It was while camping at this knoll of rest and recuperation that I gathered sixty-five yarrow stalks. This was of course not in Yosemite National Park! It is flagrantly illegal to cut and gather vegetation in any National Park! I would never do that! No. Certainly not! Instead, I teleported to another place when I … Continue reading “The Oracle”
I took very few photos in this next area where I remained for two nights to eat, sleep, and heal. I found the spot quite by accident. I know a human had been there in the last century because I found a small rock on a large boulder out in the open that could only … Continue reading “Magic”
For fit people, two hours is a fast ascent of the official distance of 3.4 miles. It is a mile — without exaggeration — of climbing in that 3.4 miles though. The trail is just about eighty-five percent up! Much of the trail is made of granite steps placed by the Conservation Corps in the … Continue reading “The Yosemite Falls Trail”
I had in mind to recreate the time and place to see that light first hit the tall east face of El Cap. It can be pretty spectacular. You will hear me use the phrase, “where the tripod marks are,” and this is one of those times I hunt for the tripod marks. The first … Continue reading “The Dawn Wall”
“Did you see that tarp?” The woman’s voice is coming from the river! Fuck! I had just stuck my head out to do a solar path check* and saw on my side of the stream, upstream, the head of a blonde woman in a sunhat on one of those heavy plastic canoe, kayak hermaphrodites. Behind … Continue reading “Camp One”
It took less time to live the story than it is taking to write about it! But I’m off to Tuolumne Meadows tomorrow. I have a series of posts that will auto-publish, but at this writing, I have no moderator to approve new people’s comments. I might be out a while! A couple weeks! I … Continue reading “Off To Tuolumne”
The bus dropped me off in the village around eleven in the morning. I had been there, many, many times. I have watched it change and not change over the years. In national parks, the park service is the boss. What you can build, what you can sell, where you can sleep, wash, poop… These … Continue reading “Intermission: The Valley”
“Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System.” I looked it up, finally, after forty years of using the acronym for the busses that go in and out of the park. “The park.” That is how locals refer to Yosemite. Be cool if we could too! I mean, that might save me, like, sixty keystrokes a day over … Continue reading “YARTS”
In Fresno, the bus schedules to get to and from Yosemite are not aligned with the city busses. The first leaves town at 5:30 AM, the second leaves at seven something. I could have called up a rideshare service, but I can eat for a week on twenty bucks, so I thought, “Which is more … Continue reading “Yosemite, Here I Come”
I am back from my Yosemite trip with tons of photos and videos. I have not looked at any of those yet. Today, Saturday, 20 July, I slept until noon. I toss this draft off quickly to get something written. There is more, much more. I am so physically whupped! I am still in recovery … Continue reading “Apotheosis”