This trip covered ~700 miles over 3 days & 5 nights (paltry compared to others posted here; johnsonwax and Miss Marvel, you're my heroes).

Firstly, as another EOC member pointed out, some of the photos look like any other nice photo you see. It's one of those things, can't do justice to Yosemite. And give the Canon A520 to any monkey and it'll perform just as well. But I can offer some photos taken by my carpooler, Spot. It won't be difficult to tell his photos from mine.

I picked up Spot and left Sylmar ~11pm Thu, reached Mariposa Groves ~3am. Did not have to slow down for anything except Bambi and mom near the grove. It was pitch black and with my imagination, I started thingking about the movie of that name, hearing noises, and seeing moving trees. We agreed on a 40 min nap before getting ready for our hike. I could just imagine a bear lumbering towards my E, the only thing in the lot, but I must have been tired as I was out shortly after. At 4am, we set out with a small sliver of the moon for a 3.5mile, 1210 ft up hike through the groves to Wawona point (6810'). Spot had his GPS setup, and we stayed on the paved path as we could not afford getting lost. I was convinced I heard an animal tracking us throughout.

We reached the top with time to spare, and spent the time snapping photos, feeding the mosquitoes (who evidently don't normally get such a feast at that hour). I was exhilarated from the exercise and from my delusions of having just evaded a bear; the sunrise tamed me. It was partially obscured by the trees and storm clouds.

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It still felt like another world looking at the giant sequoias in daylight. A resident deer actually strolled towards me, no fear whatsoever. So sad to see imprinted animals.

The Telescope tree wasn't quite what I expected; guess I should have tried it while it was dark.

http://static.flickr.com/70/200442621_ea0914f672_o.jpgI apparently did enjoy the outside view of Telescope tree.

I managed to stay vertical for the Clothes Peg and Califronia Tunnel.
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http://static.flickr.com/66/200443124_f3693f3da3_o.jpg This is what holds these giants upright.

http://static.flickr.com/69/200443023_c057bf6cff_o.jpgAnd finally, the Grizzly Giant. It certainly felt like some ... being ... granted me safe passage thru these groves.

http://static.flickr.com/75/200442808_948223b8d8_o.jpg Just in case you get the impression that Mariposa has nothing but giants.

Sounds like a nice little trip. I haven't been to Yosemite since the early 1990's. I like your sky photos!

My E wanted a Half Dome Hat.
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http://static.flickr.com/73/200307138_f56ce7f559_b.jpg I was trying to Escher-ize Vernal and Nevada.

So I fall asleep trying to take another photo. Anyone want to guess how close I am to the ledge?
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It's no wonder I can't seem to get Half Dome out of my mind.

I have to say, waking up to the Telescope and then Half Dome .... how to you top that? The thunderstorm trapped us inside the E at the Village parking lot. My last nap had me waking up to the view of the Yosemite Falls. I did eventually make it to the lower Yosemite Falls on Sat.
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This trip was not to see how many places I could nap. It was for rafting the Merced, pictured below as it's leaving Vernal.
On Sat, we hoofed it up the Mist trail.
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Last July, a tourist fell in and did nto survive.
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Here's Liberty Cap and Nevada as you're leaving it on the loop. It brings back the heady aroma of donkey dung that littered the trail.
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On Sun, we checked out of our El Portal camp by 8am, and met the rafting company (Zephyr) at Midpines. Took 2.5h because of HW 140 closure. We rafted from Briceburg down to the mandatory portage at the end of the Quarter Mile rapids, beyond which is the North Fork Falls. We did not wear wetsuits (it was so hot, my eyes could feel the heat of the wind), but did wear helmuts. Since we would see some technical Class IV rapids, the guides made us practise quite a few drills. The water level was considered medium (1800 cfs, the thunderstorm the day before upped the numbers), which is the only time you can run the Quarter Mile rapids.

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Our dreadlocked guide, Ben, had 6 years of guide experience. Everyone was cautious but everything went smoothly and we even managed to bump another raft off the rock they were stuck on. So we head into the Quarter Mile. I'd say that it went faster than I could remember. Midway through the series of rapids, we missed an opening in a deeper pool area between 2 rocks. Nobody yelled highside left (as in move to the left to counterbalance the raft as it is pushed up the rock), but I'm sure everyone was thinking it. The lady to my left fell into my lap and took me pretty deep into the river with her. It took a while before we surfaced, but I didn't take in water going in, therefore was not panicking. Fortunately, we did not dump at a true "whitewater" section. I swam towards another raft and the guide, Olga, quickly pulled me in. I barely caught my breath before it felt like 3-4 persons were sitting on top of me as they pulled in several other who had fallen in. Before I knew it, I had hopped back into my raft and we went thru the rest of the Quarter Mile and finally portaged for lunch.
It was then that I discovered that I got a little souvenier from the incident, 3 nail gouges by my left armpit. Didn't even feel it, but looked terrible.

