Hit up Monterey w/Router. Him and his dad dropped me off downtown Carmel and I walked around for a few hours checking out the shops, art galleries (love Godard and Walfrido!), grabbed some fish & chips at A.W. Shucks Oyster & Cocktail Bar, and lounged at the beach. They picked me up and we went to one wine tasting room for a quick stop. Since all the other wineries were closed, we headed to Bernardus Lounge. I got a Muscado (my favorite wine these days) and Booker’s Bourbon on the rocks (my latest trend with whiskey). Afterward, we dropped off his dad at a restaurant to meet his friends and we headed back the bay area. It was a really nice, fun, and quick get away from the bay.

Sunday, 7/18:

Met up and hung out with Yosemite #1 downtown SF. We grabbed lunch and drinks at Palomino’s, hung around Yerba Buena gardens for music and dancing and caught the Cyrus movie in the evening. Afterward, we headed to the Mission to meet up with his Oakland friends for dinner at a Thai restaurant. After dinner we walked across the street to Kilowatt, grabbed drinks, played pool, and chatted up the night! Headed back home on the last BART. ‘Twas a fun Sunday night!

Tuesday, 7/20:

Short 6.5 mile hike at Sweeney Ridge trail with Yosemite #2 then to BF’s birthday dinner in Oakland and drinks thereafter. ‘Twas a mellow but fun, in-good-company night.

Thursday, 7/22:

Hit up Pinnacles National Monument with Yosemite #2. Hiked the High Peaks – Bear Gulch loop. This took us from 10-5 or so. We stopped quite frequently as it was nearly 100 degrees, 1,400 elevation gain and 6.7 miles. Got lots of sun. The caves were cool, literally — and it’s fairly family friendly with rails and steps the whole way through.

Sunday, 7/25:

Hit up Big Sur with Yosemite #2 and hiked the Valley View and Pfeiffer Falls trails at 450 ft elevation gain and 2.4 miles. It was a short, easy and relaxing hike. Thereafter, we visited the Mcway Falls which is a waterfall that hits the beach. It was neat, but there were so many people there. Y#2 said he wanted to climb down to the beach. I said I’m afraid of heights! Grabbed dinner at Little Napoli Bistro Italiano in Carmel. Wouldn’t really recommend it, but decent atmosphere nonetheless. Headed to our lodging in Salinas (Courtyard Marriott) and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Monday, 7/26:

Hit up Pinnacles again and hiked Old Pinnacles Trail to Balconies Cave (6.3 miles). It was a slow paced, easy hike with minimal elevation gain. The caves were much more fascinating than the Bear Gulch, for the sole fact that there are no railings or steps (non-family friendly). Also, traversing through them without a guide and just a flashlight makes anyone feel like an explorer! We took some photos along the Balconies Cliffs trail and caught sight of some rock climbers. It was fascinating to watch! We left the park around 5 and returned to the bay area.

A few of my photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pipsyrules/sets/72157624517618188/

Though LL took some amazing photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/wheezy/Yosemite2010#

Tuesday, 7/13:

• Bridalveil Falls

On our way to Bridal Falls

• Mirror Lake

Wednesday, 7/14:

• Woke up around 5:45am, grabbed breakfast at 6am, left for the park at 6:30am, and arrived around 7:45am.
• Walked from Parking lot C to Camp 4.
• Hiked from the base of Camp 4 to Upper Yosemite Falls. We started around 9:30am and didn’t make it to the top until 2pm. MP was feeling nauseous from the elevation gain, so we stopped several times. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel affected (though it wasn’t until we were descending that it actually started making me feel dizzy!). MP has said for us to continue going on to the top without her and we’d catch up with her on our way down. Halfway through the hike I had ran out of water, and then LL did too. Luckily we ran into someone (from Foster City!) that had a filtration system. What a lifesaver! When we got to the top, we were stunned by the beauty of the running stream that flows over the edge of the mountain and becomes the waterfall! I had told LL we should cross the stream to get to the other side (since there was no real way to climb down the rocks onto the side where there few people). She crossed immediately, but then I started to have doubts as the rock was slippery! A guy from the side that I wanted to get to actually came out and helped me across! There were 3 guys that we ended up talking to, all from Israel. One of them goes to school in San Diego for Architecture now. He lent me his towel so I could change into my bathing suit. How nice! The 3 guys said they had actually walked all the way around the water to get to that side but what we had done was much easier and faster.  MP came up and crossed to our side and LL and MP went further up the stream to sit in the water. I hung out and laid flat on my back in the icy, cold water and also dunked my face in first. It was soooo refreshing!

