YOSEMITE 2026
Monday September 7, 2026
Pretty easy travel day, even though it was Labor Day and the news outlets were saying airports would be crazy. Ryan picked us up to drive us to the airport at 7:30am, and by 7:52am, we had checked our three bags, and we were through the Precheck security screening, with about 40 minutes before our flight boarded.
We had a quick transfer at MSP - 30 minutes and a 1.2 mile walk from the A gates to the end of the F gates - good to have a quick walk before a long flight. Our flight to SFO was packed, with a lot of young families. One particular whiny child two rows back made me grateful for our Apple noise cancelling headphones!! The 3.5 hour flight went by pretty fast. I had downloaded three Ted Lasso Season 4 episodes and we enjoyed those while we had yummy salads, warm rolls and a chocolate tort for lunch (I had a glass of red wine with mine), then I watched a few episodes of Four Seasons on Netflix that I’d previously downloaded. I just used the airplane screen to track our progress and would put up the shade for a bit when we crossed the mountains (surprised to see snow at the higher elevations!).
We landed in SFO just after 1pm local time, claimed our bags at baggage claim and followed the signs to BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). We figured out how to buy a ticket and jumped on the red train to the Powell Street exit. We each had a backpack (our day packs for hiking), each had a roller bag with our clothes and personal items, and in addition, we had a large rubber duffel bag that contained our tent, two sleeping bags, sheets, pillowcases and our queen size blowup bed. It weighs just 27 pounds, so I didn’t think it would be that hard to carry as a duffel bag, but its large and bulky - and tough to sling over your shoulder when you’re wearing a back pack with padded straps! When we got off the train, the escalator was broken, and we climbed three flights of stairs lugging our bags - whew - heart rates were up, and even with trading off the big bag, it was tough.
We walked several blocks to our hotel, Westin Union Square (where we’ll meet the Backroads group in the morning), got checked in, and decided we needed a better plan for that bag. I lamented that I should have gone to REI to buy a large duffel on rollers, and there is an REI just over a mile from here. But first, we got settled, then walked across the street to the Macy’s, where we found a heavy-duty Samsonite set of wheels to attach to our beached whale - we think it’ll work perfectly, and it was just $33 after my 25% Labor Day savings coupon!
We celebrated by having a Starbucks refresher at their 4th floor store, where we sat overlooking the very active Union Square, and watched people getting in and out of Waymo driverless taxis! It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and people were out enjoying the city.
We talked about heading down to Fisherman’s Wharf or riding the trolley cars - doing some touristy things since it has been so long since we had been to San Francisco. But in the end, we just made a dinner reservation at an iconic nearby restaurant, Historic John’s Grill, as we knew we were going to be hit by the two-hour time change and it will take us a few days to adjust to that.
As we sat down to dinner at 6pm, a three piece Jazz combo was just getting started. It was great music, but hard on the dinner conversation. Jeff had a seafood pasta dish, and I had the halibut. We’d also split a beet salad and pigged out on the fresh sourdough bread, so we couldn’t finish our dinners. However, that didn’t stop the ice cream craving, and I saw there was a Ghirardelli Chocolate / Ice Cream shop just half a mile away that was still open. We should have split a sundae, but instead, we both got one and it was so delicious we were forced to eat all the way to the delicious chocolate at the bottom!
We walked back to our hotel with full bellies. Tomorrow we’ll be hiking six miles in the mountains - maybe we’ll burn it off then!
Tuesday September 8, 2026
I had a nice bath and fell asleep promptly, but I woke up several times during the night with confusion about where I was, mixed with excitement for the adventure! Also, we both had rumbly tummies after such a decadent evening!
I got up about 5am, and did some in-room yoga and push-ups. Then I got dressed and worked on repacking, which went well. I moved my yoga mat which is bulky but not heavy to my backpack, which left more room in my suitcase!
While JT was getting ready, I did a mobile order to the Starbucks store in the next block, and in less than 10 minutes, I was back in our room with our usual: Bacon, Egg and Gouda breakfast sandwiches, extra hot Hot Chocolate for him and a Decaf Oat Milk Latte for me. Just before 8am, we headed to the lobby to meet our guides and fellow guests. Our guides are two enthusiastic young ladies: Caroline and Claire, and they just finished leading this same tour yesterday! It’s a small group, which is fantastic. We all fit in one van.
The group is:
Sravant from Virginia, whose wife stayed home with a mom with medical issues.
Susan (Sue) and Tom from Highland Lake NY
Ruth Ann and Peter from Bloomfield CT
The drive was supposed to be 3.5 hours, but was actually over 4 with a gas station break halfway. The traffic heading into the Bay Area as we were heading out was unbelievable - miles and miles of 5 lanes of traffic at a standstill! I can’t believe people do that every day!!
The drive was mostly freeway and brown rolling hills - not scenic at all. Jeff and I spent a lot of the time chatting with Sravant, who is a young but retired attorney that still dabbles in business ventures and plays a lot of golf.
We turned off the freeway and began the climb into the mountains. When we passed the small village of Mariposa, the scenery started to become more interesting - taller trees, rolling hills and more houses and businesses.
We arrived at Idle Hour Winery in the small village of Oakhurst at 12:15pm for lunch. There, we were greeted by the two owners, who had opened just to serve us lunch today. Anna explained her philosophy in making wine and talked about how they’ve adapted to changes of people drinking less wine - and part of that is they serve food now, so people come for the whole experience and not just the wine. The food was fantastic - panini’s with an amazing fresh salad on the size and a table-long cheese board that greeted us. Only Sravant tried their wines - the rest of us were thinking about a six-mile hike with 1750’ of climb and temperatures in the 80’s!
After lunch, we drove about another 20 minutes, past the hotel we’re staying in tonight, and into the South Entrance of Yosemite National Park. Our leaders were pretty jazzed that there wasn’t a wait to get into the park, as is usually the case. Just inside the gate, we pulled into the Mariposa Grove Welcome Plaza parking area to begin our hike.
We had options for the day: no hike (ride the park shuttle to the trailhead), or take the 2 mile trail to the trail head, walk the 2 mile loop trail to visit the grove’s most famous ancient trees, walk or shuttle the 2 miles back to the van. Our whole group opted to hike all six miles and everyone seemed to do just fine with it.
The leaders were also giddy that there weren’t that many people at Mariposa Grove, although whenever the shuttle would come up, a fresh group of tourists would emerge and the serenity of the forest would shift for a bit. Many of the trees have names such as the Grizzly Giant, California Tunnel, the Bachelor and Three Graces. The sequoias are different than the costal redwoods in that they’re not as tall, but they are still quite tall (would dwarf our white pines that I thought were so large). However, they are the biggest tree by mass, because they are so dense.