After lunch we got back into the rafts, which had been tossed down the falls. We were towed the rest of the way through the McClure Reservoir before take-out and returning to our vehicles. It was past 6pm by then, and it was 3am before I finally reached home and showered. Oh, and I had my first taste of poison oak as well.

All in all, it was a very packed trip. I've definitely caught some sort of Yosemite bug (besides the river rafting fever I had earlier in the year), but would definitely schedule in more R&R next time. And I'd avoid long-nailed Russian river guides. Kidding. Would not have mattered if I wore something practical with sleeves!

(8/4/06, 8/5/06 Editing)
I added a sequence of rafting photos (moved other photos to previous replies above) that shows how the raft is initially sucked into a rapid and then spit out by the buoyancy. It's really quite a ride. We were pretty uncoordinated (I'm in the blue helmut/red visor). Olga's the silver helmut dame (very bottom). Posison oak update: Steroids do work especially if you catch it early but it suppresses your immune system, so the scrapes took forever to heal.

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Very nice pics... Thank you for sharing.:) Like the nap pic....;-)

Wonderful pix Ferrum. I don't know anyone who gets out and about in the woods like you do! Drive all night, take a cat nap and hike into the wilderness. :) How do you do it? The rafting trip is awesome. Too bad you got gouged in the armpit by Steflana the Russian River Guide. But you do like excitement.

I am happy you didn't break any bones or hurt yourself. We need you in one piece for Tahoe. So you discovered Poison Oak too? Congradulations! Wonderful stuff hey?
Gene got it so bad at Grand Tetons once, that he ended up at the Dr's for treatment. Yeech! Nasty stuff! Intense sunshine and higher elevations really seem to help flare it up. Gene insists that swimming in ocean water works wonders on Poison Oak and Sumac. It has something to do with the salt water or maybe it's psychosomatics. Whatever. He swears by it. Give it a try if it gets worse and all else fails.

Thanks for the positive comments.

Miss Ellie, remember I mentioned that I turned T.rex and almost bit off the head of my carpooler? That's on the trip back which was the longest stretch of time I had to stay awake. I'll be sure to not do that for Tahoe.

LOVE IT!!!!! Beautiful pictures, make me want to go, that's where I'm headed next!!!

katie

Wow, those are great pics! :) Yomesite is also next on my list, after Tahoe, that is... :D:D

Thanks for the positive comments.

Miss Ellie, remember I mentioned that I became T.rex and almost bit off the head of my carpooler? That's on the trip back which was the longest stretch of time I had to stay awake. I'll be sure to not do that for Tahoe.

So the road got the better of you and driving fatigue caused you to wig out on your carpooler.
I understand. Not a problem.
We'll keep you under observation during the drive to Tahoe.
But isn't Bob coming along with you to share the driving chores?
I am sure he'll probably just ignore any outbursts of yours and if you really have a problem we'll give you a chill pill or something.
We'll keep an eye on Bob too! :D

( Bob is Ferrum's avatar)

Too bad you got gouged in the armpit by Steflana the Russian River Guide.

Gene insists that swimming in ocean water works wonders on Poison Oak and Sumac.

It was Olga. Her rafters were afraid of her, ran a tight ship.

I was in the river alot, didn't seem to help. Actually, my knee scrape from the hike on Sat might have gotten worse because of being in the river as well as taking the steroids for the poison oak. So the simple knee scrape starts throbbing with a life of it's own (any body see Requiem for a Dream? The small track mark that leads to amputation?). Yes, yes, I have a runaway imagination.

Before I forget, I'd like to thank Box4Rox for supplying more fodder for my imagination. He told me to look up his old thread "Will the bears eat my E?", that was when he was preparing to hit Half Dome about a year or more ago. I was totally freaked because the bears would smell my dirty little secret (I gobble McD fries while in the driver's seat a little too often).
Box also lent me maps, and various gear that really helped to get organized and execute my crazy trip.

It was Olga. Her rafters were afraid of her, ran a tight ship.

I was in the river alot, didn't seem to help. Actually, my knee scrape from the hike on Sat might have gotten worse because of being in the river as well as taking the steroids for the poison oak. So the simple knee scrape starts throbbing with a life of it's own (any body see Requiem for a Dream? The small track mark that leads to amputation?). Yes, yes, I have a runaway imagination.

Before I forget, I'd like to thank Box4Rox for supplying more fodder for my imagination. He told me to look up his old thread "Will the bears eat my E?", that was when he was preparing to hit Half Dome about a year or more ago. I was totally freaked because the bears would smell my dirty little secret (I gobble McD fries while in the driver's seat a little too often).
Box also lent me maps, and various gear that really helped to get organized and execute my crazy trip.


I got Olga and Steflana mixed up. Perhaps they are sisters.

Yuppers, I feel your pain Melissa. A bad case of Poison Oak can be worse than a combined flea, mosquito, and crabs infestation and spreads like theres no tomorrow. Remember that poor gardener we met in Big Sur at the San Simeon trip? He kept asking us for the time as he had a case of it so bad that he couldn't wear a wrist watch.
Now you see why I am so big on having access to showers while camping.

