HORSETAIL FALLS

July 22, 2006 (4 miles)
We went up to South Lake Tahoe with David and Taryn for the weekend and stayed with Taryn's grandparents (Bill and Jean) at their cabin with an awesome view of the lake. David and Taryn had this goal of hiking up Horsetail Falls, so we made a pact to get to the top! We took the scenic route... On the way up I saw a new bird, my last for this summer adventure, a Green-tailed Towhee. The hike was difficult, but the lakes at the top were worth it (the water was cold, but it was fun to swim around anyway). It was kinda scary on the way down (we had to do a little rock-climbing), but Taryn made it with flying colors (there was only one really bad part for her). By the time we got back to the parking lot, we were feeling pretty good, except for our sunburns (there aren't many trees on this hike). To celebrate our victory, we went to the Tahoe Brewery for dinner and beers, then headed back to the cabin for White Russians and some Dance Dance Revolution Extreme!

Jay scouts an "alternate" route up the waterfall

Horsetail Falls (just outside of South Lake Tahoe)

View from the top (lots of little lakes to swim in!)

David and Taryn take the plunge (brrr!)

Victory pose! (mission accomplished)

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

July 16, 2006 (7.5 miles)
Hello Yosemite! Coming from Sequoia/Kings Canyon, we entered Yosemite through the south entrance (a first for me). We could not believe how slow the traffic was! It took 30 minutes just to get through the toll booth! Since we hadn't been before, we decided to go up the road to Glacier Point. We found a camping spot (in a very crowded campground), then hiked out to McGurk Meadow. It was an easy hike with lots of wildflowers. Next, we hiked the loop out to Taft Point and the Fissures, then around to Sentinel Dome. I saw another new bird, the Cassin's Finch. We felt like we were on top of the world! It was so different to look down into the valley (from directly above) and it gave a whole new perspective on El Capitan. As the sunset hour grew close, we drove out to Glacier Point where we attended a ranger talk. It was one of the best I've heard. The ranger named all the peaks we could see and gave a little background info on each. Did you know that Half Dome isn't really half? It's actually 80%. Then he told us a story about how almost every other tourist that visits the park asks a ranger "When did Half Dome break apart?" He told us that one day, he was feeling particularly punchy (as Jay would say) and jumped over his desk, raced outside, and exclaimed "Oh my gosh, when did THAT happen?!?" He he... rangers are funny!

Strolling through McGurk Meadow

View into the valley from the fissures (Yosemite Falls in the background)

Jay at the fissures (El Capitan in the background at right)

Sentinel Dome

In front of Half Dome, Vernal Fall, and Neveda Fall (left to right)

July 18, 2006 (15 miles)
Today we embarked on our first overnight hike since the PCT debacle... We started the morning at Tuolumne Meadows and hiked the John Muir Trail (JMT) to just before the intersection with the Half Dome Trail. The hike started with a LOT of uphill (reaching a high point of 9700ft on trail) across lots of different types of terrain. There were amazing views (particularly the one that combined Catherdral Peak, Cathedral Lakes, and the Echo Peaks), lots of mosquitoes (in every meadow and stream crossing), a scary hail storm (we hid out for about a half hour under the rain fly, and when we came out, it looked like Half Dome was one fire - of course it wasn't - though there was a fire across the valley from where we were), and a mysterious animal (I didn't get to see it, but Jay said it looked like a badger, or maybe a wolverine...) Half way through the hike we started going downhill. It was about the steepest downhill section I've ever done and I really felt for the hikers coming up (they looked pooped!) Oh yeah, and I saw another new bird, a Lincoln's Sparrow.

Starting south on the John Muir Trail from Tuolumne Meadows

Cathedral Lake

Cathedral Peak and Echo Peaks

Half Dome after the storm

July 19, 2006 (11 miles)
We woke up early and hiked Half Dome Trail to the summit. We were the second group to select gloves from the pile at the saddle and climb the cables to the top. WOW! The view was absolutely amazing! Totally worth the difficult, scary climb. I was too nervous to walk out to the edge, so I belly-crawled and managed to look straight down into the valley. I could see Mirror Lake... and a couple of climbers coming up the face! Good thing we didn't wait too long to come down, we had to side-step one group on the cables, and by the time we left the saddle there was stop-and-go traffic down to the base. One there, we packed up the tent and grabbed our packs, then continued down the JMT to Neveda Fall, where we stopped for lunch. Afterwards, we switched over to the Mist Trail, which was busier than Half Dome (almost like the lines at Disneyland), then made the final descent back on the JMT into the valley at Happy Isle.

