A couple of weekends ago, my buddy and I went to Yosemite to do some camping and day hiking. Both of us live on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, so we cruised down Highway 395 to Lee Vining and drove up the long climb to Tioga Pass. We got to the fee station at about 10:30 and then made a bee-line to the nearest first come-first serve campground that had openings - Porcupine Flat. We got a campsite no problem but the campground filled up quickly after we go there - phew!
After getting our tents set up and our food in the bear locker, we headed back to Tuolomne Meadows to do a day hike along the Tuolomne River. The weather was gorgeous - low 70s with crystal clear skies. We got some amazing views of Lembert Dome and some of the surrounding spires and glacier carved granite. The hike along the River was easy. Mostly flat with only a few very minor climbs. As we made our way down the trail, we were surprised to see CCC trail maintenance crews coming out followed by pack teams carrying the heavier gear and trash. I didn't realize the CCC still existed! As a mule fan, I was super excited to see the mule teams. The packers were obviously tired and just wanted to end the day, so we left them alone but I would have loved to give the mules a good scratch behind their ears!
We mostly ambled along, in no hurry to get anywhere. My hope had been to make it Glen Aulin camp and to see a series of waterfalls along the way. Unfortunately, our slow pace plus a late-ish start and our propensity to stop and take lots of photos meant that we didn't make it the full 4 miles in to the camp. Oh well, we did make it as far as the first of the waterfalls where we relaxed for a bit and took some photos.
On the way back, we were surprised by a mother coyote and her two nearly-grown pups walking down the trail toward us. I wasn't afraid of them but I chose not to take any photos - I didn't want to be "that guy" who's found half eaten in the woods with the last photos on my camera showing a pack of coyotes moving in for the kill. Not that I thought that would happen...but still. It was actually kind of neat to watch them. The pups moved off the trail yipping and calling to each other while the mother hung back to watch us and make sure we weren't going to cause them trouble. After she was satisfied that we were OK, she followed the pups into the woods.
Photos from the Tuolomne River hike:
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| Lembert Dome in Tuolomne Meadows. |
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| Spires from the trail. |
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| Mule team! |
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| Buckskin with zebra striped legs. My favorite. |
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| Tuolomne River with big granite in the background. |
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| Glacier scrape. |
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| Waterfall. |
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