Sierra Snow White

Waiting 'til the last minute nearly affected us having a wicked cool 4th of July weekend. Not having reserved anything ahead of time, we were taking a huge chance getting the permits we needed to camp along the Lyell Fork to Rafferty Creek trail in Yosemite we were hoping to hike. The suspense grew as we sat sweating in the 100-degree car, backed way up in traffic, waiting to get in the park. When we arrived at the Wilderness Center around 2:00 on Friday, the list of permits said "Full, Full, Full, Full, Full.....ALMOST FULL!" for the one we wanted!

We were super grateful about the permit, and jazzed to finally be out of the car. Everything seemed so lovely, and I saw a cute chubby, fluffy marmot running alongside us through the field (here it is above, having reached it's home). A hummingbird flew right in front of my face, hovering at eye level for a moment before gliding away, and throughout our journey more marmots, chipmunks, etc. continued to prance about. Thinking of all the little woodland creatures that followed her in the movie, I told Patrick I felt like "Sierra" Snow White. :)

The hike started out so flat and relaxed, following a crystal clear creek, and providing the opportunity to chat with other hikers/campers we encountered. But not long past this point, we began the uphill through forest, where we met an onslaught of mosquitoes (in a panic I sprayed my eyes and mouth with bugspray), and we also discovered by checking our GPS that our guidebook seemed to be under-reporting some of the distances to junctions and landmarks. I think we did pretty good- 11 miles in 5 hours including breaktime, despite me not having done backpacking in 2 years- but I was reaching my max as we took the diversion from the trail to Ireland Lake, where we were determined to camp. Just a little bit of sunlight remained, but enough to see it was a gorgeous location, and quite remote too. With the exception of the large jackrabbit that ran past our tent, we thought we were utterly alone, until we saw a headlamp pierce the darkness further down the lake, which was the only sign we ever saw of those campers the entire time we were there.



We were smitten with the scenery outside our tent....until we stepped out of it in the morning. The wind that had kept all the bugs away at night had died and we became feasts once again! After a fresh dose of chemicals, we braved staying stationary long enough to take a picture to preserve the memory of our campsite. Kinda weird how our waists and ankles line up with the lake's edges- gives the photo a slightly odd look.

Onward back to the main trail, but enjoying the sights along the way. We took more breaks and decided we'd set up camp a lot earlier since we knocked out a lot of the hike already the prior afternoon. Thank goodness, since my right knee got strained from all the unaccustomed work, so the easier pace was most welcome.

At the tallest point of our loop hike (just over 10,000 feet)- one of the ridges surrounding us.

Evelyn Lake- it was such a vivid blue!

Around the upcoming bend we followed the lupine & paintbrush-lined trail down to what appears to be a hanging valley where Vogelsang High Sierra Camp sits (people can reserve canvas structures to sleep in and there are nicely kept composting bathrooms, a store and canteen supplied by shipments on mules). 

This was our lunchtime spot at Fletcher Lake, adjacent to Vogelsang. We catnapped under a pine tree and listened to the cascading snowmelt (slightly visible on the right).

We hiked a total of probably another 11-12 miles that day, our goal being to camp just a few miles from the trailhead so we could finish it up quickly in the morning. It was just in time too, since I was nearly in tears that night for the discomfort in my knee and worry I'd not be able to do our day hike up Mt. Dana the next day. But having extra time to camp and rest that night did it a lot of good, and turns out hills worked a totally different part of my leg anyway- it was mostly the extension of my leg on flat ground that seemed to make it flare up. We finished up the last 3 miles in the morning, with time to spare to buy snacks and ice cream at the Tuolomne Meadow store before meeting up with some pals.

Patrick's coworker, Michael, and his wife, Stephanie, joined us on the ascent up Mt. Dana- the second tallest peak in Yosemite. The hike to the top is only 3 miles, but it was very strenuous!

We thought we were making good time- after all, the view was already grand! But boy, were we disillusioned, lol!

About halfway there, although I think the next half took more than 50% the time.

 

Increasingly amazing views kept us motivated to push onward! The trail from this point was steep dirt path covered with chunks of rock, and eventually became boulders you had to stairway up. I did better on the slow but steady feet-dragging part (such as the below left and earlier), but got too low on fuel for stepping up the big rocks quickly (below right), whereas Stephanie found her niche and suddenly rocketed ahead of us!

A whole lotta uphill between the time these two pics were taken! Relatively speaking, the picture to the right is almost to the top (like 80 feet), but I did it at a snail's pace, I was so low on energy at that point.

We made it! 13,053 feet. The view from the backside revealed what seemed like a giant abyss, and further out, Mono Lake.

