It seems I’m becoming a bit of a kayaker hag (I've since been told that the term is "shuttle bunny." I have to say that I prefer mine. No one should
ever call me a bunny, or I'd have to dropkick him.) They put a car where they finish their run, and then it saves them a lot of time to have someone drop them off at the put-in and run that car back to a central location. Since I wasn’t planning on doing anything on Saturday and it was ungodly hot (probably 99 or so), I volunteered to drive the shuttle car again. This means I get to drive down to the South Fork of the
Tuolumne River and get in and cool off. It is a very chilly river, so a few minutes will do. It is beautiful to hang out there.
I watch the rafting trips leave and other kayakers come and go. After Bob and his fellow kayakers set off I hung out to wait for two other kayakers that were coming off a Class V run – Cherry Creek - from up the river (Bob’s put-in was their end point). I hung out and read and got in the water for an hour and a half. I then drove with these kayakers up to the main road. I dropped them off at their cars and shuttled the Jeep back to our house, where Bob and his two kayakers would eventually show up. All in all, it is a relaxing way to spend a day. Bob and I then played a lot of cribbage and drank beer. We were sitting on the porch doing this when I heard a lip-smacking noise. I stood up to investigate and scared off a deer that had been snacking on a small tree right next to the house.
Yesterday I had the place to myself. Everyone was off on trips, so after driving to Sonora to do laundry I decided to embark on my own adventure. I was going to drive the whole way to Mono Lake, but got pooped out at Tuolumne Meadows. I took myself on a hike to Young Lakes, which was gorgeous. I think it was about 13 miles round-trip and worth every moment.
Lupine on the trail to Young Lakes. High Sierra peaks in the background:
Ragged Peak
This is how dirty my legs got from trail dust:
I got back around 7:00 p.m. and had a huge dinner. I didn’t really take lunch with me because my original plan was to drive to Lee Vining and have some fish tacos there, so I was woefully unprepared with food for the hike. I survived just fine, though, and rewarded myself with a massive chicken-potato-asparagus-salad-white-wine feast.
I watch the rafting trips leave and other kayakers come and go. After Bob and his fellow kayakers set off I hung out to wait for two other kayakers that were coming off a Class V run – Cherry Creek - from up the river (Bob’s put-in was their end point). I hung out and read and got in the water for an hour and a half. I then drove with these kayakers up to the main road. I dropped them off at their cars and shuttled the Jeep back to our house, where Bob and his two kayakers would eventually show up. All in all, it is a relaxing way to spend a day. Bob and I then played a lot of cribbage and drank beer. We were sitting on the porch doing this when I heard a lip-smacking noise. I stood up to investigate and scared off a deer that had been snacking on a small tree right next to the house.
This is how dirty my legs got from trail dust:
I got back around 
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