Natural Remedies: Only the sea water works. Fresh water has no effect at all on Sumac and Poison Oak and might even make it worse. As Lake Tahoe is far away from the Pacific Ocean, caution should be taken when hiking and biking in the woods.

I will miss not having Box4Rox with us at Tahoe. He's the best at organizing and executing crazy trips. None can compare.

Bears may visit us a Tahoe. Not only do they like McDonald's fries but they dig rotten apples too. I spoke with a guy last week who owns 5 acres of ranchland on the other side of Tahoe in the Carson Valley. His place is right up against the mountains. He's got an old apple orchard on his spread and bears will come down at night, invade the orchard and literally gourge themsleves until they puke and then start up all over again.
Signs of up-chucking bears and their calling cards permiate his orchard.
He's careful to not step in the bear vomit too as it's some nasty schit.

On a different note, I think I'm going to announce your great idea of "Breakfast for the Masses" on the Tahoe Roll Call Thread. Hope you don't mind. It will give us a better idea on how many eggs we're gonna need. :D

Great pics . . . Did you get to use the Dry Bag in the raft ? (and did it work ? . . . I forgot to loan you a sling and carabiner to clip it in ? )

I'm typing this from a hotel in Rockford, Il on a house hunting expedition . . . so your pics have a special meaning.


*sigh* :-(

I'm going to miss having the Valley in my home state. Maybe we'll get another Yosemite trip going in '07 ? It will be weird going there without my Element and instead flying in like so many of the other climbers I have met there .

I'll start a new thread . . . "Will the bears eat my Boeing 737 . . . ? " :)

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Beautiful Pics!! I'd love to get out there some day! Can't wait for the weather to cool off a bit out here so I can do some hiking in the Shenandoahs, but that's nothing compared to Yosemite!!

Fantastic shots! Would love to be there right now (and out of DC's 100+ muggy misery)

Kattoon -- This summer we've hiked (and camped) all but one weekend in the Shenandoahs. Load up the Camelback (100 oz), hit the trail by 7:00 and take an extra shirt because you'll need it at places like Hawksbill Summit (4000 feet) to ward off the wind-driven chill.

Love it up there at sunrise. :)

Our favorite summer hikes: Whiteoak Canyon/Cedar Run, Camp Hoover, Rose River, Jeremy's Run, Brown Mt and, of course, the AT.

That photo Box4Rox! Why do you even humor me with my photos? Everytime you post one of yours, it makes me feel like a monkey ... holding the same camera that you have ... :confused:

And how many times have you been up Half Dome?

Yes, dry bag works great. Kept my sunblock and shirt dry, but it does not keep the owner/user dry. Guess that would be expecting too much.

I've just added a few more photos from others who were on the trip (page 1 of this thread). Thought it would be easier to keep them together.

Fantastic shots! Would love to be there right now (and out of DC's 100+ muggy misery)

Kattoon -- This summer we've hiked (and camped) all but one weekend in the Shenandoahs. Load up the Camelback (100 oz), hit the trail by 7:00 and take an extra shirt because you'll need it at places like Hawksbill Summit (4000 feet) to ward off the wind-driven chill.

Love it up there at sunrise. :)

Our favorite summer hikes: Whiteoak Canyon/Cedar Run, Camp Hoover, Rose River, Jeremy's Run, Brown Mt and, of course, the AT.

I'll have to check out a couple of those areas. I've only done a little of hiking at the Shenandoahs. I love hiking the AT (I've mostly done the easy MD routes).

Added more rafting photos to page 1.

Woo Hoo Melissa! Thats some crazy water. Good thing you didn't drown. Which one is Olga?

Added more rafting photos to page 1.
Hey Ferrum,
Are those Keen's on your feet? The "Element" of the shoe world. Great photos! Thanks!

Yosemite is such a great park. Great images and looks like a really fun trip you had. Thanks for sharing!.

Received the high res rafting photos today, so uploaded and edited the order in page 1 again.

Thanks again for sharing that you enjoyed my photos. I love checking out other EOC members' outdoor photos as well, so try to return the favor every so often.

Yup, those are Keens and I love them because they fit my wide feet. No dainty Cinderalla shoes for these hoofs.

That photo Box4Rox! Why do you even humor me with my photos? Everytime you post one of yours, it makes me feel like a monkey ... holding the same camera that you have ... :confused:

And how many times have you been up Half Dome?

. . . .

Haha . . . I don't think the camera matters :)

8 attempts . . . 5 summits. The weather usually dictates your success.

I'm guessing in a few thousand years the ledge I was sitting on (tip of the red arrow) won't be there. If you ever get a chance, go to the bottom Half Dome (a full days hike) and look at the talus pile and you will get a feel for what "ex-exfoliating granite" really is !! :???:

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A couple of shots from 2004.

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Regards,

Thanks for sharing those, they are truly awesome!

I've been having these weird dreams, call me crazy but I think I hear Half Dome calling me ...

8 attempts, 5 summits!

Do you ever get tired of newbies who are all enthusiastic and gungho, and very naive about climbing/mountaineering?