Refreshing mountain water!

• Lot’s of other people started to cross the water once we had done so…we tend to start trends!  :) We hung out around the top for a good hour and a half.

Upper Yosemite Falls

• Too bad we didn’t have more time, like half a day left…  We crossed back through the water, and the guy who originally lent me his hand, assisted again. Then his friend, who goes to San Diego ends up crossing too and asks me for my number! Anyway, LL and I check out the overlook point and then the three of us girls head down the mountain. When we got to the ground floor, we were relieved and overjoyed. Nothing like good ‘ole flat land! We walked to the market to pick up drinks and relax for a bit. While we were relaxing on the bench outside the market, we noticed the same dog we walked passed (while walking to the market) waiting for it’s owner outside. We wanted to know what it was, so once the owner came out, I sprang up and asked him. From there, we got into a conversation of his dog, a Napoleon Mastiff, where he’s from, rock climbing, where we’re staying/where he’s living, what we do for a living, and national parks. The girls left me by myself to converse with the dude. Lot’s of people came up to ask to pet his dog, in which they did. While that happened, I grabbed my phone, quickly trying to think of how to ask him for his contact info. When I got back to him, he turns around and says, “Oh, and I should give you my contact information in case you’re in the area again.” That SAVED ME from asking him!  Whew!  I would have sounded all blubbery! Anyway, it was quite surreal. I was all scrubby, sweaty, dirt dirty with an orange bandanna in my hair, hiked up socks, wallet items bulging out of my breast pocket. God, I was a mess! But strangely, he was okay with that! Anyway, it was a good day! Two phone numbers without trying! Ohhh, keep the outdoorsy guys coming!

Thursday, 7/15:

• Picked up breakfast at the lodge, headed out of Oakhurst and made stops in Merced (3 boutique shops), Turlock (Sonic), and the Tracy (outlets — absolutely nothing there). It was kind of an uneventful day, but relaxing. I dropped off the girls at their houses around 2pm and was exhausted when I got home. Ended up going to sleep around 8pm!

I can’t wait to go back to Yosemite…I really want to do the four mile trail, nevada trail, and vernal falls trail!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

• San Ramon to Coalinga (Harris Ranch for lunch) – Harris Ranch is the quality beef that’s sold in Costco’s, apparently. Smelled the worse cows I have ever smelled! Beautiful lodge and place to stay if you’re ever in the area.
• Coalinga to Las Vegas (Outdoor World and Buffet dinner) – Outdoor World is like an indoor amusement park for all ages, but they sell stuff, and you can’t ride rides. They have a huge floor to ceiling aquarium — the most spectacular I’ve ever seen. Super clean and captivating! Our buffet dinner was excellent and fresh. Usually I dislike buffets because the food is god-awful, but this one hotel/casino connected to Outdoor World was yummy.
• Las Vegas to Springdale, Utah (Cable Mountain Lodge situated in Zion National Park) – It was a long day of driving and we arrived at Cable Mountain Lodge, which had a master bedroom, wall-unit, sleeper sofa, good-sized bathroom, full kitchen, and balcony that was quite the luxury comfort zone for the four of us.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

• About 8am my aunt and I took a morning walk through downtown Springdale. Cute and quaint for a couple of miles.
• We returned about 2 hours later and decided to take a dip in the swimming pool.
• Ate lunch at Sol Cafe and headed to the park entrance to take the shuttle to Temple of Sinawava.
• From Temple of Sinawava, we hiked the trail until we reached the River Walk. The River Walk is 2 miles roundtrip and 70% water. Some parts of the river were above waist deep!
• After the River Walk we headed down to the Emerald Pools trails (upper and lower). This tacked on about another 3 miles roundtrip with an ascent of 350ft to the Upper pools. The pools were not very amazing, but the walls of the canyon were very grandiose, just like the rest of Zion.
• After 6 hours of hiking we went to Pizza and Noodles where we finished our dinners clean! BBQ chicken pizza = enough to eat two days in a row…
• See below for a few photos of Zion National Park’s huuuuuuuge walls/rock formations:
• 

