Saturday 7th October - day 18.
Lake Tahoe to Yosemite National Park.
Up at 7am after a very cold night and frost on the grass outside to prove it! After hot drinks and a quick wander by Walker Canyon Creek, we made an early start south for Yosemite National Park. As usual, scenery was wonderful, not least Mono Lake.
On a whim, we stopped at Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Centre - mainly because the building looked cool and it had
beautiful views over Mono volcanic lake. This lake is unusual - 10% salinity, with strange little conical rocks called tufas that grew from underwater springs emitting water rich in calcium carbonate that form deposits as they rose into the lake.
I entered the very smart building and cheerily approached Curt the Ranger, smiling and wearing the usual crisp Rangers uniform. I innocently asked about campsites and day walks in the park. He didn’t quite laugh in my face but made no bones about the fact that we had probably chosen the busiest weekend of the year to visit - fall being the most comfortable season for hiking in California, today being a Saturday, this being a holiday weekend, today’s weather being particularly fine - we could expect 2 hour tail backs on the roads around Yosemite village, and to be in the company of 50,000 ‘new friends’ whilst exploring the park, and all the campsites had been fully occupied since Thursday.....However, something in my crushed and woebegone expression, and the arrival of Bill and Chris must have appealed to his better nature as he then began to help us construct a solution to the problem - which car parks would avoid the crowds, which trails were less well known whilst still offering a challenging hike with stunning scenery and where to camp in our RV for free, just outside the Park entrance! He also recommended a dawn attack on the trails near the village tomorrow morning.
Armed with our plan, we set forth into the park, past the unnaturally cheerful ranger at the entrance gate and on to Tenaya Lake South car park and the Sunrise Lakes Trail towards Clouds Rest. Once parked next to the beautiful clear blue lake we cooked breakfast and prepared for our hike. The views just from the lake were astounding, before we had even started the hike!
The Clouds Rest Trail is 21.1 km long with a height gain of 1250m. We hiked the first section through a glorious pine forest and were soon walking on our own. Between the trees, we saw glimpses of the magnificent rock structures around us and gradually climbed up to the top of the first section at Sunrise lakes, walked steeply downhill and then started the steep ascent to Clouds Rest. By now the trail was very quiet and the scenery magnificent. As Curt had promised, there were no crowds - just a handful of other hikers.
We had great views across the surrounding mountains and rockfaces. The last section was steep and rocky, almost a scramble along a narrow ridge with astonishing views falling away on either side.
At the summit we sat and ate our picnic. The views surrounded us on 360 degrees. From the smooth rocks we took photograph after photograph of the surrounding summits of half dome and other peaks, and gazed down into the valleys far below.
Chris set off to trail run further on as we set off to hike back down to the lake.
By this time there were even fewer people around. The sunlight was warm and gentle, the forest was quiet and we heard birdsong, see deer and grouse and ground squirrels scampering between the tree roots. We watched the sun slowly set as we descended from the mountain.
Back at the lake, it was almost dark, we tramped along, stepping over shadowy rocks and tree roots. After getting lost in the trees we have to cross a stream using a precarious series of head torches illuminated stepping stones but then we are back at home in our cosy warm RV.
Although the sun had set, we could still see our surroundings and so set off to drive along the scenic Tioga Road towards tonight’s free camping on the west border of the park. When it was dark we drove down to Yosemite Creek to park up and wait for the moon to ride. Next to the Creek was a fire pit. Brilliant! After a three-man scout around for firewood and fir cones the boys soon had a magnificent blaze going. We had a large bin of water from the creek on standby, and we were prepared for the imminent arrival of a park ranger to query our use of the day camping area after dark, and the dramatic size of our camp fire!
We soon had embers ready for cooking and had steaks, corncobs and sweet potatoes sizzling on the griddle on top. It was the most delicious supper, marred only by my nagging concern that amongst the shadowy fir trees surrounding us were a pack of bears, appreciating the smells wagering from our barbecue!!
At 9pm we finished supper, thoroughly doused and extinguished the fire and set off for Evergreen Road, just outside the western park gate. Curt the famous ranger had told us that we could camp overnight in our RV anywhere along this road ‘between the cattle grids’. We drove along the road for about five miles, and finally went over a cattle grid. We then looked for somewhere safe to pull over and found a wide pull in - which we shared with several large cattle, complete with horns and cowbells, which jongled merrily all night.