Being that my trip was delayed, I decided not to drive the 8 hour detour back to Mount Whitney for a chance to TRY and get a summit permit. I'll have to make that trip next year. Instead, I decided to go on to Yosemite National Park. What a wonderful and adventurous week. I stayed in the southern portion of the park on this trip and completed the Chilnualna Falls trail. In the 5 days I was there (4 nights) I hiked nearly 50 miles starting at 4,000' and topping out at 9,700'.
The first day was extremely painful but oh so beautiful. The Chilnualna Falls overlook Wawona from 6,500' and the view of the park is astonishing. I stopped briefly to relax and have a bite to eat but didn't spend long. My mistake... Crescent Lake, though beautiful, had far more mosquitoes than anywhere yet. I did not do much exploring because of this. Perhaps, the winter is a more enjoyable time to spend at this spot. Onward...
By the second evening, I was able to make it all the way to the Chain Lakes. I spent some time talking with an off-duty park ranger who was fishing (no luck catching anything) before settling for the evening to watch the sunset. The following morning I took a day hike up to the top lake and up to the ridge between it and Breeze Lake. It provided astounding views. I was very tempted to continue vertically and summit Gale Peak (10,700') but did not bring my windbreaker. I should have because I was told the view to the east is wondrous. I would love to get a group of friends to go up to this area for a long weekend. It's isolated, quiet, and beautiful. On my way back to camp, I came across a group of boy scouts (15 or so). I ended up stopping and socializing for about an hour. I definitely received my social fix for the week! We all exchanged some cool stories about our travels that provided me with even further trip ideas :) When I got back to camp I spent even more leisure time around the lake, mostly swimming. I finally motivated myself to depart and around 2pm hit the trail to my next night's camp spot. 13 miles to Buena Vista Lake.
BVL was the best spot I have camped on my trip. I only expect it to get better, but the view of the ridge above was awesome as the moon traversed its peaks that night. I was also able to find a campsite near the center of the lake as it wrapped around the point like a horseshoe. For the first time, the area was mosquito free!!! I took my time the following morning and spent some time swimming. The water was much colder than Chain Lakes, which I thought was odd. Other than that, I didn't spend too much time around the area since I slept in a bit to catch up on some sleep. It was Thursday and I needed to make it back to Chilnualna Falls for an easy Friday morning hike out before heading to San Francisco. I ended up making really great time so I stopped for lunch around mile 6 and spent an hour in the water and sitting around doing nothing.
Made it to Chilnualna Falls! I found a great spot between the two forks of the merging rivers (creeks maybe!). I got to the Falls so early I was able to explore a little bit. Check out the hidden pool I found!! I did some more swimming, dove off the cliffs for a bit, and even had time to catch some sun. Once the sun went down it was really cold. The wind was very chilly so I started up a fire and did a little reading. I must admit... I wanted the morning to come. After a week and a half on the trails without a warm shower, I was really looking forward to one in SF. In my defense though, Sarah said I didn't smell that bad!!
Photo Album
The first day was extremely painful but oh so beautiful. The Chilnualna Falls overlook Wawona from 6,500' and the view of the park is astonishing. I stopped briefly to relax and have a bite to eat but didn't spend long. My mistake... Crescent Lake, though beautiful, had far more mosquitoes than anywhere yet. I did not do much exploring because of this. Perhaps, the winter is a more enjoyable time to spend at this spot. Onward...
By the second evening, I was able to make it all the way to the Chain Lakes. I spent some time talking with an off-duty park ranger who was fishing (no luck catching anything) before settling for the evening to watch the sunset. The following morning I took a day hike up to the top lake and up to the ridge between it and Breeze Lake. It provided astounding views. I was very tempted to continue vertically and summit Gale Peak (10,700') but did not bring my windbreaker. I should have because I was told the view to the east is wondrous. I would love to get a group of friends to go up to this area for a long weekend. It's isolated, quiet, and beautiful. On my way back to camp, I came across a group of boy scouts (15 or so). I ended up stopping and socializing for about an hour. I definitely received my social fix for the week! We all exchanged some cool stories about our travels that provided me with even further trip ideas :) When I got back to camp I spent even more leisure time around the lake, mostly swimming. I finally motivated myself to depart and around 2pm hit the trail to my next night's camp spot. 13 miles to Buena Vista Lake.
BVL was the best spot I have camped on my trip. I only expect it to get better, but the view of the ridge above was awesome as the moon traversed its peaks that night. I was also able to find a campsite near the center of the lake as it wrapped around the point like a horseshoe. For the first time, the area was mosquito free!!! I took my time the following morning and spent some time swimming. The water was much colder than Chain Lakes, which I thought was odd. Other than that, I didn't spend too much time around the area since I slept in a bit to catch up on some sleep. It was Thursday and I needed to make it back to Chilnualna Falls for an easy Friday morning hike out before heading to San Francisco. I ended up making really great time so I stopped for lunch around mile 6 and spent an hour in the water and sitting around doing nothing.
Made it to Chilnualna Falls! I found a great spot between the two forks of the merging rivers (creeks maybe!). I got to the Falls so early I was able to explore a little bit. Check out the hidden pool I found!! I did some more swimming, dove off the cliffs for a bit, and even had time to catch some sun. Once the sun went down it was really cold. The wind was very chilly so I started up a fire and did a little reading. I must admit... I wanted the morning to come. After a week and a half on the trails without a warm shower, I was really looking forward to one in SF. In my defense though, Sarah said I didn't smell that bad!!
Photo Album
No comments:
Post a Comment