  Beautiful Zion Walls

  

  Moon in Zion

Monday, September 28, 2009

• Drove to Bryce Canyon, but had stopped off for breakfast at Thunderbird. My uncle ordered a ham and got 1lb of it! O_o
• Arrived at Bryce Canyon and had 4 hours of hiking the viewpoints and the Sunrise trail -> Queen’s trail -> Sunset Trail (320 ft elev. desc/asc at 8k ft).
• Most amazing scenery (favorite)! See below for some photos and check out my Flickr for the rest:

• 

  Hoodoos

  

  Canyon Trees

• 

  Bottom of Queen's Trail

• Later that night we ended up going back to Pizza and Noodles and then swam some laps in the pool and hopped into the jacuzzi for some relaxation!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

• 4 hr hike/5 miles Angels Landing at Zion National Park. 1,448ft elevation gain starting at approx 7kft. Second most mentally challenging thing I’ve ever done in my entire life — mostly because I’m afraid of heights. The ascent was scary and I froze a few times as there isn’t anything but a chain and the edge of the cliff. And the climb is only as wide as one person in the final ascent. Here’s where most people either turn back or continue on in the distance to the very top (you can see some people in red near a tree, bottom right corner):

Ascent

• Coming down was no problem. I guess it’s because it’s the “bigger perspective” type of thing. Although, the steepness killed my knees. I think I’m gonna have to be one of those people that carries trekking poles! I felt most accomplished afterward. My photography skills are lacking, but we basically started at the very bottom where all the green is:

Angels Landing

• Late lunch at Oscars Cafe
• Pool & Jacuzzi laps and relaxing
• Time Traveller’s Wife on the huge IMAX!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

• Drove to the Grand Canyon from Zion National Park.
• Tried hiking the Grandview trail but failed because the path is all rubble, unmaintained and steep and slippery like Angels Landing, but worse!
• Hiked 2 miles along the rim and watched the sunset.
• Had dinner at some lodge in the Grand Canyon that took forever to get our food!
• We drove through Hoover Dam at night and ended up at the Rio in Las Vegas where suites were only $55! I had a whole room to myself.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

• Had a nice buffet breakfast in Las Vegas, won $310.36 on Wheel of Fortune within 5-10 minutes (with a $20), then drove to Death Valley National Park!
• Hit up Dantes Point, the badlands, and a surreal 3 mile hike in the desert dunes.
• Desert Dunes were amazing. It’s not everyday you get to say you walk in Death Valley, let alone, climb the dunes! See my Flickr for more dune photos.
• 

  Jumping the dunes

  

  Traversing

• Watched the sunset in Death Valley and then headed off to Visalia for the night.

Friday, October 2, 2009

• Breakfast in Visalia and drove to Sequoia & Kings National Park.

• 

  Sequoia Tree

• Hiked 5 miles to hanging rock and Moro rock.
• Dinner at Fugazzi in Visalia, sipping a refreshing nectarine sangria to end our trip!
• Drove back home and stopped along the way at another Outdoor World!

Overall, the trip was most enjoyable and relaxing and got me in the hiking spirit. The only slow day was Grand Canyon because all of us didn’t get to hike as much as we wanted to. But thereafter, we made sure we worked ourselves!

Next stop — Glaciers and Yosemite!

No contest.

“zOMG.

I’m here.

I made it.”

Twas so surreal…

8:17am – 1:30pm, all by myself.

I was getting a bit loopy half-way up the mountain.

But it whipped me into shape, real good.

• These are the places we hiked to on Saturday and Sunday.
• [flickr video=2780035271 show_info=true w=260 h=195]
• [flickr video=2780891778 show_info=true w=260 h=195]
• Approx 21km to Upper Pierce Lake w/an elevation gain of 1350m and an average grade of 12.9%.
• Photos and descriptions about Mt. McFarlane.
• Chilliwack Hiking Map – Pierce Lake and Mt. McFarlane

Passed by a few different pleasant scents while hiking the strenuous mountain:

• Near the waterfall – sweet water like cotton candy (faint warm fragrance)
• Near the muddy wood – sweet wood with shaved ice

Milestones:

• Crossing the tree trunk and slipping one whole foot in the water.
• Crossing the tree trunk and falling — immersed in water, wedged between tree trunks.
• Sinking both my shoes in wet mud.

