I returned to the scene of the crime, the Motel 6 in Ridgecrest. The place where someone helped themselves to my tote of clothes. Not that I wanted to rub salt in a wound mind you, but this filled some needs. I already had their phone number, so it was easy to arrange. Ridgecrest had a church and a Home Depot. I needed some tools and lumber for repairs. It was sunny and 70s there. I needed some comfort conditions. And finally, it was the logical stopping off point for going through Death Valley.

The age of my camper and the dampness of Yosemite caused some sagging in the sleeping bay I use. It’s the larger of the two. The two pieces that make up that deck were pulling apart. So I had to devise a plan to support it better from underneath, and purchase what I needed to accomplish this. The previous owner had built a support that he used because both he and his wife slept in that bay. And they were not small people. But the one he gave me with the camper was at home, up in the rafters of my garage.

So after showering two days in a row (What!), church, having some great Mexican food, and watching a little Elite Eight basketball, I set out across Death Valley to find a spot to fix the camper and get it dry again. And then came my first flat.

Leaving Yosemite is not an easy thing to do.  I told my kids that I felt like it was a privilege to be there, and for me, a place that you could never get too much of.  But I also left feeling worn down both physically and emotionally.  The loss of my phone, the corresponding expense of that, and the mostly rain and cold of the final five days there, left me spent.  Although I still think it was the right decision, abandoning my plan for time in the Tahoe area didn’t help either.  But as I came down out of the mountains, with cold rain still falling and a soggy camper, I retraced my route back to Ridgecrest, CA, and  could feel my body relaxing in the warm afternoon of later that day.

It was always my intention to give a nod to the importance of Yosemite to the climbing community so I will end with that.

Recently a man named Royal Robbins passed away.  He was a well known figure in Yosemite and led the team of three that first summited the face of Half Dome in 1957.  That ascent took five days.  Today, it’s a checklist climb that the current crop of phenoms do for a day.  Ten years after the Robbin’s team, Royal’s wife Liz became the first women to summit the face.  In 1958 the first ascent of “the nose” of El Capitan was done by Warren Harding with a team of three others.  That climb took eleven days and was “watched” by climbers from around the world.  Today you almost can’t believe the records that have been posted and fallen over the years on Yosemite’s iconic climbs.

In the years after World War II climbing was largely a European sport practiced by wealthy adventurers who could afford it.  The rise of climbing in the US had a different path.  All around Yosemite are massive boulders and “bouldering” almost became a sport unto itself.  It made Yosemite not only a place of challenging climbs but a place where people could come and learn.  They put “crash pads” around the boulders so mistakes could be made with little or no consequence.  Established climbers from around the world became their teachers and Yosemite became the climbing Mecca of the US.  An informal climbing school eventually became a formal climbing school that still operates in Half Dome Village.  If you follow this history, there were any number of famous clashes between the Park Rangers and a growing vagabond community of climbers, who would ignore the fourteen day camping limit and flock to the park to set up camp for the climbing season.  Even if climbing is not a specific interest, this marriage of sport and obstacle, as it played out in Yosemite, is a “great read”. (read that, web search) 🙂

This seems like a good place to end the Yosemite chapter.  Climbing and climbers have always been a fascination for me and I’ve watched and read a lot of material about them.  Watching some of the things they do on film sometimes electrifies my whole body.  The strength and nerve that it takes is not something within me, so my fascination has always been from a distance.  I wanted to write something about that piece of the park’s lore.

And lest you think there aren’t people everywhere who are completely oblivious to what’s going on around them, ……….

This is an historic ceremonial lodge that has been on this site for many years.  It was most recently rebuilt in 1997 using all of the traditional methods.  And this last picture was a favorite stop but only open on a limited basis at this point in the season.  It is the Yosemite Branch of the Mariposa County Library.  The only wifi spot in the park (unless you’re staying at one of the lodges) and a very easy on the eyes librarian. 🙂

Logging is a constant in Yosemite.  Not as a commercial enterprise but as a necessary “evil” to control disease and drought damage.  During the week you can hear the chainsaws working.  You can’t imagine how happy the park people have been with all the rain that’s fallen in the last five days.  A couple of times the campground has been a lake so we visitors don’t necessarily share their glee.  Spring runoff helps with drought effects downstream but only good rain helps the forest.