We enjoyed the hike through the trees, then opted to walk the two miles back down to the van. Others were still decided if they were going to hike or jump on the shuttle when Jeff and I took off. It was great to hike just the two of us at our normal pace (faster than the way we’d shuffled the two-mile loop), and also to have the mostly quiet time to absorb the serenity of the forest.
We got back to the van and Claire had set up snacks and cold drinks, and we chatted with her while we waited for the others, who appeared in waves - everyone having opted for the hike down.
It was a quick shuttle (5 minutes) to our hotel for the night, the Tenaya Lodge, just outside the park gate. The lodge consists of hotel rooms as well as cottages on the property. It is all very nice, and would be a comfortable place to stay for a week while visiting the park, or just to hang out at the pool, play pickleball, or visit the spa!
We had quick showers, and headed down for a welcome reception which was on a beautiful deck overlooking a dense forest, with a gorgeous sunset developing. As the sun set, we headed back in for our first group dinner, which was a lot of fun - with our group of just 9 people, we could easily fit around one table and enjoy each other’s company. Great food and lots of laughs.
Hike 6.41 miles, 1557 ft elevation gain
Wednesday September 9, 2026
“Camping in Yosemite was like lying in a great solemn cathedral, far vaster and more beautiful than any built by the hand of man.” ― President Theodore Roosevelt
We were up at six am after a great night’s sleep. We had breakfast from the buffet at Jackalope’s Bar & Grill.
At 7:45am we headed out to the van where the guides had set up the snack table. We picked up the sandwiches we’d preordered and prepared our individual “gorp bags” for snacks while on the trail today.
The ladies also prepared a “trip bingo” and we had fun discussing if we could take some liberties to satisfy some of the squares. A little after 8a, Claire said we should get in the van and we’d have the route talk at the trailhead.
As we pulled out onto the highway, traffic was streaming into the park. We took a right and headed back into the park, grateful for a short line again. Just past Mariposa Grove, we drove through Wawona, and past a nine-hole golf course and a lodge from the early 1900’s that is being renovated with no specific timeline. Both of those had been established before that area was a part of the national park.
We stopped at a small gas station and had a lot of laughs there. Yesterday, when we stopped for gas, the other Susan washed the front windshield and had left some streaks. Today, Jeff gave a demonstration of proper windshield washing. Claire said they’d never had a gas station stop that was as much fun as that.
On all of our Backroads / Trek Travel trips, the guides are always top notch. One of the skills they must possess, however, is great driving - not just these 15 passenger vans, but also the van with a trailer! I’ve been so impressed with Caroline driving the rig into downtown San Francisco, through the traffic and into the mountains. Yesterday when we were having lunch, she drove to the lodge and dropped the trailer there, and then our suitcases just magically appeared in our room, and the bag with our camping gear stayed secure in the trailer. That’s the true magic of these guided trips!!
We drove along Highway 41, climbing to over 7000 feet with fantastic views down the valley - another perfect day with clear blue sky and wispy clouds. We dropped the trailer at Glacier Point Road turn-off, then headed up Glacier Point Road to the trailhead.
The views on the drive were spectacular. Most of the cars just come up for the view, and I was excited to get out of the van and get hiking as I know being out in it is where it’s at!!
It had been about 90-minute drive to the trailhead. We were given three options to hike again today. There were two options where the hike was high upon the rim, and the third option was to do the first two hikes and then hike the 5000 ft down into the valley! The last option was to do the first two hikes and then drive another 60-90 minutes to get to tonight’s lodging.
We all set out on the hike to Taft Point where we had our first true glimpse into the valley - we were looking across (and somewhat down) on El Capitan and what should be Yosemite Falls (if there was water). El Cap looked so unassuming from up there, and I know that when you’re in the valley - it seems so massive. The scale of this park continues to blow my mind.
We doubled back and set out on the trail to Sentinel Dome. Along the way, Claire told us about “Plutons” (or domes), which are the most perfect form of granite - formed and polished by the glaciers.
After we started the hike, Caroline drove the van up to the Glacier Point parking area, and backtracked to meet us. We’d already been going about 4 miles by then, and feeling the altitude when going uphill. At a snack break, Susan said “wouldn’t it be great to have ice cream,” and I noticed a look pass between Caroline and Claire, and before we knew it, Caroline was pulling ice cream sandwiches out of her pack! Crazy!! We enjoyed the treat, and shared an extra sandwich with a guy named Alfred that was hiking down the trail and celebrating his birthday (was also sang a pitiful version of Happy Birthday to him).
We continued up a steep section and came upon a cell phone tower - crazy!! Personally, I had my phone on airplane mode to conserve the battery and not be bothered by the usual spam calls and texts I receive, but others started having their phones dinging with incoming messages. Srivant was happy as he’d been trying to complete a stock market trade when we went out of cell range earlier today.
There was a short section of switchbacks and Claire instructed us to keep our heads down and don’t look up until she told us to. I was the first one up and did as instructed, and I was rewarded with a surprising and spectacular view of Half Dome - probably the most iconic view of the park!
Jeff sat in the shade of a tree, while the others scrambled to the top of Sentinel Dome for lunch. I went up, took some photos, then joined him in the shade while we ate our sandwiches.
We all continued our hike and ended up at the van in the Glacier Point parking lot. We used the very disgusting pit toilets, and grabbed a snack and cold drinks, then had to decide if we were going to hike the 4+ mile 5000 feet down to the valley, and all but Ruth Ann and Peter opted for the hike (the alternative was a 90+ minute van ride). The trail is named “4-Mile Trail,” but with the addition of switchbacks, its now just called 4+ but I think it was about 5.5 miles.
We didn’t get too far down the trail, when hikers coming toward us alerted us about a momma bear and a cub near the trail. I didn’t get much of a view, and that’s okay. Claire said she nearly always sees a bear in this area - too many people at the viewpoint = snacks for the bears.
The first two miles down were okay. We stopped and had some cold beers that we’d stashed in our packs. From there, the hike became a bit more grueling - not just because of the beer, but because we didn’t exactly know how far we had to go - the valley was getting closer, but so many switchbacks, and it was also getting warmer the further down we went.
When we got down to the valley, we were going to have to jump on the Yosemite shuttle to get to the hotel, but Caroline perfectly timed a pick up for us, which was awesome. My Chacos were in the van and it felt so good to get my boots and socks off!!