 

We packed 4 mini victory champagnes as a surprise! Stephanie declined so we gave hers to the other couple at the summit; the man was totally tickled by it and thought we were the coolest. :) Actually, we were all tickled- at that elevation the bubbles were insane. The tiniest pour into our mouths and the champagne just foamed up!

A half hour rest for lunch was enough to get us chilled as the wind began to pick up, so we began a very grueling trip down (torture on our knees by the end of it), since we went slow to watch our footing on the boulders and loose gravel. At least there was enchanting wildlife around to keep our spirits lifted on the descent!

 

 (There is a second deer in the upper left corner.)

Hooray- completion! (It's that hilltop behind me.) The total journey took around 6.5 hours if you count our break at the top; toughest 6-miles I've done (hmm, wait, it may be a tie with the half marathon I recently did- more on that in another post!). My feet were killing me and my right leg is tight after all the activity, but the weekend was certainly worth it. Highlights from the trip home included me eating half a very expensive custom pizza (not allowed to do that under normal circumstances but I decided I earned a little leeway that day!) and seeing the backside of a bear and 2 deer (one had only 1 antler) in a meadow as we drove away from the Tioga Pass area. Gonna be a while before I have a weekend that can top this one. :)

The Professional & the Geek....or the Farmers in the Dell?

Well, we were without internet for a while due to a broken modem and transition to a new plan/carrier, but we're back up and running again! As I alluded to in the last blog, we acquired 2 critters. Patrick's coworker was looking for a new home for his chickens and was giving them, the coop he built, and any leftover feed/supplies away for free. So, somewhat whimsically, we invited him over April 13 to drop them off, eager for some homegrown-egg machines!

 

We renamed them: the brown one is Evee (lays light blue eggs, always pristine) and the other Oreo (most of her bumpy brown ones are punctured, soft-shelled or squashed unfortunately, but egg production does lower at their age), and the first several weeks with them was a bit of an adventure for us. After just a few hours of having them in our possession, Evee jumped on the top of the fence which got the neighbors' dogs in a barking fit. She sort of froze, not sure what to do, balancing precariously with a bunch of predators below. Patrick used a wood beam to reach across the fence toward the front of her to motivate her to turn around, then bumped her lightly in the butt to urge her to flutter back in our yard. We were so grateful to not be apologetically cleaning up bird guts and feathers from our neighbors' pool area, who already we've irritated accidentally a few times in the past.

In general they stay in their coop, but we like to let them out while we're in the yard on evenings or weekends periodically. So a week or two following that ordeal, we employed Google for a wing feather clipping lesson. Since chickens are supposedly in a submissive stupor after they've gone to bed, under the cover of dark Patrick grabbed Oreo while I held the scissors. I did a horrible grooming job, with feathers left in an array of different lengths, but she kept pretty still and quiet! Then we switched roles. Evee squirmed enough that one of her wings came loose from my grip, but we needed it out anyway so that worked out fine! Once I had her in a comfortable hold, she acted like an angel and Patrick sheared the feathers in one swift clean swoop. When I set her down, I actually had to push her butt in the coop enough to close the door because she was still as if in a sleepwalk!

They are stupid and stressful sometimes: eating the soft shelled eggs or breaking good ones- always Oreo's though, I don't know why!; kicking dirt and poop in their water; and making noise in the morning on occasion, which of course sets the dogs off (luckily it's not been as bad since we moved their coop to the other side of the yard after a snide remark from the owner that the chickens woke one of the dogs from a nap, even though the chickens were quiet then.) But we've had some fun observing them too. This video shows them dust-bathing (which helps kill parasites/bugs)- it's totally amusing to see them curl up like cats and rub around in the dirt!

 

Once we got a better handle on the chickens, we finally started work in our garden. We still don't have everything planted though- we're so behind- but luckily prep went a lot quicker from borrowing my coworker's giant rototiller. Patrick had all the beds prepped with approximately a cumulative hour of time. We've made room for fun too, brewing beer periodically and joining our friend and his daughter at a reservoir near our house a couple weeks ago to finally give the kayaks some attention!

 

And particularly fun-filled was our night out on the town this past Monday, May 19. We stayed at a boutique hotel in Berkeley and ate at a brewery across the street called Jupiter, then took BART (rail) to Oakland to watch Nickel Creek's performance at Fox Theatre on their reunion tour.

It was an outright amazing show! The opening act- The Secret Sisters - had a great sound, and then I just spent the rest of the night smiling, batting away tears, shaking off goosebumps, and flattening stood-up hair while they wowed us with amazing picking, strumming, voice harmonies, and even a surprise body-drumming song intro and encore tap dance by the bass player. I can't speak praises enough about the performance!!!

