2.7 miles to May Lake; 4 miles round-trip to Mt. Hoffman
Woke up this morning at 7. the whole family besides Vaughn and me was up and in line for breakfast. Whoever was in line got me and Vaughn each a bagel and cream cheese, which was lovely. I really do not know how I will pay Vaughn’s family back for all this, but one day I’ll find a way. Maybe I’ll write them all poems or give them all a framed picture of me…now the ideas are flowing. We caught the bus at 8 to take us to our trailhead (about a 3 hour drive). The bus was a tour bus so the driver went slow and gave a lot of interesting info. Unfortunately, she told stories like she was talking to children. Not really good for people with a slightly dry sense of humor (if there was anybody like that on the bus).
-SIDE NOTE: I haven’t shaved in a while and it’s getting nasty and annoying.-
Anyways, I’m so so appreciative to be blessed with selective narcolepsy (the uncanny ability to fall asleep anywhere/time/place I feel like it). It’s not as cool as Lauren’s actual narcolepsy, but there just aren’t many people that are as cool as Lauren in general, so it doesn’t bother me too much. So I slept through the whole ride until we arrived at the May Lake trailhead. The hike to our first high sierra camp was short but uphill for a while and gorgeous. Vaughn, Maggie and I took a detour to this really neat open rock field that we saw from the trail. It was basically granite slabs with big boulders sprinkled around. Right before the end of the hike I took another great detour to another boulder field, but this time it had some amazing views. I also tried out David’s hiking poles to see what all the hype is all about. I hate to say it, but I might have to invest in a pair of those babies. Although my mind is still sharp as an arrow (from time to time), my knees and back live up to my grandpa nickname. We got to the lake around 12:30 and it was beautiful!! Clear, slight bluish/green color and had some impressive peaks and granite walls behind it. Vaughn decided to call one of the peaks “castle” because it looked like a castle. Fair enough. We decided we really wanted to make it to that peak, and I made the mistake of telling Scott that. His exact reply was, and I quote, “That whole side is death”. Now, I’ve never really ever been afraid of death, but that comment was not the most reassuring thing I’ve ever heard.
-SIDE NOTE: we are cooking my dinner on a cliff side away from camp watching the mountains light up orange and the sky subtle rainbow colors while sitting on an abandoned mattress, and Vaughn looks like a ninja because he is all covered with a turtle neck cover to keep the mosquitoes from biting-
Anyways, Scott was saying that people go up those cliffs not realizing that it’s much harder going down…and then they die. That gave me a warm feeling inside similar to those I get from classic fairy tales. Or something along those lines. And then, like an angel sent from the heavens, my knight in shining armor Peter the Great walked up with impeccable timing and told us about a trail that goes all the way up. So of course we didn’t hesitate. We took Maggie with us and her bright green frat bro sunglasses as well. The hike was mostly straight uphill, but more than worth it considering the views just got more and more amazing as we got higher. We could see all the way to Half Dome and past it, and the whole way Half Dome has this majestic fog around it. Not great for pictures, but to these eyes it was out of this world. When we got near the top we ended up having to scale some rocks (a lot actually) straight up to get to the summit with the small radio tower (Castle is actually one of two false summits). When we got to the top it was absolutely nothing short of spectacular!! We had a 360 degree view with Half Dome, Hech hechy valley, pristine blue glacial lakes, and a guy named Robert. Nothing much interesting to know about him. After that we hiked over to Castle, our initial goal, which had a great view of May Lake where we are camping (well I’m camping and they are in tent cabins). Walking back from Castle me and Vaughn rock climbed up this big roc face thingy (that is the official term for it). There were two gaps at the top so each of us stood in one gap and Maggie took pictures. By the way, Maggie was a trooper the whole time. It takes a certain kind of person to deal with me and certain kinda person to deal with Vaughn, and she dealt with both of us at the same time. Oh shoot! I forgot to mention the lady’s bare ass on the way up! We were taking a rest about ¾ of the way up to let these women get by us on the trail. The last lady came down and we chatted as she walked by, but as she passed, we realized that half of the ass of her pants was torn, so one WHOLE butt cheek was saying good afternoon to us. It created an awkward moment (which is what I live for and thrive during) where I think all four of us (Maggie, Vaughn, the lady and myself) knew the half moon was out in full force, but no one wanted to say anything about it. So no one did, and we took a picture and continued on, as would any other normal self-respecting citizen. But back to the way down. About ¼ of the way down we saw a dad carrying a kid down the steep trail. They stopped and as we passed them I offered my piggy-backing services. Surprisingly, the dad took the offer, so Imiah (the 7 year old kid) hopped on my back for about 20 minutes down the trail. I was so impressed that this cute little 7 year old made it to the summit!! So we chatted with Imiah and his dad for that time and then left them when I couldn’t feel my back anymore and dropped off after the steep part. When we made it back to May Lake we relaxed until everybody else’s dinner was served (they are all signed up for homemade meals at the high sierra camps). While they ate, I walked around and found a great little lake with perfect reflections. I sat there for a while and soaked in the peace, and then went to a cliff-side with a gorgeous view and sat there for a while too. Some feelings of peace are just indescribable. That’s what those two places were like at those moments. I then came back and wrote some journal by the lake in peace. If anybody wants to trade lives, just let me know. But don’t ask for these good looks because these are what get me through life. When they got done eating, Vaughn and I went to that spot on the cliff and cooked Kraft mac and cheese. A delicacy of the finest sorts, especially when made with just water. We then came back and sat by the fire for a bit before bed. Walking to my tent by the lake I saw the most beautiful reflection ever with the mountains in the back and the stars out. It kinda makes all worries go away for a couple seconds. Bed time!!
"I will follow my instincts, and be myself for good or ill." - John Muir
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