We checked into the Ahwahnee Hotel, our home for the next two nights. The first time I visited Yosemite was probably 40 years ago, when I lived in Monterey a lifetime ago. At that time, I walked through the lobby of the Ahwahnee and it was love at first sight. I vowed I’d come here to stay one day. Eleven years ago, Jeff and I had the pleasure of a 5-day backpacking trip in the backcountry of Yosemite with our pal Gary Molz. That cemented my love for this special National Park, but that time didn’t work for a stay at the Ahwahnee either. When we booked our Conservation Volunteer trip (starts Saturday), I tried to book a stay at the Ahwahnee either before or after, but they were already booked for the month of September. A few months later as I was perusing Trek Travel and Backroads Travel options to coincide with our volunteer trip, I discovered that Backroads had this Yosemite hiking trip that fit perfectly with our volunteer trip, AND, it included two nights stay at the Ahwahnee - lucky me!!
The Ahwahnee opened in 1927, so it is nearly 100 years old. Last year, Jeff and I stayed one night at the El Tovar at the Grand Canyon - another National Park treasure … so I knew that I should lower my expectations about it being luxury accommodations - and it turned out to be everything I’d hoped it would be and more! Only problem is I keep thinking about how camping next week will be relatively not so great!!
Speaking of expectations - Claire warned us about the dinner we had scheduled in the dining room tonight. She said it was 5 courses, and we needed to be patient as it could stretch out to 3 hours, mainly due to continual staffing issues. We arrived at the hotel about 5pm and dinner was at 6:30p. Jeff showered, and I showered and had a soaking bath. I almost made us late for dinner, but soaking my feet and tired muscles was so good after the tough hike today.
I walked into the majestic dining room, and it took my breath away - the high ceilings, the floor to ceiling tapestries, the candlelight - what a magical place. Our server was of African descent and was a lot of fun and did her best - but with the number of tables she covered, it was a stretched out night. It took about 30 minutes to get our bottle of wine, and then she brought one course every 30-40 minutes. We had good conversation and enjoyed the night, but it did stretch out. Susan and Tom threw in the towel after the third course, and we made it through four and skipped dessert (besides the 5 courses, there was the chef’s muse to start and palate cleaning sorbet before the quail, etc). It was after 10 pm when we left - 3.5 hours from the start of dinner! It was great to have been forewarned, but wow - it was tough!!
History of the Ahwahnee
The first Director of the National Park Service was Stephen T Mather, from 1917 – 1929. His philosophy was that travelers of “wealth and means” who had the potential to support the highest levels of government weren’t interested in a primitive camping or hosteling experience when they visited the National Parks. He observed, “Scenery is a hollow enjoyment to a tourist who sets out in the morning after an indigestible breakfast and a fitful sleep on an impossible bed.”
The railroads had already built the “Old Faithful Inn” at Yellowstone, the “Many Glaciers Hotel” at Glacier and the “El Tovar” at the Grand Canyon.
The site selected for the hotel had been used by Native Americans for thousands of years. The word “Ahwahnee” comes from the Miwok language meaning “place of gaping mouth.” The natives called themselves “Ahwahneechee.”
In 1925, Gilbert Stanley Underwood was selected as the architect to design and build the “all season hotel,” and the pressure was on for an opening by Christmas 1926! The design was to have the feeling of a large house, have 100 guest rooms, and be fireproof. Delays ensued, however the cornerstone was placed on August 1, 1926. Surprising to me was that most of the materials for the hotel were brought in from outside the park – 5000 tons of stone, and 700 tons of structural steel and 30,000 feet of timber. The hotel’s siding appears to be redwood but is molded concrete, as are what appear to be massive pine columns in the dining room.
The interior design is credited to Dr Arthur Upham Pope (professor of philosophy at UC Berkeley) and his wife, Dr Phyllis Ackerman (architect). They had complete oversite including choice of fabrics, rugs, paint, custom-made wrought iron lighting fixtures, and custom crafted furniture (most of which is still in use). They are credited for transforming the impressive building into a work of art by tapping into the Bay Area artistic community for assistance. Henry Temple Howard created and installed the art deco floor, six mosaics inspired by patterns found on native baskets (the tiles currently covered with rugs that show the exact patterns of the mosaics while they’re studying how to preserve the original floor). Jeannette Dyer Spence created nearly a hundred unique stencil designs that adorn the walls, beams and door frames of the hotel. She is also credited with designing the gorgeous stain glass windows in the Great Lounge.
Thursday September 10, 2026
“Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space.” ― Ansel Adams
It was a nice break to have a 9am meetup time, as it feels like we’ve jumped right into the adventure, and our bodies are still recovering from yesterday’s 12 mile day.
I got out of bed and did some in-room yoga, sit-ups and pushups, then we dressed and went down to breakfast. After last night’s marathon dinner, we didn’t want to trust the timing with the kitchen / waitstaff, so Jeff and I opted for the buffet rather than ordering off the menu. After breakfast, we wandered around the common rooms of the Ahwahnee before meeting on the patio.
Claire and Caroline had our snacks laid out, and we were introduced to Brian, a naturalist from the Yosemite Conservancy. Originally from upstate NY, Brian has been in the park since 1981 and said he loves to tell stories, and most of what he would tell us was true - our kind of guide!
He started by telling us the history of the construction of the Ahwahnee - very fascinating! We walked through the lobby and common areas - I’ll have to do some further research as it was so fascinating. Where we were looking at rugs with Native American patterns, he said the rugs are the exact patterns of the tiles underneath, which need to be restored but for now, they’re just protected by rugs. He pointed out lots of details I hadn’t noticed - hand painted stenciling along the top of every wall (later I noticed in our room as well). He said the stenciling took over 20 years to complete after the hotel opened (the original artist’s daughter eventually took over).
He talked about how initially the hotel was popular, but then occupancy waned, especially as winter came, so they worked hard to market reasons to visit year around. They developed a winter program, and in the “Winter Sports Room” the photos of the skiing, snowshoeing and tobogganing were fantastic, especially the ladies’ outfits!
The other fascinating fact was that during WWII, the hotel was converted to a rehab facility for the navy. It was so bizarre to imagine stretchers laid end to end in the magnificent great room. He said they’d lay in bed and smoke all day, and after it was over, they just repainted over the nicotine stained walls (including the beautiful stenciling).
We headed out the unassuming back door and into the woods. The path took us along the base of one of the massive granite walls and it felt like air conditioning was on! Brian said the most dangerous thing in the park is bike riders, and that is the truth!! It’s common to see deer, and bear can be a problem, but only because they get conditioned to human food. He confirmed a “rule of thumb” guideline that Claire had mentioned earlier this week: if you hold up your thumb, it should block the bear. If it doesn’t, you are too close.
Brian’s presentation style was so great; he asked us questions rather than just spewing facts. For example, he had us thinking about which sense you would use to determine what kind of tree you were looking at. The ensuing conversation covered all kinds of tangents!
Yesterday I saw a shrub that looked like holly, but I learned that it is a variety of oak tree that has spiny leaves when they are young to keep the animals from eating it. We explored different kinds of pine needles and pine cones, and discussed how each would feel, smell, taste and even how the wind would sound coming through various trees.