We finished up our 24-hour vacation (two half days off) with breakfast on the alley-patio of the The SunnySide Cafe. It was a nice extraction from work which has been particularly busy/stressful this week and last. Luckily we have a 3-day weekend to further rejuvenate us. So far, so good with a trip to the beer supply store, a couple farmers markets, and a nice lunch at Dustbowl Brewing.

I guess I'll go see what Patrick's up to. Last I knew he was boiling some chicken stock..... not with Evee and Oreo though, although we have threatened them a few times to do so! :-)

Hi, we're actually alive!

Seems like we've been so busy living life the last 2/3 of a year, that we've forgotten to preserve any of it in the blog! We'll have to backtrack sometime to go over what happened in the missing era, like our trip to Europe in February, but for now we'll start by showing you what we've been up to since getting back in the States.

Last winter I borrowed a friend's skis & boots that were 2 sizes too big but, with thick socks, allowed me to inexpensively sample the sport for the first time in ages. We went only twice- once on very tiny hills at Badger Pass in Yosemite which left me feeling very confident despite being an amateur, and second at Kirkwood- a resort for those with a little more hair on their chests. After tumbling continuously down a blue (intermediate) slope and running into a tree on a green (easy) route (the snow was crappy, may I add?!), I was nervous to try again this season, but having acquired my own equipment, we hoped the better fit around my ankles would improve my performance. I stuck to the greens to regain my composure, and after that successful visit, the following weekend I decided to go to the blue that had been my foe last year.
 

Here's the first part of it! (Click on photo to play the video.) I flew down it with only one gentle fall midway (and no falls on the second run!), so I eventually graduated to the back side of the mountain to try a different blue, thinking the snow might be better back there (the weather was pretty warm and made for slushy/cut up conditions). Perhaps an omen of things to come, I started off poorly, by running into and knocking over a sign on my way to the ski lift. Patrick was very patient and helped me the whole way down the hill, which ended up being a very slow, long descent that gave me a few souvenirs: a very sore neck from somersaulting, a softball sized bruise on my tricep, a line of bruising in the shape of a ski across my butt/thigh, and a renewed sense of anxiety for the next trip.

At my Monday workout the next day, I had to support my head with my hands to accomplish some of the exercises (since my neck was too sore to support the weight of it!), but luckily in the days to follow, I was able to recover. For our anniversary that week- March 20- Patrick sent me a lovely bouquet of flowers with a note I will treasure forever. We had a relaxing 1-hour couples massage in Modesto the Saturday following by upgrading a gift certificate, and a delicious a lunch at Mediterranean restaurant where we scored some free baklava- heck yeah!

We had a 3-day weekend for Cesar Chavez day, so we took an afternoon to go to Hite Cove and see the wildflowers in bloom. A couple years ago we posted pictures of the poppy-filled hillsides, if you recall. This year's pics aren't as intense since we dropped in a month earlier (the blooms weren't open wide yet), but there was plenty of beauty around us nonetheless.

For

 

These pods growing off a vine looked so alien! They had tons of spiky protrusions, but being lush and green, they were flexible and soft, not sharp.

 

And these looked like little doilies hanging off a stem.

The weekend of April 5 was quite a busy one. Friday night we had dinner and played assigned roles in a murder mystery dinner our friends in Mariposa hosted. Patrick was Khover T. Ageante, a British businessman, and I was a no-frills journalist from the US named Mary K. Trairie. The stage was set in wartime1940s Paris. The storyline got pretty crazy, but at least we looked cool, calm and collected!

We were super tired since we drove back home late, but were refreshed by morning time for Love Merced, a community cleanup day we've participated in periodically (remember the story of the wasp attack a year and a half ago?- that was Love Merced). The upper right picture isn't of us, but some other comrades that helped in creek cleanup. The mega drought we've had this year meant we could actually get to the creekbed and collect some disgusting stuff there too. But it was still tedious work- my PSA for the day: please don't dump and spread packing peanuts among thorny brambles!

And Sunday, April 6, we decided to get a third and final ski day in. Kirkwood got a big snowfall that week (a lot of ski hills couldn't even open because of the drought, that's why it's the only resort we've hit up), but unfortunately it was soooo slushy because temps were hitting the 60s. I took it very slow and incrementally got down the hills to avoid acrobatics. I mustered up some courage though and told Patrick I didn't want to be a wimp forever just cause of our last visit, so I would attempt the backside hill again. We took an easier route to the lift this time (no signs to knock over!), and luckily on the way up, I noticed a different hill that looked slightly less steep. We decided to check it out (it's the one Patrick is on in the above photo). I just took it nice and slow, a few yards at a time, and had a much less painful experience this time around. It wasn't the most fun skiing conditions, but I feel like I ended on a better foot, which will help me feel less anxious to start up next year!

As some of you know, last weekend we became the owner of two critters, much to our own surprise. More to come on that soon!