California part 2

Having enjoyed our time spent in San Francisco, we were looking forward to spending some time in Yosemite National Park. The last time I was in California, I was at Alyssa's the evening before heading to Yosemite and her dad Steve got out loads of photos to show me what to expect. Well, this time Steve got out the photo albums and the maps and was equally as enthusiastic about us going to Yosemite. For such a magnificent park, it is a shame that more Californians don't share such a passion for the towering granite structures within its boundaries. I got my hair cut in Ripon on Tuesday and my barber had stayed locally all his life and had never been to Yosemite. A very minor detail, but when you're not used to it - getting your hair cut while not facing the mirror is an odd experience. Not that I didn't trust him; I'm just used to seeing what's going on up there on my head.

Packed up, we set off to Yosemite and upon arrival in the park there were 2 pieces of bad news. Firstly, there were no free campsites within an hours drive. Secondly, the cables had come down for the summit of Half Dome the day before. Having failed to complete the walk last time due to a combination of old and crumbling shoes and a newfound respect for 4000 feet drops, I was really pumped for getting to the top this time. Alas, we hiked a small way up the John Muir Trail to a waterfall and then drove to Glacier Point hoping to see the sunset. By the time we'd got there we were able to see most of the valley features, but by moonlight and not the glow of the sunset. At about 8500 feet, we'd climbed from virtually sea-level; we were going to drop down to about 6000 feet for camping; and our proposed summit the next day was just under 10000 feet. Our bodies were starting to get a bit confused but were glad of Mabel's big engine getting us around effortlessly. Before driving to our campsite, a voice from the dark called out "do you want some cake?" So we rejoiced in free birthday cake courtesy of some kind revellers before driving down to our campsite, not before spotting our 2nd bear of the roadtrip.

Having survived a fairly chiily night and relieved to find that bears hadn't picked open our bear-proof food storage locker we set about the drive to Tenaya Lake at about 8200 feet. The sky was a delightful dark blue, void of any clouds save a few wispy strips high above far-off peaks. Our first 2.5 miles were steep but shaded and by the time we plateau'd we had attained half of our ascent height. The following 5 miles peaked and troughed through wide granite slabs, giant red trees and finished with a pancake-stack of rocks forming a knife edged ridge to the summit at 9925 feet. The sky was still crisp and dark blue giving a great view down to Yosemite Valley and across to Half Dome and Glacier Point. Hiking back down after lunch we were glad of shade as it had been hot at the top. At the bottom was Lake Tenaya, beautifully calm and still and spectacularly cold - perfect for a 10 second swim. On the way back to Ripon we stopped at a previous host family of mine when I coached here in 2007. We surprised them and enjoyed sitting outside in shorts and tshirt after 9pm in mid October - never in Scotland!

Thursday was a fun and relaxed day and we made use of my coaching contacts by going swimming in the Todds pool. That evening we cooked our hosts a Scottish meal of shepherds pie, brussell sprouts and neeps, followed by our somewhat made-up dessert of shortbread and Ambrosia creamed rice with Tetley tea. In search of haggis we had found a Scottish import shop in San Francisco that shut early the day we were there, and in the hunt for oatcakes at Savemart, we were asked if we had just moved here because they could add them to their next order going out! We planned to leave on Friday but were so relaxed and enjoying life in California that we stayed Friday as well, enjoying a great breakfast at Franks and finalising the end-stages of our roadtrip. This was the end of our 7th week travelling and it was also a big day for Duncan - riding in a truck for the 1st time and wearing a full UPS uniform. That evening we had a good home-made burger meal followed by home made apple pie at grandma's 2 doors down the road! We also popped to the cinema to see 'The way life should be' - a fairly easy going storyline with a definite rom-com tag, where I also met David, a guy I'd coached with 2 years ago.

Saturday morning we awoke to the sensational smell of 'Monkey-bread' - mum, if you're reading this, learn how to make it and have it ready for breakfast on Saturday 6th November when I'm back home! Dad will thank you for it too. As a recently graduated nutritionist I can say that there is nothing healthy about this dish. But that is why it tastes so good! We said our goodbyes to the Hawkinsons who had made us feel very welcome, despite their best efforts to brainwash us into staying in Ripon. On the road again to Lake Tahoe, Steve informed us we should check our oil which was not even registering on the dip stick so we topped up Mabel. As we headed to Lake Tahoe we were leaving behind the good sunny low 90F (32C) weather and climbing into the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The roads and fuel prices were getting gradually steeper. South Lake Tahoe was our first destination - we saw a crazy golf sign and looked at each other. Further inspection uncovered a playing fee of $11 each, but one glance at the course and we knew it was worth it. Unfortunately this update is on the phone so we can't post photos. If we could, they'd all be of the golf!

That night we camped on the shore of Lake Tahoe on the west. This was the last night of camping, so we had just timed it perfectly before all the sites close. We needed a late night walk to the lake and up a road to warm up though it was kept brief by the thought of lurking bears. We had a conversation en route about what our action plan would be if one of us were to be attacked which probably wouldn't have come to much if it had to be put into action given that it involved the onlooker looking for objects such as "sharp sticks" to hit the bear in the face with while the attackee held off the beast.
We awoke several times in the night to very low temperatures and were then awoken at 715 by the park ranger needing payment for the site. "Sorry to be so early - I've a lot of work to get done in 5 hours" he said. "I've got 2 campsites to do"... There were only 2 other tents in our park. His other park must have been in Canada. After a breakfast buritto and a look around Squaw Valley where the 1960 Winter Olympics were held, we found our way to a small but friendly church in Truckee. The americans we tend to meet who we don't already know have had a field day with Duncan's name. That morning he was introduced to the congregation as Dunigan. This is an improvement from Dunkin' (as in the doughnuts) and Na.

Sunday afternoon we drove up into Lassen Volcanic National Park and saw some volcanic outcrops and boiling, bubbling sulphur springs. We've seen lots of amazing scenery on this trip but nothing coming out of the ground! The weather in Ripon was a mirky 57F yesterday - apparently we hadn't taken the good weather with us - it was due to drop to 32F on sunday night (0C). It was certainly chilly - hot by the fire but a walk to the toilets left you feeling cold. Talking of walks, this was cheaper as it was a 'walk-in' site - this typically means a hike of at least a couple km to the campsite. This campsite, however, was about 20 metres from car to site; 25 metres if you went via the toilet and ran around in circles for 10 seconds to warm up. Sunday had been a day in jeans, shoes and long-sleeves. Today (Monday 18 October - day 52) we will explore the park and the intriguingly named volcanic springs: Bumpass Hell, named after a man who lost a leg falling in it. No jokes.

With the weather turning colder (due to altitude) and the rain and shortening day-length, it is starting to feel a bit like Scotland. Last night there was a frost on the ground and trees by 730pm. We should warm up on the Oregon and Washington coast when we lose the altitude as we head up to Seattle, due in on Saturday 23rd Nov. I was sad to leave Ripon as it was the last place on the trip where I knew people and had been looking forward to seeing them. We've both enjoyed California and I could definitely live and work here for a few years! Still, there are 2 weeks of our roadtrip to go, so here's to more Pringles sandwiches, campfires and bear-spotting!