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We arrived in LA to pick up our rental car to begin our great Californian road trip! Having already booked online, we were not expecting any more charges - wow were we wrong. We must have had 'never hired a car before' stamped on our foreheads as we meekly walked upto the lady behind the desk. She spoke what felt like another language - going on about liability insurance, loss and damage, GPS hire etc. Tom, whilst secretly boiling underneath, held his cool while we paid an extra $200 for insurance we had no idea if we needed. The only saving grace was the car. We had bought the economy, cheapest one you could get, but there in front of us was a Hyundai Santa Fe soccer mum 4x4?! Flashpacking to the max!
We had planned and booked to go to Yosemite for a few days, however I had the dates mixed up and found we had 2 nights before our reservation. So, to make the best of the situation we stopped in 2 of the bigger towns on the way called Bakersfield and Fresno. Neither was particularly amazing, but it meant that we got to stay in some nicer hotels for a cheaper price, meaning we could remember what it felt like to sleep in comfy beds and recharge after camp. We also drove through Sequoia National Park which was an incredible first taste of national parks.
On our way to Yosemite, we drove through beautiful orange groves after orange groves, with the gorgeous Sierra Nevada Mountains in the backdrop. This was a change of scene compared to all the cities we visited before working at camp.
Hello Yosemite. What an amazing 3 days we had. The photos to follow will not do it justice and if you have never been. Go now. It's awesome. We checked into Yosemite Bug Rustic Mountain Hostel and were pleasantly surprised how nice the rooms were for dorm rooms! It was a cross between a nice summer camp and centre parks and only a 40min drive to Yosemite hikes. On day 1 we did a short hike to Mirror Lake, but because the summer has been so hot the lake looked more like a puddle! It was nice just to walk among the beautiful cliffs and trees though, without a sound surrounding us except for our footsteps.
On day 2, we hiked Sentinel Dome and Tafts Point trails (8000ft). The views at both of these points were unbelievable, and as we sat at the top of Tafts Point eating lunch it felt pretty unbelievable.
On day 3, with the thighs a bit stiff, we decided to hike to Vernal and Nevada falls. After starting this hike, rather more uphill and strenuous than I imagined, I looked on the map to see that this trail was in fact 'strenuous, steep and long' and one of the harder hikes in Yosemite. As we began to hike up to the second waterfall the incline grew and soon the path was so steep and hard that my legs began to shake. Hot, exhausted, hating and swearing at Tom in my head for making me go, I had a mini paddy and began to cry for about 10 seconds. Tom, in his ever patient way and stifling his giggles, encouraged me to keep going and as we finally approached the top (30mins or so later). This was the most amazing view of Yosemite yet. I totally forgot my legs were shaking, dusty, scraped and that I was out of breath. It was an honest breathtaking moment. Typically, my camera had run out of battery, but Tom took some snaps on his phone. There was even a small rock pool at the tops of the falls that you could swim in, which was much needed after the expedition upto the top!
So after an exhausting day, all we wanted to do was eat dinner, shower and sleep. But oh no, not in a dorm room Louise?! Come on! All the previous guests had moved out and just 1 older man moved in. When we went to bed at 10pm, he was asleep and normal dorm room etiquette/courtesy in life means that we did not turn on the light or make a lot of noise. So as we settled into bed, the door bursts open and a Trek America tour guide and his group come barging in and turn the light on, make a horrendous racket and from the bottom bunk I could feel Tom's annoyance starting to sizzle. Tom politely stated that it was late and could they use flashlights etc. The guide replied rather rudely that they all needed showers and to sort their stuff out so the light would be on for a long while. The guests (all spoilt English girls aged 18-21) proceeded to moan about the room/bunk beds and told Tom 'this is a hostel, what do you expect????!'. After about 10mins, they all left and we finally got to sleep. SO RUDE.
Well we have just arrived in San Francisco (our hostel is very nice, hopefully the others in the room will be too). Will update you on our tales of woe from the City - I'm sure they'll be a few!
Love and miss you all family and friends xxxxx
- comments
Karen Great blog Lou and Tom - but we are feeling angry with you about the Trek America group - I don't know how you kept your temper! So the very long and arduous climb was worth it in the end? The view must have been simply amazing and a beautiful cool pool of water to swim in too! I bet that was so refreshing. Having seen your pics and read your blog, I think Yosemite (or Yotesimy as Nanny calls it) is on our list of places to visit. I saw Sequoia National Park on google and the trees are enormous arent they? Anyway keep up the blogs love you both xxxxx
grandma Page Tom and Louise It is nearly midnight and I am worn out now have almost an empty cottage. Neil came over to shut down computer etc and brought in fish and chips so we have had a nice farewellevening to Ivy Cottage Isn't Yosemite marvellous reading the blog brought back all my memories. Don't know whether they have had a lot of rain tgis year but did you see the Bridal Vale waterfall, when I visited it was magnificent lpts of love grandma xxxxxx, Enjoy San Francisco----------it is lovely
deb glithero brilliant blog,very funny,love it .look forward to hearing whats happening next.love to you both .xx