We awoke early in the morning in the small cabin in Lee Vining. Enjoyed hot showers in the cramped bathroom, knowing this would be our last chance for a couple of days. Setting out, we made our way through the town and stopped at a small restaurant for a hearty breakfast. Time was on our side this morning, since technically this was supposed to be another travel day. We had only a short drive over the Tioga Pass road and we were in Yosemite National Park, maybe 45 minutes from where we sat. Had a good pancake breakfast and noted the people sitting amongst us. Definitely some outdoor type folks present, the clothes are a dead giveaway. Drab colors of brown's and greens and hardly a cotton stitch on, mostly synthetic type hiking gear.
Soon we were on the road again, pulling off the main highway and onto Tioga Pass road. We ascended sharply, realizing that we had to climb 4000 feet or so to over 10,000 feet over the pass and into the park. The scenery was wild and the road did not disappoint. We were thick into the Sierra Nevada mountains, with its sharp granite and snow covered peaks and alpine vegetation. Having driven many dangerous roads so far on the trip, the pass was easier than expected, though going east to west over the pass we were on the mountain side. The other side of the road looked down-right frightening, since there was no guard-rail, and a straight drop off of a few thousand feet.
We arrived in the long line of vehicles, waiting to gain entrance to the park. While sitting there, we noticed our surroundings. High mountain peaks and small lakes were all around us. It was picturesque to say the least. Finally we showed our pass to the ranger, and continued on into the park, following the Tioga Pass road. Yosemite is set up quite differently from Yellowstone National Park, and dare I say, less efficient. There is one main road that splits the park apart, and another road that loops down into Yosemite valley, the main and most frequented section of the park. (Click here
here to see a map of the park.) Heather was responsible for the majority of our Yosemite research, as I was responsible for Yellowstone. She picked out some great hikes, but most were further west, and in the Yosemite valley. Since we had the time, we could embark on a short hike on the eastern side of the park. We decided on the Lembert Dome hike for our impromptu adventure. Lembert Dome is one of the many dome hikes that are in the park. The domes are actually rock formations that have been shaped by years of erosion and glacial carving. The most famous dome in the park is Half-Dome down in Yosemite valley. However, we had no interest in risking life and limb on this trip, since Half-Dome is one of the most grueling and dangerous hikes in the park.
Arriving at the very busy trail-head, we prepared ourselves for our hike. It was a rather warm day, and the forecast called for clear, sunny skies for our entire stay at the park. In our haste to get hiking, ok MY haste, I failed to really check the map and read about this particular hike. I did however, set a GPS waypoint at the trailhead, and I am glad I did. The trail, had I checked the map thoroughly, went straight north and then east around the dome, passing by Dog lake, a fairly scant 1.5 miles to the summit. We set off north but quickly turned east following a trail going towards the base of the dome. This looked like just a herd trail, had we paid attention we should have realized this was not a marked, regular trail. We continued on what seemed like a trail going further east, and then the trees started to get thicker and any noticeable remnants of a trail were no longer. We stopped and contemplated our options. Behind us were a group of women, that seemed to be half-heartedly following us. We chatted for a bit and discussed the "trail" and they decided to head back and find the main trail. The smart and safe thing for us to do, was to turn around and retrace our steps. We knew that eventually, if we continued along the base of the dome, we should run into the regular trail. The road less traveled can make for quite the adventure though, and we thought, why not.
The woods became thick and we had to hop over many trees to continue onwards. I checked the GPS and could see we were heading in the right direction. At one point, a deer bolted out right next to us from some underbrush, giving us quite a start. Suddenly, I remembered we were in black bear country. Bushwacking like this, we were very likely to stumble upon a bear, trying to sleep the heat of the day away, far from people. We then proceeded to make sure and give a couple of "HEY BEAR!" shouts, when we could not see ahead. Eventually we connected with the main trail, emerging from the bushes like we were military snipers. At that moment the group of women we saw earlier were just a short way down the trail. They couldn't believe that we actually made it ahead of them. We looked like true outdoors-people I am sure, or reckless and foolish, take your pick.
We summit-ed the dome and marveled in the view surrounding us. There were a few other hiking groups enjoying the summit, but we didn't linger long enough to really chat with them. We descended down and followed the "proper" trail out. We passed by Dog Lake and stopped to feel the water and enjoy a quick rest and a snack, before continuing back to the trailhead.
Feeling quite accomplished after our hike we continued west along the Tioga Pass road. We had to traverse most of the park, almost too its western edge, to reach our campsite for the evening. There was a steady stream of traffic along the road and it was slow going, our patience was tested numerous times. We stopped at a couple of scenic lookout spots on our way. Most notably was Olmsted Point, which gave us our first view of "the valley" and Tenaya lake to watch the rock climbers do their thing. Yosemite is just a Mecca for rock climbers, but more on that later.
After about an hour and a 1/2 of driving only 30 miles, we made it to the entrance station of Crane Flat Campground. The ranger was a nice older man and told us that there was a bear running around the premises and giving them trouble, so "Lock your food up" he said, with a chuckle. We both looked at each other and immediately felt a sense of apprehension, but soldiered on. Arriving at our site, we wasted no time moving everything with a scent from the vehicle to the bear locker, while constantly looking around. It was then that we noticed that the site next to us was not a site at all, but a place where they kept a large bear trap. This did not make us feel any better. By the time we setup camp, it was getting later in the day, around 5ish. We decided to eat a quick freeze-dried meal and started gathering kindling for a fire. We had a great fire that night and went to bed quite early. Tonight we would not be disturbed by anything... the next night would be a different story....
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