Only 2 more miles to the summit!

Heading up the cables

Looking down into the valley (the 'Diving Board' at left, climbers on the face beneath)

Jay heads down before the crowd

View up the cables from the saddle (See all those little spots on the cables? That's the traffic...)

Further down the JMT we looked back to see a different view of Half Dome (the backside)

Looking straight down Neveda Fall

Feeling proud underneath Neveda Fall (only 2 more miles to go to complete the hike into the valley)

Jay poses at the end of the Mist Trail (Vernal Fall is in the background)

DEVIL'S POSTPILE NATIONAL MONUMENT & MONO LAKE STATE PARK

July 17, 2006 (6 miles)
We left Yosemite today via Hwy 180 East, past Tuolumne Meadows and over Tioga Pass (at 9900ft, the highest point we've been all summer). We went south into Devil's Postpile National Monument. They don't allow cars into the park, so we left the car in Mammoth (a pretty cool town, I'd love to go back in the winter sometime) and took the bus into the park. We hiked out to the postpile, then beyond to Rainbow Fall. It was a REALLY hot, dry, and exposed hike (90% of the park was burned in a wildfire about a decade ago), but worth it for the view of the fall (we timed it just right to see 2 huge rainbows)! Before we headed back into Yosemite, we went by Mono Lake (a place I had noticed on my cross-country trek from Florida to California back in 2001, but didn't have time to stop and see). What a unique park! The place was covered in alkali flies. Jay was a good sport and tried the water (so bitter), both alkaline and salty. We watched a huge storm crashing over the mountains in Yosemite and figured we could put off the drive back into the park (at this point, we were getting a little worried about our planned 2-day backcountry hike scheduled to start tomorrow morning), so we grabbed some hot food that wasn't freeze-dried (hotdogs and milkshakes). We made it back to Tuolumne Meadows just in time to get one of the last open camping spots! We purchased a couple beers from the store, then walked out to the meadow to watch one of the most amazing sunsets we'd ever seen. It lasted forever and it looked like the trees were on fire! The background was just amazing. And on top of all that, we got to sit and chat with a PCT hiker.

Jay sits on top of the postpile as a size indicator for the honeycomb-shaped stones

The hot, dry, barren hike out to the falls

In front of Rainbow Falls at Devil's Postpile National Monument

SEQUOIA & KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS

July 12, 2006 (3.5 miles)
We decided that no matter how many days we spend at Sequoia/Kings Canyon, we will keep the same campsite so that we won't have to waste time moving every day. And as soon as we pulled into the Stoney Creek campground and saw a spot surrounded by huge boulders, we had to take it (you can't ask for better privacy in a national park). After setting up camp, it was already pretty late in the day (it's not a short drive from Stockton), but we decided to hike up to Tokopah Falls anyway. It was an easy hike with pretty scenery the whole way up. We loved the big trees and big boulders with marmots (and marmot babies) sunning themselves. Tokopah Falls itself was pretty awesome. We sat around for a while enjoying the sound of the falls and scolding the marmots that were begging for trail mix. We stayed until near sunset, then quickly hiked back to the car. On the way, we saw a couple of Rufous Hummingbirds (another new species for me).

Jay approaches Tokopah Falls

Marmot, begging for trail mix...

July 13, 2006 (10 miles)
We started out very early this morning, getting to Moro Rock right before sunrise. Moro Rock is Sequoia's answer to Yosemite's Half Dome (except you can drive right to the base of it, then "hike" up a series of stairs with hand rails). We were the only ones up there and the sunrise was amazing. It made us a little sad, looking west at the sun rising over the mountains, out of the valleys that we had planned to hike (the John Muir section of the PCT). It was really cold and windy, but Jay steadied the camera long enough to get some great shots and I amused myself watching the White-throated Swifts dart up and down and all around. On the hike back down, I saw a Nashville Warbler! He was so cute! These were both new species, of course. When we got back to the car, we saw a father-son hiking team heading up. They were surprised to hear there wasn't a crowd (I guess Moro Rock can get pretty busy during the peak summer season). Next, we headed down into the dry valley on the south end of the park and hiked the trail out to Marble Falls. It was a long hike, but pretty easy (lots of ups and downs, but they were short). It was one of the curviest trails I've ever been on and there were lots of vista points. We were surprised to find the marble at Marble Falls to be white (it looked like snow), and we spent quite a while just enjoying the peace (again, no other hikers)! On the way out we saw a tarantula nest (Jay actually saw the tarantula, but by the time I rounded the corner it had disappeared inside) and a group of Lawrence's Goldfinches. Before heading back to camp, we did the Big Trees Loop and saw The Sentinel (outside a cool little visitor center with some neat displays). We spent the rest of the afternoon bathing in the river, sunning ourselves, and reading. Ah, vacation!

