Yosemite
In a stroke of magnificent timing I arrived at the Tuolumne Meadows store and post office about one hour before it opened for the season this morning. Soon I was eating bananas and ice cream with about ten other hikers out front, celebrating our arrival at Yosemite, and, by the time I’d fetched three resupply packages, mailed one out (their first outgoing parcel of 2011), and munched many rounds of junk food, six hours had passed.
I finally burped and farted my way out of there, swaying under a heavy load with a week before my next stop, blissfully happy. After an easy 15-mile day, I’m now camped by the Tuolumne River with a bunch of other hikers, six million mosquitoes, and – according to the rangers – a problematic mama bear, so it’s bound to be an interesting night.
Amazing – the same day, Allison and I made a quick drive through the park, our first, while driving north after visiting friends in Porterville! While you were enjoying ice cream with a few million mosquitoes, we were enjoying the views of the valley with a few thousand other tourists. Hopefully, the hiking gets easier as you get further north. Have really enjoyed reading your blog! And hopefully you get your Leicas back!
They say if you come across a pile left by a bear, It’s from a Brown Bear if it’s full of berries and such, while the Piles that smell like Pepper Spray and are full of Hiker’s shoe bells are left by a Black bear. :) (Stay safe, and keep your energy up so you can run faster than the other hikers around at the time)