Along the way, we talked about the history of the valley. Brian said it’s so sad that our history lessons typically start with the first “explorers,” but there is evidence that natives lived here 4000 years ago, although he says it was probably more like 8000 years ago. The evidence is “acorn holes” where holes were impacted into the earth after years of crushing acorns in the same spot.
When the explorers came, there was a series of people trying to develop trails and lodges, then a series of people trying to protect and conserve the area. The area changed again when gold was discovered - and we learned so much about that kind of culture when we hiked the Chilkoot trail in Alaska, following the route of the Klondike gold rush.
Another funny story was about the ravens and how smart they are in the park. Brian said the ravens drop acorns on the road - I guessed that was so the cars would run them over and crush them - wrong! It was so the squirrels would go into the road, get hit by a car and become roadkill, and the ravens would eat the dead squirrels!!
We crossed the Merced River, looking inviting on such a hot day. As we walked through the forest on the other side of the valley, Brian was telling us about a town that had been established in this area in the 1920’s and had us guess what kinds of businesses were there: we easily came up with store and saloon. I guessed a brothel because of everything we had learned about settling the Wild West! Other businesses were blacksmith (guy with the sharp tools that would also perform surgery and pull teeth), laundry, school / teacher, tailor / seamstress, and law enforcement. Brian did such an amazing job making history come alive through these discussions.
We got to the “swinging bridge” picnic area where Caroline had set up lunch for us and was busy trying to fend off the food from the hornets. They had chairs set out and we had lunch on the beach and waded in the cold river. This is near where we will be camping next week, and I wish I’d checked it out a little closer - there is supposed to be a gate there at the parking area that we go through to get to the group volunteer area (we’ll figure it out on Sunday!!).
We packed up and had the afternoon to ourselves. We had the van drop us at Yosemite Village and poked around in the shops a bit. I bought some earrings in the Ansel Adams gallery and bought some additional hearing aid batteries for JT.
We walked the 0.5 miles back to our room, where we relaxed, napped, read, napped some more, and posted yesterday’s blog. Then we showered and went to check out dinner options. It was too gorgeous to not be outside, so we declined the seating they had available in the bar and bought a sandwich, chips, wine and a bottle of sparkling water at the hotel shop and sat out on the patio to watch the light change on the face of the granite walls. The only downside was the fearless pesty squirrels; one was gusty enough to climb the back of our chair and grab a chip out of the bag!!
The top of Half Dome was the last thing to let go of the light. As soon as the light faded, it started to get cooler. We headed inside and played the first round of backgammon that we’d played all week! We were lights out by about 9pm. Even after resting most of the afternoon, we were still exhausted.
Friday September 11, 2026
“No temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life…as if into this one mountain mansion Nature had gathered her choicest treasures.” ― John Muir
I was sleeping pretty well when my 6am alarm went off. I grabbed my iPad for a weather check - we’ve had warm days so far, but they say a cold front is coming. I was most interested to look at the weather starting Sunday when we start camping - cold front looks right! Highs in the 60’s and lows are now forecast to be the high 30’s, but I think I brought the right kind of clothes for that!?
We had the breakfast buffet again, checked out and paid for our laundry ($25) and met the gang at the van at 8:10a. The ladies said they had a surprise for us this morning, but what could beat the ice cream surprise the other day?
Claire pulled over just before we left the park and we got out of the van to see there were climbers on El Capitan (cool, but that was the surprise?). They had binoculars for us to use, but actually using the zoom on our iPhones was the best way to watch the climbers. We watched for about 10 minutes, and Caroline told us about the history of climbing. Now is the time that the climbing season starts in Yosemite, they call it “Rock-tober.” Apparently the rock face is too hot in the summer.
We exited the park, and turned up toward Tioga Road. We drove about an hour before a pit stop at a pit toilet. Along the way, we had a conversation to assign trail names to the group:
Trail Names (previously assigned*):
Claire = Sunny* / Super Shimmery
Caroline = Quad Shot
“Claroline” = Guides combined trail name
Tom = Gummie
Susan V = California
Peter = Sourdough*
Ruth Ann = GSB (Gentile Southern Belle)*
Jeff = Windex
Srivant = Scrambler
Susan = La Captia
The ladies brought out the snack table and we grabbed snacks and sandwiches for our lunch. Caroline laid out a “map” of today’s route as our visual for the Route Rap. We left the trailer parked there, and climbed back in the van, we climbed to over 8000 feet and drove along just a tree line. We arrived at the trailhead just before 11am.
At the trailhead, my phone showed 8500 ft. It was a little chilly, but Claire urged us to “Be bold, start cold,” which made me laugh. Generally, our group starts bundled up and needs to take frequent breaks to peel off layers.
During the Route Rap, we were told to use the app to stay on trail as it was easy to get off the route here. There is a dome called Medlicott that climbers like to practice on - this route is typically used by them, which means the trail is dispersed. Several times, the guides called the lead group back - they were on a trail, but not the right trail! What was neat about this morning was that we didn’t see any others on the trail - it was like we had the forest and the mountains all to ourselves!
We’d driven past the gorgeous Tenaya Lake on the way up, and then, we were looking down on it, with Half Dome just peaking out in the distance - it was breathtaking! We hiked/ climbed about an hour, and then we were at Cathedral Lake - wow - like the back country lakes we’d seen at Glacier, just gorgeous with the blue green, cool, clear water. Caroline dove into the lake and I was tempted, but not ready to swim in my undies (or naked) in front of the crowd! It felt good to soak my feet for a bit and we had our sandwiches (prepared by the ladies - TBAP - one of the bingo squares: Turkey, Brie, Arugula, and Pesto - yum).
Besides the gorgeous lake, there was a collection of spires which look exactly like a European cathedral - stunning!!
After lunch, Claire went back to the van to move it to the trailhead where we would end our day. Seemed like it was a tough route to double back on, and she planned to run it – shes a tough girl!!
The rest of us continued on, and at a junction, we had the option to do another two miles and 300+ feet of elevation to get to Upper Cathedral Lake - everyone was in. For a bit, our trail joined with the John Muir Trail, which was cool. We saw an older couple hiking, the guy with a beard, and joked that he was John Muir reincarnated. From this part of the trail, we saw many other hikers - some with big packs out for multi-day adventures, some with tennis shoes and carrying a water bottle.
When we were about six miles into our 8.5 mile day, we came upon Claire, who had hiked back up from where she parked the van at Tuolumne Meadows. She was sitting on a log, slicing a watermelon - a nice, unexpected treat, but nowhere near as spectacular as the ice cream Caroline produced from her pack a few days ago!
