We know the drive to Yosemite will take around 4 hours and we want to set off early so that we can get a walk in thisafternoon. We wake early, before our alarm, and pack the car. Even though it is only the two of us going the car is laden with camping gear; chairs, cooking equipment, coolers, roll mats, wood and then our personal stuff too. The last time we went camping we were going for the minimal approach as everything we take will be carried on our backs as we walk, so this is something quite different for us - middle-class camping.
The drive takes us through some towns that were near the heart of the gold rush, including a cute little place called Dry Town. We would love to stop for a drink but press on. The road climbs steeply as we approach the edge of the park but the car is happy with the incline and Scotty is happy with the hairpin turns. Reaching the plateau before the park we stop for an early lunch that we hope will fill us up before we walk. Fill us up it certainly does and Scotty has to have a take-out box!
When we get into the park we stop first at our campsite, Hodgedown Meadows. We unload our food and toiletries into the Bear Box for our site, but leave the tent and other gear in the car. Our rationale is that we want to keep our food stored here, because all food and anything with a scent (including toiletries) must be in a Bear Box when unattended, so that bears don’t rip into your tent or car. These Bear Boxes are great inventions with a few cunning levers and latches that let you in, but are a step too far for a bear.
We drive about another hour almost to the Trail Head for our first walk of the break. This is a hike from Tioga Road to a view of Half Dome from the North Dome. It’s just lovely to be out in the outdoors and we enjoy skipping over the little streams that cross this route.
The first part of the walk is in a wooded area and the path is clear and easy to follow. Lesley describes it as a “flat” walk and while it doesn’t gain or lose much altitude there are some small climbs and falls as the path winds around this outcrop.
Half way along the route I have a moment of madness and get convinced we are at a different point in the path. The point I think we are at is where the path splits and so we spend time trying to find the split yet can’t see any other path. Instead of following the path that we can clearly see we go off trail for a bit and end up cutting across and meeting the path again after a fair bit of scrabbling in rough ground up a steep bank. It adds a bit onto our walk and is a frustrating mistake so I decide it’s better to not have the map out at all and rely on the path and signs, rather than my map-reading skills.
The path soon changes to be wider and more open as the land underfoot is becoming rockier and less vegetated. This is nicer to hike in with the wider path and the views start, but without the tress to shade us it is hot and hard work walking in the heat of the day. We have a drink of water and snack on the trail mix we made up from mixed nuts and dried fruit bought at the farmer’s market in Sac.
We end the hike with a lovely view of Half Dome and stop for a while to take some photos.
Our hike back is quicker than the way out but slow enough for us to spot our first exciting bit of wildlife in a chipmunk, a consequently put the camera to the test by seeing what quality we can get from about 50 metres away. Over the next few days we find that these are commonplace and can be quite tame. But this guy hasn’t been domesticated and so doesn’t come towards us after food, but busies himself looking for his own.
The drive back is a really twisty road, and either the water we're drinking is bad, the trail mix is bad, or Scott has successfully given himself car sickness. Whatever the answer, the drive back takes a while as we stop occasionally for 'a breath of fresh air'!
Back at the campsite we pitch the tent together before dividing our energies. Thankfully there is a picture of the erected tent on the bag – and so we have an idea of what we are working towards which is something we didn’t have with our old tent in the UK which was bought at a car boot sale on the A3. With the tent up I do homely things such as getting the tent set up with roll mats, sleeping bags, I also get out our torches, fold-out chairs and our borrowed fleece jackets for later. Meanwhile Scotty is working on keeping the fire going using the wood we bought at the gas station and some smaller twigs we’ve just picked up around the campsite for kindling.
For dinner tonight is steak (as it was on offer at Winco and we couldn’t think of anything simpler to cook on a grill). Whilst Laura and Aaron seem to have most things in their camping box (portable mp3 player speakers, tea towels, French press, sizzle grill) Scott is forced to improvise using the bottom of a frying pan to tenderise the meat as their box sadly lacks a tenderising mallet.
We listen to some music as we eat and the sun well and truly goes down. The night ends in true camping tradition with toasted marshmallows.
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