oh, well, but 20 minutes seemed a bit long. We boarded a Park sponsored hybrid bus that was to take us to the trailhead for the “Mist Trail” at the east end of the valley. It would have been perfect, but I had us get off one stop early. After an extra walk to loosen our muscles and get our packs settled in (I am trying to justify my mistake here) we started on the climb to Vernal Fall with thoughts of continuing to Nevada Fall (we had seen both yesterday from Glacier Point). The trail had no mercy as we climbed from the minute we started. It was only a 1,000-foot climb, but it had Susie and I (more I) huffing and puffing. About 1/2 way up, we crossed a bridge that spanned the Merced River and had a glimpse of what we should expect. Up to the bridge, the trail had been paved so the walk was pretty easy. However, from the bridge to the top of Vernal Falls, it was unpaved and rocky. Best of all, the trail was so steep that there were 430 steps plus some less steep grades. These were the original steps and were not consistent in height. If that wasn’t enough, about 1/2 way through this section, the “mist” from the Fall began. It was wet, cold, slippery and a long way down. We became good friends with the people around us as we all struggled up this section. When we made it to the top (not always a given) it was warm and dry and felt good to lay on the warm granite.
There was a group of college girls who were headed up into the backcountry to camp for 5 days. They were carrying all their gear, and it looked very heavy. When they reached Vernal Fall, they still were not 1/2 way to the first night’s campsite. Susie and I had several cherries as a snack, and one of them slipped away. Not to worry, a ground squirrel found and ate it. We had lunch at the top of the Fall before heading down. We had given up on the plan to go to Nevada Fall. We stayed at the top of the Fall for about 45 minutes to dry our clothes and rest. The trip down was faster and easier. We returned to the RV to check on Daisy (fine) and prepare for a bike ride. We went to Mirror Lake and Happy Isles Nature Center where we learned about a rockslide in 1996. At 7.00pm a massive section of the cliff on the south side of the Valley and directly above the Happy Isles Visitor Center came crashing down creating an air burst that killed a young camper, injured two park employees and damaged the building. A bit later another, but smaller piece fell, but did not cause any further damage. Just as we finished reading about this, two emergency vehicles headed up the path towards Vernal Fall. We never did hear what, if anything, happened. Next to the Visitor Center to buy Susie her Yosemite memento pin. We continued to view the bottom of the Lower Yosemite Falls and got wet again. On our way back to the RV, we saw the Upper Yosemite Falls and Susie noticed a cable and one person at the top of the Fall. It seemed that the person was trying to cross over the top of Yosemite Creek. We watched for a while, and a second person showed up. I got cold, and we eventually left without know if the traverse was successful. Back to the RV to take care of Daisy and have dinner before returning to the campground. We had great day and learned at the Visitor Center that the Tioga Road (CA 120) through the Park would be open at 8:00am tomorrow for the first time in 2008. There were reports of a 45 (not a typo) foot snow accumulation this last winter. We entered the campground at 9:10pm, had showers and went to bed shortly thereafter.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008:
I noticed that our neighbors were from the State of Washington and decided to ask if they had any advice as to what we should see when we got there. They were helpful, and the conversation turned to traveling in general. They were on the way to North Carolina to see their son who had just returned from Afghanistan. This trip was their first of this sort, and they were using their Ford Explorer. The plan was to camp for 4 or 5 nights and then go to a hotel. They had modified the Explorer by removing the rear seats to create storage and placed a bed frame in the back for a level sleeping area. They seemed to have lots of stuff but it all fit. If we saw them drive down the highway, we would never have known they were camping across the country and back over a five-week period. Susie showed them her book, and since the husband is an artist, he (and she) thought he might try the same. We then started our journey across Yosemite Park along CA120. Whenever we were at 8,000 feet or above there was snow, the deepest was only 5 feet. We stopped to see another sequoia grove and then headed east to Olmsted Point. We were driving along a tree lined 2 lane road and bam, we were at Olmsted Point. This was spectacular, and the main view was to the south where we could again see Half Dome but this time from the north. Susie and I were able to see climbers who were using the cable handrails to get up the last and steeper section of Half Dome. We had lunch looking over this very scenic place. Continuing east we left the park, and as soon as we did, the scenery changed and not for the better. We dropped down 3,200 feet to the town of Lee Vining CA and headed north on US395. We passed Mono Lake, which is in a basin created by volcanic activity 600 years ago. This lake is maintained by snowmelt, and its level is never constant. The accumulation of snowmelt borne minerals has made the lake unsuitable for anything other brine shrimp. The land here is a bit better than Nevada, but nothing to write home to your parents to ask them to send money to buy. As we continued north through Bridgeport CA, the mountains still had some snow on them. Irrigation from the Bridgeport Reservoir supported pasture land for cows and sheep with the cows having the better and more irrigated land. We continued 22 miles north of Bridgeport and stopped in a campground in the Toiyabe National Forest for the night. Tomorrow we head to Lake Tahoe. At 7:30 pm, the temperature is 55 degrees, and we expect it to go much lower.

Thursday, May 22, 2008:
Daisy woke me at 3:00am this morning asking to go out. I put on some clothes and slippers and stepped out of the RV into 2” of snow. What a surprise! Daisy did her business and then decided to sniff her way around the campground looking for animals. No way! We got up again at 7;00am, and I looked at the outside temperature. It was 36 degrees and 46 degrees inside, plus it was still snowing.
I turned on the generator and RV furnace to make it bearable inside. Next to us there was a couple camping out of the back of a pickup truck. They were there at 3:00am, but not at 7:00am. We drove north towards Carson City NV and were able to find a vet for Daisy. Her loose tummy had gone on for too long, and we were afraid of dehydration and need to find out what was wrong. The short of it is that Daisy is staying in the doggie hospital for the night with an IV to make sure the drugs actually stay in her system. We will take her from the vet’s tomorrow. We had the oil changed in the RV and found a campground across from a casino. We’ll probably go there tonight for a bit after updating our logs and trying to get them on our respective blogs. We need to do laundry for the benefit of all of those we come in contact with. At 5:30p it is 60 degrees, but with the strong north wind feels much cooler.