Climbing Moro Rock at sunrise

Jay overlooks Marble Falls (you can see some of the white marble on the middle right)

July 14, 2006 (7.5 miles)
We decided to do another good hike today, and we wanted to reach another high point, so we hiked out to Panther Gap. There was a lot of uphill, but it was pretty gentle. We got passed by a mule train in one of the meadows where we were watching marmots. Once there, the view from the gap was as good as Moro Rock! The hike down was much steeper (it was a loop trail) with lots of pine cones to roll the ankles. I did see a new bird though, a Townsend's Solitaire! After lunch at the car, we went to see General Sherman... we figured if we made it all the way to Sequoia/Kings Canyon, we should see all the big named trees!

Panther Gap, Sequioa National Park

General Sherman, Jay, and one of General Sherman's fallen branches!

July 15, 2006 (10.5 miles)
We planned our last day in the parks to be a big one, so we started with the Mist Falls trail in Kings Canyon (a very long, curvy drive from Sequioa). The trail went across lots of different hiking surfaces, mostly along the river. About a mile into the trail, a little bity black bear crossed our path (we think it was a yearling because it looked like it weighed less than 100 lbs). We weren't scared of the little bear, but we were concerned there might be a mama nearby, so we hiked the next mile singing at the top of our lungs! Mist Falls was so misty I couldn't get a picture, but Jay did (he hid behind a tree though). Although we had the trail to ourselves on the way out (we were first in line for a backcountry permit that morning), there was quite a bit of traffic coming back in. Before leaving Kings Canyon, we did the short but sweet Zumalt Meadow loop. Lots of mosquitoes, but it was a neat hike, especially since I saw MORE new birds: a Black-tailed Hummingbird, MacGillivray's Warbler, and Hermit Thrush. We stopped at a "restaurant" for rootbeer floats on the way back to Sequoia. As we got close to camp, traffic was stopped in the middle of the road. Curious wildlife seakers that we are, we assumed there was something cool keeping everyone's attention, so we got out of the car and walked up the road. And what did we see? A big "cinnamon" black bear (~250lbs) jumping up and down on a big log right on the side of the road! Everyone was amazed... we must have stood there for 10 minutes watching the big guy until he lumbered off into the tree line. A very cool end to a great trip in a beautiful pair of national parks!

Near Mist Falls the river was so turbulent it looks like snow in the photo!

LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK

July 10, 2006 (4.5 miles)
After a quick stop at the visitor center, we secured a camping spot, and headed up to Chaos Crags Lake. It was a beautiful hike! The spot was completely secluded, so we took ice-cold baths in the lake, then sat around in the sun to warm up. While we were sitting there, we saw White-headed Woodpeckers! I was so excited, another new bird! We stayed for quite a while trying to get a photo, we even sat near their nest tree (where we could hear a baby bird calling), but the adults wouldn't come over. We didn't want to keep them from the baby, so we headed out. Once we got back to camp, we noticed White-headed Woodpeckers all over the place! No picture (too far up in the tall trees), but we enjoyed a campfire listening to their calls.

Jay overlooks Chaos Crags Lake

White-headed Woodpecker nest cavity

July 11, 2006 (4.5 miles)
Since many of the trails were closed due to snow (without snowshoes of course), we goofed around a bit with our ice axes on the side of the road, stopped at all the overlooks, then headed around to the back side of the park and hiked out to Devil's Kitchen. It was a really pretty (and easy) walk out to the geothermal site. We saw mud pots, fumaroles, and boiling springs. It smelled SO bad, but it was cool. On the way out, we nearly bumped into a black bear! There was a couple just ahead of us on the trail and I was watching them as we closed the distance when all of a sudden a "blonde" black bear darted across the trail in front of them! They turned around, completely shocked, and watched the bear with us as it ran off through the woods. It wasn't a huge bear, but it wasn't little either...

Mt. Lassen

Another view of Mt. Lassen

Stinky fumaroles!