This tree was several hundreds of years old.  I should have placed something on it for scale but the diameter of this stump is about three and a half to four feet.  The dark spots are marks from wedges.

Old school coffee.  No way to use the Keurig here. 🙂  Actually real old school coffee would be boil the grounds in a pot and let them settle to the bottom before pouring.  I’ve had this four cup camping percolator since I was going to the boundary waters as a teen ager.  And I didn’t even drink coffee back then.

Friday, March 24th

Today, the weather is in fact for crap.  I would call the rain suppressing.  After drizzling around for the morning, I decided to make my way down the hill to Mariposa and hang out at the library for awhile.  It’s warm and dry, and my Momma did not raise a fool.  Oh, and did I mention good internet access and cell signal.  I’ve been feeling very disorganized since my phone change.  I did lose some pictures, but luckily some of the more recent ones I’d taken were in my mail which was recovered.  I move the photos from phone to laptop in mail, save them in a folder, and upload them to my site for use in a post.  There’s probably a better way but I don’t know it.  Anyway, I digress.

I did in fact make a change in plan for next week as I think I inkled in an earlier whine.  I am not going from here up to Truckee.  In this case “up” is both north and higher elevation.  The driving in Northern California is getting iffy in the higher elevations.  The day I arrived, they opened the road to the park that comes in from the south.  They closed it again to “chains only” on Wednesday.  My original intent was to wander through Death Valley on the way up to Yosemite.  I think I’ll be wandering through it on the way back down the way I came.  Down being both south and lower.  Read that, warmer and drier.  I am wet and cold, well not right this moment, my stuff is wet and cold, and I am ready for something different.  I have been happy to be “roughing it”, (no electricity, walk to water) in the park for the past eleven or so days.  But a change in “comforts” will be welcome.  I have a battery and a small inverter, so I’ve been able to keep my stuff charged, but otherwise it’s been old school.  It’s been days since I had a shower, and days and days since I had a beer.  But I am totally smiling while I’m writing all of this.  I feel privileged to have been here.

I’m going to stop writing so I can start back to feeling organized.  My In Box is loaded with pics and I have to figure out where I am with all of that.  Forgive me if I repeat some.  Like I said yesterday, I still have loads of Yosemite in the pipeline.

I’m great, truly, but think of me tonight. 🙂  It will be dark, it will be raining or snowing, and it will be cold.  I think everybody should have my life.

The list of people to thank for being able to enjoy Yosemite today is a long one.  Here are just a few.  This is a people list, God of course is His own list.

Talk about your multitasking.  In June of 1864, at the height of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, signed a bill federally protecting two tracks of land, the Mariposa Grove of Sequoias, and Yosemite Valley.  This was due in large part from the lobbying efforts of Galen Clark, who was the first white man to enter the grove of giant Sequoias at the southern end of what is now Yosemite National Park.  This was the first time in history something like this was done.  Yellowstone was the first national park but this was the first designation of protected land.

John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt get the credit for Yosemite eventually becoming a National Park.  They camped together in two different spots, and by the time Teddy left and had spent three days with John Muir, Yosemite National Park was all but a done deal.

Who knew, the Buffalo Soldiers after their service in the west during the Civil War, became the first guardians of the park.  They were sent here without much authority but used creative methods to manage and protect.  The Park Service has some Rangers who are descendants of the Buffalo Soldier Battalion.

The  presence of the Awaneeche People when the park was created did much to shape its care and development.  Maria Labrado was the last Native Awaneeche to live in the park.  She died in 1931.

I’ve spent a lot of time up at the overlook that looks down the valley.  Time spent reading and watching the light and clouds and mist.  This is my favorite light condition so far.  I didn’t edit the image.

And this one is just a tribute and a nod to Ansel Adams.  It’s been tempting to post a lot of black and white shots, but I didn’t want to act like some Ansel wannabe. 🙂

Today is nice so I’m getting back out on the bike.  I hiked up to Vernal Falls this AM.  Tomorrow and Saturday are supposed to be for crap again.  Sunday I’ll be leaving but will still have a lot of Yosemite left in me.

I am well and hope you all are too.