Friday, May 23, 2008:
Rained again last night. We decided that today would be a good one to clean the RV, get Susie ready to fly to San Antonio for some family business, buy some supplies and pick up Daisy. However, after a talk with the vet we have decided to leave her in the doggie hospital one more night to make sure she gets her meds properly. We went to see her, and she is doing fine and happy to see us. I’ll get her after I return from taking Susie to the Reno airport. We’ll go to the casino for dinner and have any early night. It is windy and cold with occasional showers at our elevation, but probably snow above 6,000 feet.

Saturday, May 24, 2008:
I took Susie to Reno to catch her plane to San Antonio and then returned to Carson City to buy some goodies at Trader Joe’s and WalMart to get some AA batteries, engine oil, etc before picking Daisy up from the hospital. They didn’t have the special food I want, so on Saturday of a 3-day weekend, I found myself running all around town to find some. I made so may turns that Gabby Garmin was completely confused. Daisy and I finally came back to the RV Park around 2:00pm, and there we sit. Daisy is sleeping, but is hungry and thirsty as can be. I have taken her for several walks, and when she comes back, she falls asleep. She is plenty perky when she goes for our walks, and that is good news. It is still cold here with intermittent mist and rain. I cannot tell if it is snowing on the mountaintops, but if it is, there is little or no accumulation. We leave tomorrow and start heading to Boise. The weather reports are not great for us, but these brown valleys and hills can sure use the water.

Sunday, May 25, 2008:
Another cloudy and rainy day! Just before we left the RV Park, I noticed a man and wife walking around wearing sheepskin lined denim jackets and earmuffs. I really didn’t think it was that cold. Daisy and I left Carson City at 9:30am and headed north on US395 through Reno eventually entering CA. I would like to comment on the noise barriers along the freeways that we have seen in Colorado and Nevada. The ones there are much more attractive and aren’t as obtrusive as the ones back east. Driving north from Carson City to Reno I noticed several geothermal power plants along US395. If I remember correctly, Reno sits near a fault line and had several earthquakes and tremors over the last few months. There are hot springs so the geothermal source must be close to the surface. North of Reno, US395 turns west into CA and then north again. I had to pass through an agriculture checkpoint shortly after entering California. They were looking for vegetables. Of course, I had none. They must be serious because there was an incinerator at the site. A single-track railroad runs generally parallel to US395, and on a rail siding I saw a string of railroad cars designed to carry finished lumber. The cars were empty with no sign of any locomotives so they must be in storage waiting for the housing market to restart. It is hard to imagine how many cars there were, but the string was between 2 and 3 miles long. Finally the clouds began to break, and I had hopes for sun, but the clouds returned as did the rain. As we continued north, irrigated farmland and pastures became more prevalent. We passed to the west Honey Lake. It is noted as a dry lake on the road map but there was some water. Just north of the lake I took a small detour and passed through the town of Susanville CA.

This is a pretty big town in this part of the state, with a population of 17,000. I took a picture of the entrance sign just to prove to Susie that I was there. There was snow on the mountains to the west, and I assumed that the water supply for irrigation was plentiful. I talked to a local farmer who told me that most of the lakes were 6-8 feet low, terrible for this time of the season. So much for my assumption! The rain we were having that day was the first since last November and was not significant. Snowpack is not good enough for this area. North of Susanville, I noticed that there was a railbed that had been stripped of rails but was unable to determine if it had been added to the “rails to trails” network. There are probably not many people out here who might want to ride it, but I thought that about the Hiawatha Trail in NE Idaho. Continuing north on US395, we crossed Sage Hen Pass (great name) and a few miles further on passed through the MODOC National Wildlife Reserve near the town of Alturas. I assume that this NWR is on a flyway because all the water features were rectangular, not something we generally see in nature. The northbound season must have passed because there was no activity. I suspect early spring and late fall are the times to visit there. Continuing north on US395, we crossed into Oregon and made a hard left turn on to the road that leads to Goose Lake State Park. Goose Lake is about 10 miles wide and 30 miles long, but I imagine its size varies according to the season. We arrived at 4:30pm after having traveled 264 miles. Daisy and I took a long walk and settled in. We sleep tonight with cows mooing in the background and maybe a train.

Monday, May 26, 2008:
Up this morning to cloudy skies and a temperature of 50 degrees. Daisy and I took a longer walk and have decided that we will stay here one more night. It is quiet and the spring flowers are out. There is a report of a porcupine in the area so I’ll be careful with Daisy. Daisy usually likes to stay outside but asked to come in the morning. She is asleep on the couch, covered with a blanket. I am going to work on our travel routing for the next few weeks as we approach Glacier NP. The last I saw on the internet, the Going-to-the-Sun Road is still closed due to snow. The skies cleared to partly cloudy, but as I looked to the west, it appeared that more wet weather is coming. The temperature warmed to 73 degrees before the clouds obscured the sun. The rains came, but not very hard or for very long. I noticed a flock of white swans flying overhead and learned from the Park Hosts that there are several flocks in Goose Lake. They were graceful and a joy to watch. I showered, much to Daisy’s joy. It was cloudy and 57 degrees as the sun set.