We arrived back at the van about 4:30pm and we were glad to have the coolers with cold drinks, and a Visitors’ center with flush toilets. I was happiest to get my boots off and into my Chacos!!
We drove about an hour back to pick up our trailer, and then another 20 minutes to Rush Creek Lodge, our home for the next two nights. We arrived just before 6pm. It’s a nice hotel, very friendly staff. The room is good size and the shower is fantastic. My opinion changed a bit when we arrived at the restaurant - lots of families and out-of-control loud kids. We had a beer and a burger (great) and got out of there - not at all relaxing, felt like having dinner in a food court at Disney World! Most of our gang were going to gather at the hot tub, but we were exhausted - back to the room for backgammon (and quiet), and early to bed.
Saturday September 12, 2026
It was a great night’s sleep at Rush Creek Lodge. My only issue was my sinuses are full of trail dust - feeling a bit like we did on Kilimanjaro with all the dust … but if I really think about it, perhaps it’s not that bad? I’m sure I’m thinking ahead to camping in the dust next week where we won’t have access to daily showers!
We met the two other couples at 7a and had breakfast together. We all gathered at the van at 8am to pick up our lunches / snacks. While we were waiting for the Route Rap, Jeff and I led part of the group with squats and pushups - warmed us up on this chilly morning. Claire had drawn today’s hiking plan on the side of the trailer - she said the decal was the perfect topography for today’s hike, Watkins Mountain.
Because of our extended hikes the last several days, Claire offered us an alternative shorter version - 6 miles and less than 1000’ of climb, versus 9 miles and 2000’ … she said at the end of the hike (they’re both out and back), the view was the same. It was unanimous that we should do the shorter hike and have the afternoon to relax around the pool at Rush Creek Lodge.
It was about an hour drive to the trailhead, up the same road as yesterday’s hike, so I read my book versus taking in the view. We drove through miles and miles of forested backcountry, with the occasional view of the Sierras. In many of the areas, underbrush was piled up - awaiting the perfect conditions to burn them, likely in the Spring?
We started the hike, and our legs felt great. Since it was an out and back, both Claire and Caroline hiked with us today. Backroads has a different philosophy than other outfitters that we’ve traveled with, in that the guides will be there to guide you, but they don’t stick to the one guide in front and one guide in the back with the guests sandwiched in the middle. In fact, after they teach you how to use their app with interactive maps, they’re okay if you do your own thing. For this route, Claire had told us there were two “easy to miss” intersections, so we stayed close all morning. Once again, we’re surprised how unmarked the trails are - not sure why (wilderness thing? Job security for the rangers who need to rescue the lost hikers??).
We crossed Snow Creek Trail, where we’d hiked / camped when we were here backpacking with our friend Gary 11 years ago. We fondly remember watching the light fade that night as we looked down on Half Dome from our campsite. Also, JT’s grey puffy jacket still bears a swath of superglue on the belly (my boot was falling apart, and our guide had given us some glue and JT was holding it against his body until it set, but it bonded with his jacket).
Our trail opened up to a clear open area, which was like walking along a sandy beach! We came to an area where it looked like “potholes” were carved into the granite, but I’d only seen that along a riverbank before. Apparently, these are formed by the snow? We sat on the rock and ate our lunch with a view of Half Dome. We could see the climbers working to reach the top of the dome using the cables, which doesn’t sound like a trek that I would enjoy (Claire did it a couple of weeks ago and showed us the photos). It would be hard enough just getting ourselves up and down safely, but it’s a two-way traffic pattern, and I wouldn’t want to do it with others coming at me!!
It was a quick three-mile hike back to the van, as everyone wanted to get back to the pool at the lodge. While it had started out cool this morning, it was another very warm afternoon.
The only drawback for this lodge (besides the loud kids) is they don’t have laundry service. Instead, they have a laundry room with only two functioning washers and four dryers. Their change machine didn’t work so I sent JT to the front desk for quarters and to buy soap. He had a bit of a run around and came back with quarters about 15 minutes later (luckily, I had my book). I went in search of soap, which I eventually found in the shop, another 15 minutes gone. By then, both washers were in use.
We headed out to the pool, and I bopped back every 30 minutes to do the next step of the laundry process. I’d have much rather paid for laundry service! But - it is good to start the next phase of our trip with clean clothes.
JT jumped in the pool which he declared too cold - then moved to the hot tub which he declared to be too hot (Goldilocks?). After the hot tub, he declared the pool to be just right. I got good and warm and maybe a little sunburned just baking in the sun between my runs to the laundry room. After I switched the clothes to the dryer, I got in the pool and swam a few laps - felt terrific! I thought about the pool all morning on the hike! Then I laid on my tummy and fell asleep until three little Spanish-speaking squawkers alighted on the chaise next to Jeff (mama mama mama, etc). We abandoned trying to nap and went into the shop, then stopped to collect our clean dry clothes in the laundry room.
Quick showers, some organizing of the suitcases, and we were off to our final dinner with the gang. Can’t believe how fast the week has gone!
We gathered on a private patio outside a private dining area, which was perfect for our last evening together. I was awarded the Bingo prize - all but two blocks were filled (prank the leaders - not my style, and ride the zip line at Rush Creek playground - thought I was too heavy).
Caroline led us in a new game she’d just come up with: “John Muir vs the Pope,” where she read a series of 5 quotes and we had to guess if it was John Muir or a Pope who had said that. I was 3/5, having guessed “John Muir” on all 5 quotes. I knew John Muir felt being in the wilderness to be a spiritual experience, but who knew the Popes could be so philosophical about nature!?
Both Claire and Caroline spoke about how special the group was, and I’m sure they say something to that effect with every group, but this truly was a fun and special group experience. I wished I’d prepared a poem or had something profound to say, but Tom spoke for the group and I think he summed up our experience very well and no one felt the need to add to that.
We moved inside for dinner and had many more good laughs - what an amazing group. Everyone called it a night early, so we went back to our room for a round of backgammon and another good night’s sleep (our last one in a bed and a room with plumbing for six nights)!
Sunday September 13, 2026
A good night’s sleep and one last good shower. At 8am, we headed down to the van to grab some snacks and say our final goodbyes. The group was headed out on a 3-mile hike, then back for showers and their ride back to San Francisco. Srivant has fallen in love with Yosemite and is probably having a bit of a mid-life crisis, so he’s decided to stay a few more days even though he hasn’t quite worked out his logistics!
We had breakfast, then packed up and checked out.
Speaking of logistics, we were about to test out my planning! We originally booked this Yosemite work trip September 13-19th - a trip we’ve wanted to do for years! I found the Backroads trip, which fit perfectly with this, and that solved how we would get from the airport to Yosemite. In researching how we’d get back into the park today, I found YARTS (Yosemite Area Rapid Transit). And perfectly, they have a stop in the parking lot of the Rush Creek lodge!
