Trip Report

The hike up Chilnualna Falls did not seem as bad this time. I think that I am getting used to the punishment. (And, I do nothing compared to the people who are in the Hetch Hetchy area of the park; they did 40-60 miles. I only did 20-30. I really can't complain.) This time we did the hard front country bushwhacking site the first morning out. The site is called South Entrance. I stumbled upon some cool historical artifacts. I'm not sure what they were - pieces of a stove?

I ended up finishing my points, and then my hike out took an hour and 15 minutes. I was drenched in sweat and had leaves, twigs and a plethora of spider webs carefully nestled in my hair. The thing that took all the time was not the distance, but getting through the incredibly dense brush along that creek. Glad we did that first. Next was a return to another front country site - Wawona Meadow. There is great birdwatching there, so it is a pleasure to do. Then I got to do the hike up to Chilnualna Falls again. We started right about noon - not ideal - and were told by a man heading down the trail on a horse that we should have started earlier. The nerve. I wanted to say, "Thanks, asshole." But instead opted for the more polite, "We couldn't - we were working." By the time we finished Wawona, broke camp, did a car shuttle and made it to the trailhead, it was noon. We couldn't have gone any faster. This time I appreciated the beauty and took some photos.


Melanie (my partner for this leg of the trip) and I did 3 sites that I did last time, and then did a new one. At the last of the old sites is where I saw the bear. The weather this time out was gorgeous. A few chilly nights, but achingly blue-sky days. We wanted to takes bathes every day, but were thwarted by the creeks - the first night there was not enough to bathe in at all. The second night we found a good spot:
This water was pretty cold, so I really had to convince myself to dunk my crotch/torso/head. I was able to do that by thinking how incredibly sweaty I had been while hiking. The third night out the creek was too small to bathe in (again). Fourth night was the new site. It was called Ostrander Lake West, and is in the Glacier Point area of the park. Glacier Point is my new favorite area of the park; it is downright gorgeous, the trails are pretty easy and it is covered in Lodgepole Pines. These pines filter the light beautifully, creating a warm glow underneath them. They seem like proper gentlemen to me, all lined up in their gray suits. Ostrander Lake West is about a half kilometer off trail along another stream. This stream was stunning.

We dropped our packs 500m in, and then went to scout. The followed stream up and it quieted from a loud pulse to a quiet meander through verdant meadows. The crown jewel was the upper meadow, where the forest opened up to reveal the blue sky. There were 2 white rocks, perfectly placed amidst all the green and wildflowers and standing water. Lush.

We got up early the next day as I had to hike out to Bridalveil Campground, switch partners, and then hike back in and go off trail to another site. I realized that we may have gotten up too early because at 4:45 a.m. in a forest with a dense overstory canopy, you can barely see a thing. I couldn't really tell if there were willows at my first few points (the headlamp only shines so far) and it is a little scary to go stumbling around in the dark. Melanie generously volunteered to hike the whole way up to the top meadow (starting at 4 a.m.), so that then we would meet in the middle. She confessed, when we finally ran into each other at 7.30, that it was so dark she couldn't see and followed the wrong fork of the creek. She said she didn't start until 1.5 hours after she left camp. That must have been a little terrifying to realize at 4:45 a.m. that you had gone the wrong way. I was glad she found her way.

Survey time/about 5:00 a.m.
We were hiking out to Bridalveil so that I could switch partners and pick up Rodney, a research scientist at IBP who trained me last year. We have a lot of fun together, so I was looking forward to working with him. Plus, we are the same age, so I could complain about bodily aches and pains to a sympathetic ear.
On the way our, Melanie flushed a bird off a nest and we got this picture of her eggs:
When we got back out to Bridalveil, Bob had a book in which we could look up the eggs. We're thinking Blue Grouse.
As promised by Bob (our fearless leader), an ice-cold beer was dug out of the cooler for me when we arrived at Bridalveil. Some cribbage was played (we are tied in the series), the beverage was drunk and then Rodney and I were on our way in the early afternoon.

Rodney and I did 2 nights back country and then returned to Bridalveil for our last night. We woke up to do McGurk Meadow. It ended up being one of those vaguely disastrous mornings. The meadow was much larger than it appeared when we had scouted it the previous day. I was walking towards what looked like a glittering white patch, trying to figure out what it was. I first thought snow (it was that cold that morning), then lake/water, then frost (there was frost on all the other grass in the meadow). As I approached I realized it was a whole huge other arm of the meadow, covered in silvery frost and with tendrils of mist drifting over it. It was like stepping onto some other planet. Other than that, Rodney stepped in the creek and topped over his boots and I got trapped in what was essentially quickmud. Rodney had to pull me out as I had both legs in over my knees, was sinking, and not able to extricate myself. He thanked me for testing out the dangerous terrain. I'm generous that way.

The softer side of McGurk Meadow - wildflowers


Random Photos

The damage from the off trail wandering:

My home away from home

Billboard/Laundromat in Sonora