trivial trekking

Today’s high: Getting a really sweet note from a friend.

Today’s low: My aching calves.

I went to Yosemite this weekend with my friend Vanessa. It was great fun, other than the fact that I barely slept because it was so cold in our tent. Well, it was cold outside our tent, too.

Yesterday we hiked up to the top of Yosemite Falls which has an amazing view of the valley. It’s not a super long hike (7 miles round trip). But, it is a bit strenuous, at least for me. The first mile of the trail has a 1,000 foot elevation gain, and 60 switchbacks (according to the park ranger at the visitor’s center.) That is a big elevation gain, and my calves and quads certainly felt it, and feel it even more today. But it was all worth it. I wish I had my pictures developed so that I could share the amazing view with you all.

Can I just say that I love my friend Vanessa? She is a lot of fun, and also enjoys the same dumb things that I do. Who else will play National Geographic trivia with me while we are hiking? Or play National Geographic trivia for 15 minutes until the man at the exit gate gets off work (so that we don’t have to pay the entrance fee)? Or play the dictionary game on the drive home? She reads a word (while I am driving in dense fog)…and I see if I know the definition. (You can also play that game without the dense fog). Who else will read “The Man from Snowy River” out loud while we are sitting around the campsite and before we go to sleep? I think I put her to sleep with my reading the first night, and she put me to sleep the second night. Who else gets so excited about the “attic” in their tent? I love her tent, for the record. And who else will got to Yosemite with me and camp in 30 degree weather on the spur of the moment?

Maybe tomorrow I will share more Yosemite moments and have visuals to go with them.