The bus came right on time, 9:42am, and it was a large coach with ample room for our bags underneath. Not for the first time this trip, we are rethinking how much stuff we brought along. When repacking this morning, I have a whole packing cube full of dressier clothes that I won’t need for the next six days. I should go to the post office and mail some stuff home (except it’s Sunday).
Back to YARTS - it worked perfectly. We had a chatty and knowledgeable driver. She talked a lot about bears - she’s seen 13 so far this year on her drives. I didn’t like that she said she saw bears near where we will be camping! She said all bears have collars, but if we see a bear that’s tagged (she said, “wearing jewelry,”) we should be especially careful as that means it’s being monitored as a potential “problem bear.”
We arrived in the park and we were dropped at Yosemite Village stop just before 11am. On our drive, I saw exactly where we have to enter our hidden campground - but it’ll be about 1/4 mile from where we get off the park shuttle bus. Hope those wheels on the suitcases hold!!
We walked to Degnan’s Kitchen and found a table there on the patio where we could watch people. We snacked, played backgammon, updated the blog and hung out until 1pm when we walked about a block to the park shuttles, taking the green bus from Stop #4 to Stop #11 (Four Mile Trailhead). From there, it was about a 1/4 mi hike against traffic - we hiked for a bit on the road, then moved to a path that parallel to the road - a bit of a pull with our suitcases, but it was fairly hard packed. We entered the campground and followed the blacktop road to our site. There we had to drag the bags through sand / pine needles but only less than 100 yards to our tent site, so it worked ok. Our leader has a van and will drive us to the bus on Saturday morning so we don’t have to repeat that!
Conservation Volunteers International Program
We arrived at Yellow Pines campground just after 2pm, on schedule! We were greeted by Patty, a friendly campground host. It’s a hidden campground and it’s dedicated for volunteer groups. Besides our group, there is a group from Yosemite Conservancy, a family group, a group from Planet Granite, and group of Girl Scouts were here last week.
When we got to Group Site D, and were greeted by our leaders Janice and Alison (and eventually Dale, who is more of an ambassador than a leader I guess).
Jeff scoped out a great spot for our tent, and we quickly got our spot set up, and sorted through our gear that we’d need this week. Stuff that I didn’t think I’d need I left in my suitcase, and Andy offered to store our suitcases in his rental car so we don’t have to worry about it with the tent. Then, there was the matter of sorting out the “smellies” for the bear box - that means anything food, lotion, lip stuff, medication, etc - lots of back and forth to get organized!
We had a team meeting - another small group for this week. I guess it can be up to 20 people, but we’re just six people and three guides.
Andy - North Carolina
Paul - Paso Robles CA
Jim - Tallahassee
Elaine - not here yet
Tomorrow morning we will meet Eamen from the park service trail crew, who will be guiding our work.
Janice is our lead guide, and has been leading trips since 2014.
Allison - 4th CVIP trip, first time as Assistant Trip Leader
Dale - started this trip in 2012 and until 2019 he’d been coming to the park for this trip every May & September, but this is his first time in a bit.
Dale brought all kind of enhancements for our campsite - an awning over the picnic tables, tablecloths, a massive charging block, camp chairs, firewood and alcohol (beer and wine)! He even brought a tent and cot for Janice so she wouldn’t have to fly with it.
Conservation VIP has a long standing relationship with a couple, Dawn and Kerry, who are local caterers. Tonight they made pasta with delicious sauce, green beans, garlic bread and strawberry shortcake for dessert.
After dinner, Janice asked Jeff to light the fire. It was a surprise to me that we were allowed to have fires, given the level of dryness. The temperature was dropping fast, so it was nice to have the heat from the fire as we sat around and chatted.
By 8pm, I was tired and chilled, and retreated to the tent to read and snuggle in my sleeping bag. We heard that our missing party member, Elaine (from Ft Worth TX) had arrived, but I was too cozy to get out to meet her - plenty of time the rest of the week!
Monday September 14, 2026
I heard the sounds of camp coming alive about 6am, coffee was ready at 6:30am and breakfast was at 7a - scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes, yogurt and fruit. Last night we’d written out our order for our lunch sandwiches, and Dawn had those ready to go for us as well.
I’m not sure what time I fell asleep, but I slept well. I had fleece socks, Jammie pants, a Smart Wool tank top and Smart Wool long sleeve top. Sometime in the night, I added my fleece cap and I stayed pretty comfortable.
We met Elaine, who is from Fort Worth. Kind of a funny story: she arrived yesterday about the same time as the rest of us (about 2pm). She stopped at the first site and they told her she was in the right place. They also told her they didn’t have a cook and she needed to supply her own food, so she went back to the store and bought a week’s worth of food and a cooking stove and kit. Much later that evening, Patty figured out that she was with the wrong group (Janice was getting increasingly frantic that Elaine hadn’t shown up), and walked her down to our site. Since it was already dark, she camped where she was and joined us this morning.
Eaman (sounds like an-men) and his team joined us about 8:15am. It is his 29th season working with the park trail team, and he has worked as a co-leader on the Conservation VIP trip in Patagonia. His team consisted of three young twenty-somethings: Maddie, Conley and Sam.
Janice and Alison both had rented vans and we piled into them for the short drive to today’s worksite, near the “Yosemite Falls” shuttle stop.
I stayed chilled until we started our work project, which was digging out old fence posts and replacing them. We had to dig holes that were three feet deep, which was a challenge in the compacted soil with rocks and roots! Soon we were down to t-shirts, but it stayed a mild day all day today - when we were out of the sun, it actually felt a bit cool.
We got back to camp about 3:30pm and all decided to head to Patty’s special beach on the Merced River. We hiked about a 1/2 mile there, and found the volunteer group (Planet Granite) from across camp was there too. To get to the sunny beach, you had to swim across the river, which got pretty deep in that spot. Since I wasn’t terribly hot, I decided to not get my hair wet as it probably wouldn’t dry. The water was cold, but refreshing. We sat on the beach and chatted with Patty and the PG group (our Janice was joking around with their leader Joe and saying that PG stood for “pretty good”). They’re all California based and come to the park to volunteer for projects several times a year.
We walked back to camp and dressed in warm clothes and got ready for dinner, which was really yummy salmon with a wonderful sauce and rice, and chocolate bars for dessert. Most of us were party poopers and headed to our tents shortly after dinner!
Tuesday September 15, 2026
I slept well, although my watched scored me as 53 (but I think it died during the night).
It was light when I woke up, about 6:30a. We got dressed in our layers and left our little warm cocoon. Either last night wasn’t as cold, or I’m getting used to it.