Talking to myself:

• Go. Breathe. Challenge yourself.
• Relax. Breathe. Cause you’re almost there (and I never was).
• 11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30!

Annoyances hiking up:

• Thinking I had heard voices near the waterfalls.  But it must have been what I wanted to hear — several times.
• No concept of how much further the “destination” would be.
• Steep inclination was never ending…
• …and when it started going downhill, all I thought was, “Damnit, I have to go down, just to go up again!”
• Swarming slow flies buzzing around.  Bothersome even more when I wanted to take a rest.  Yay for bandanas.
• Some parts of the “trail” were only enough for one foot to pass, as the side of the mountain was ready for you to tumble.  Me and my lazy legs would often trip up.  Super scary.
• Climbing over tree logs on the side of the mountain was a bit frightening.  Also just climbing over the tree logs was a bit more of a challenge for me than other people because I’m so god damn short.

Things I know about myself:

• I’m not a socializer when I’m being challenged mentally and physically.  It requires effort that I can’t commit.
• I’m amused by “shiny little objects,” so to speak.  A variety of different looking mushrooms caught my eye along the way.
• I get nauseus at 1800 elevation.
• I could never live in the wilderness alone.  I’d go mad.

Things I thought were cool:

• Filling up water through the running water in the ground and hoping I didn’t get sick.  A sort of “natural filtration” system, as opposed to using the Katadine.  The water was super cold, pretty clear (with minuscule dirt specks), and had no taste.  It was so refreshing.
• The 43 something people that made it to the campsite.
• Impressed with how fit everyone is and how much energy the boys have.  They go 5x as fast as the girls, taking bigger strides, and running down steep grades with the fear at all.  Never met such an elite crew.
• Tree planters and people with trade skills.
• Talented hippie musicians with no baggage nor drama.
• A positive, friendly, and open environment.
• Building a civilization in the woods.  We had a community (a little over 20 tents), whether anyone wanted to be part of it or not.  It was there.  We had neighbors that looked out for us.  “Your tent is wide open.” – John.  We had “intricate” paths that we would take to get to our tent.  We had built a loo made of a hole, two weight-thinga-ma-bobs, and a wood plank.  We formed queues to use it, or ran up the hill and squatted.    We had a cleansing area with bio-degradable shampoo, conditioner, and soap.  And we also had a common hang out spot where people became “people loggers” down by the lake, sitting on a huge log.
• Helicoptered the food up (but not back…).
• Dinner the first night was like gourmet food: quinoa, potato salad w/garlic, olive oil, and spinach, a mixed greens salad w/blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries, hot dogs, veggie patties, appetizers of hommus and veggies, and salsa and chips, lemon squares, and chocolate cake for desserts.  Dinner the second night consisted of: salmon steaks, veggie salad, yukon potatoes, veggie curry, and some kind of soup that I didn’t get to taste.
• Watching some of the Canadians slide down the snow on the side of Mt. McFarlane.  Crazy!
• Collecting a couple rocks w/quartz.
• Meadow of flowers
• I lost 5lbs and gained hella muscle mass!

Things I’ve learned:

• Going downhill is harder because at least with uphill, I get to choose when I want to stop.
• Wet socks and shoes makes for terrible trekking, an hour and a half downhill.
• The hike is harder than what PK had said it would be.  No one expected it to be that challenging, even for the tree planters.
• Canadians really do put “hey” and “eh” at the end of their questions.  They also like to put “man” at the end, whether you’re a guy or girl.  They also have that Canadian accent.  Their “O’s” are similar, but less pronounced than how Minnesotan’s pronounce it.
• I could survive off fruits and vegetables in the wilderness.

Things I will never forget: the talented musicians/fit people, the hikes, and the lifestyle.

Bottom Line: It was an experience of a lifetime.