Breakfast was served at 7am, and I learned yesterday to get it while it’s hot as it cools off fast! Breakfast today was Eggs Benedict, and it was fabulous. I told Kerry I had Egg Benedict at the Ahwahnee last week and it was terrible - he was so happy to hear his was so much better!
Eaman and crew (plus another member, Tim) arrived about 8:15am. They had our breakfast leftovers and stood around chatting and it was 8:45am before we were climbing into the vans to leave. Standing around is coldest part of the mornings! I try to keep warm with pushups and squats, but what a relief to get in the van and crank up the heat.
Today we did rock work around the Mirror Lake area, continuing a project our counterparts started in May. Jeff and I have had experience putting in rock steps working on the IAT, but this was nothing like that as we had to source and cut our steps from the hunks of granite lining the trail. Quite impressive but so much hard work. Jeff and I worked with Maddie today, and only got one step in place!
They have a generator and a drill, and they drill holes where they want the rock to break - about 4” apart. Then you pound metal stakes into the hole and hope it splits where you want it to!! Next, you try to slide it into place using pry bars, or if the distance is too great, you lasso it with a canvas sling and use a come-along winch to pull it into position.
It was physical work! We got back to camp after 4p. A few went to the river, but it was cooler already. Alison took a few to the Housekeeping Camp to use the showers, and JT went along with that group. I changed my clothes, and laid down in our tent and read my book (The Calamity Club - and I’m only 72% done and Libby will recall it in 3 days!).
I got up about 5:45p and joined the group for dinner. Lots of good conversations about the hard work we did today. Dinner was really great - a great cut of meat (Tri-tops) with gravy, mashed potatoes and veggies, plus a side salad and cookies for dessert.
Afterward, we sat around the fire for a while. We heard there is a wildfire within the park, out near Wawona. We aren’t in danger, but we might have some smoke descending into the valley.
By 8pm, I was back in the tent - reading and ready for a good nights sleep.
Wednesday September 16, 2026
Another good night sleep in the tent, although I’m glad we’re halfway through the camping portion of this trip. Everything is dusty, and I’m glad there are no mirrors so I can’t see how rough I look!
We were still the tent getting dressed when the 7am breakfast bell rang - biscuits and gravy, bacon, scrambled eggs and yogurt/fruit. We had breakfast, loaded our packs with water and snacks. Jeff and I did our morning pushups and stretching, inspiring a few others. If nothing else, it warmed me up!
The NPS trail crew showed up about 8:15am and ate the breakfast leftovers, then we piled into the van to drive to the worksite.
Everyone gravitated to the same spots today, so we worked with Maddie again. Eamen gathered us for a quick safety briefing - good idea as it’s easy to get fingers trapped when dealing with rock bars and heavy boulders!
We placed our second rock, a half step, before break time. During the break, Greg, the trail supervisor came to help / work with us for a few hours. After break, Greg gave Jeff a tutorial in running the rock drill. He punched 4 holes into the top of a rock in the middle of the trail. I inserted the “plugs and feathers,” then we pounded the plugs into the rock and hoped the rock would split where we wanted it to. It mostly did, and then Greg took a hammer and pounded the crap out of the granite rock until it was level!
While JT and I were working on that, Maddie was using “Shaping Hammers” to pound the edge off of the rock she wanted to use for our other half of our second step. We seemed to get conflicting guidance from Greg and Eamen, which resulted in us just pounding the rocks with the hammers, and eventually, JT with the sledgehammer! Chips of granite were flying everywhere!
This afternoon, the sky turned rose colored from the wildfire smoke, but it really didn’t feel like bad air quality.
We placed two large rocks into our second step today and felt good about that. Of course, it seemed like the other teams had more perfectly cut rocks, but it’s all good - not a competition.
We were packed up and in the van by 3pm, heading back to the campsite. We struggled with the decision to shower versus swim, when a nap felt like the best option. At camp, Dawn offered to make us a charcuterie board, so it was an easy decision to change clothes, break out our bourbon and have a happy hour. We had great chats with Andy and Paul about travel, business, etc. Honestly, it’s taken me a few days to want to engage - finding these back-to-back trips meeting new people is somewhat exhausting. But they’re fun people and we have a lot in common.
Dinner tonight was “Taco Wednesday.” Patty came to dinner and brought a friend, who brought two bottles of wine, which was nice … however she was on the obnoxious side and dominated the conversation. Felt wrong for our small team that is still working on bonding!
Headed to our tent about 7:30pm - finished my book, but I’m sad now that it’s done!
Thursday September 17, 2026
We were both sleeping quite soundly, and still in the tent when the breakfast bell rang. Other than getting hot food, it’s not much of a rush to eat as we sit around for 30+ minutes afterwards. But we had breakfast (pancakes, scrambled eggs, potatoes and sausages) and then the Trail Team showed up early. Eamen brought us gifts of stickers, bandanas and patches. We headed to the site to resume the work for the last day.
We got the second half of our second step settled - it’s a lot of back and forth - raise one side, stick a rock in, too high, take the rock out, repeat. Like building tread on the IAT, I found I lack the patience for the tedious work. I’d rather have mindless grunt work to be doing. But we enjoyed working with Maddie again, and it’s fun to see the progress we made over three days of work. Just before lunch, we placed our third step using a “whale’s tail” shaped rock that Sam had dug out of the trail two days ago - I loved how it looked, but alas, the experts said it was too unstable. We broke it in half and it still wouldn’t work. We spent the remaining hours of the day smashing rocks into gravel - that was a lot of work, but sort of fun. We had to backfill our step with gravel, pack it down, then spread dirt over the top - looked fantastic when it was all done.
We knocked off a little early, which was marvelous. I was exhausted just hauling the tools down to the truck! We got back to camp about 3pm - no wrong turns for Janice today! At 3:15p, Alison took a full van load to “Housekeeping” to use the free showers, and I went along this time. I hadn’t washed my hair since Sunday, and it was full of granite dust after these three days of work. The shower wasn’t fantastic, but having the perspective of not having showered after 4 days of tough work, it felt like a 5-star hotel (or at least it feels that good to be clean). We popped into the store and bought a bottle of wine for tomorrow night, our last night at camp. Alison got confused on our way back and we did the Curry Village loop twice - for someone like me with a good sense of direction, it’s a bit aggravating that our drivers don’t have the lay of the land yet!!
We arrived back at camp at 4:30pm - tried to find some sun to dry my thick hair, and progressively add layers of clothing as the sun went down. Patty and her friend approached our camp again, and Alison got up and headed them off, and they diverted to the PG campsite instead. I said a quiet thank-you to Allison.
Asian food for dinner tonight. Everyone was very exhausted and it seems most went to bed early.
Friday September 18, 2026
Free day today - odd timing to have it at the end of the week, but our Trail Maintenance crew works four ten-hour days Monday thru Thursday, so our schedule is designed to follow them.
We slept until the 7am breakfast bell dinged, then got up and ate breakfast in our warm sleep clothes. I was going to hike in a skort today, but it seemed to be our coldest morning yet. Breakfast was “make your own burrito,” and I ate with my gloves on.
The group was split on options for the day. Some had sore knees and backs and didn’t want to hike. They did want to see the Sequoias, so I told them about Mariposa Grove, and the shuttle / optional hike that would get them up to see the trees. Andy was going to do an up and down on 4-mile, and he was the first out of camp.
Even though I’d heard it was the park’s most popular hike, I suggested to Jeff that we do the Mist Trail to Vernal and Nevada Falls, on the Merced River 2000+ feet above the valley. On my trip here 40ish years ago, I recalled the beauty of Vernal Falls and we’d seen Nevada Falls from across the valley last week and knew it still had some water in it. By 8:30am, we’d walked the 1/2 mile to shuttle stop #11 and waited for the loop bus. It was still chilly and we just missed a bus and waited about 15 minutes for the next one. I had on my skort, and three layers on top including my puffy jacket, and it was a relief to get on the warm bus!
Past Curry Village, we got out at Happy Isles, stop #16.
We walked across the bridge with about a dozen people from the bus, then we stopped to tighten our boots and peel off a layer before we started climbing. The first mile was a wide, paved path with a textured surface, which was great as it had steep up and downs. We climbed 750’ in the first mile, where another bridge gives a view of Vernal Falls. I think most people that start out on this hike are lucky to make it that far. At that spot, there were toilets, drinking water and two nature guides from the Yosemite Conservancy. It felt a bit crazy with that many people milling about! We kept hiking along the Mist Trail. Mon-Thurs, this portion of the trail is closed for renovation work, and hikers are diverted to the John Muir trail, which will take you to the top of the falls, but without the spectacular views of the Mist Trail. Because of our recent trail work, we were fascinated by the work in progress and the caches of tools - locked up generators, pulleys and cables strung through the trees, piles of perfectly cut square steps that were ready to be placed, etc.
We got to the top of Vernal Falls, then walked along the river for a bit, where there was a gorgeous emerald pool, and flat rocks that looked like they’d be so perfect for sliding, but there are very serious no swimming / wading signs posted! We were off route then, so we had to hike perpendicular to the river to get back on the trail. Because of all the people, we never questioned which way the trail went!
We crossed another bridge and could see Nevada Falls - and also how much more we’d need to climb to get to the top of that one. We took it small segments at a time with breaks for the heart rate to come down. We leapfrogged with several other groups - three Asian girls with long baggy pants who would climb really fast, and then collapse on rocks, an extended family from MN with about 20 people, and several backpackers with heavy loads. As we climbed higher, we got into the smoke from the nearby Dome Fire - it didn’t feel like it was bothering our eyes or our lungs, but you could see if wafting over Glacier Point in an interesting pattern.
Near the top, I was delighted to find a compostable toilet and did some trail cleanup while waiting there (micro-trash and a banana peel). We walked over the bridge at the top of Nevada Falls, and then we headed down via the John Muir Trail. The JMT was a bit longer, but it also offered many switchbacks and was reputed to be less steep than the Mist Trail, which is what I need while heading down.
We went through a patch called “Ice Cut” where a large portion of the granite hillside either was cut or fell into the valley below. The stark shiny whiteness was such a contrast to the rest of the terrain. Just after that, we found some flat rocks where we ate our lunch with a view of Nevada Falls and the valley below.
Then it was just down, down, down, but not too steep and mostly through the forest with no view of the falls or the river, but we appreciated the shade. We got back to the first bridge and by now (2pm), it was crawling with tourists. Lots of families - lots of people that didn’t look like they were going to make it any farther!! We walked the last mile, mostly down and steep in twenty minutes, and waited just a few minutes for the green bus. We were lucky to get seats in the back - after that stop, the bus filled up to standing room only. We had lots of stops, so pretty much emptied out our snack bags, munching while we rode past Curry Village, Yosemite Village, and the Ahwahnee. We got off at Yosemite Lodge to verify the exact spot to catch our bus tomorrow. While we were there, we used their restroom - flush toilets and hot & cold running water with soap. Also a mirror - the first one I’d looked in since Sunday! There was a food court that had a Starbucks (!) but we were in search of ice cream and found a vending machine with ice cream bars. From there, we had the option to get back on the shuttle, or walk across the (not) swinging bridge and back to our campsite - I thought it’d be about 0.5 miles, but it was more like 1.25 miles … we chose that option and arrived back at camp about 4:30pm.
We were tempted to swim - would have felt great, but I wasn’t up for the 0.5 mile walk to the “secret” beach, and we also knew it would start getting cold again soon, and I didn’t want to be cold. We changed into warmer clothes, opened our bottle of wine and gathered with the gang to hear about their day.
Dinner tonight was burgers - we preordered doneness and fixings, and once again it was perfect. Kerry asked Jeff to start the fire before dinner, which was odd, but after dinner he brought over the fixings for S’Mores, and those were a perfect finale to a week of camping. All week, he’d been interested in where we were working / hiking and proved to be very knowledgeable about all things Yosemite. He told us a story about a plane that crashed into a mostly frozen lake in 1976 that contained pot and cocaine being smuggled from Mexico. Apparently, word got out among the climbing folk that hung around the park - living very simple lives, and many of them went up and harvested some of the loot - and set their lives along a very different path as a result. He said some of them are highly respected locals these days. A documentary about it has just been released and we will have to check it out: High Ground - Yosemite.
9.6 miles, 2461’ elevation gain
Saturday September 19 - Tuesday September 22, 2026
I was awake just after 6am, and anxious to get everything packed up and organized. We packed up the contents of our tent, and I stuffed my backpack with my down blanket, boots, and dirty clothes - things I think I won’t need to see again until we return home. I’m always impressed with how efficient we are in packing up a camp, skills honed with hundreds of days bike-camping and paddling-camping.
We had breakfast with the gang at 7am, and most were packed up by then. Dale had the most stuff, with awnings, table cloths, chairs and after he packed it up, our little camp looked bare bones.
By 8am, we were all ready to go, and started the good-bye process. It was a great little group - we did some good work and had some good laughs, enjoyed fantastic meals and beautiful campfires each night.
Janice dropped us off at the YARTS bus stop at the Yosemite Lodge - it would have been a tough 1.25 mile walk dragging our bags from the campsite, or a 0.5 mile hike to the shuttle and about an hour shuttle ride, so we were very grateful for the lift! It was the only component of this logistically complicated trip that I hadn’t worked out in advance!!
Our YARTS bus came at 8:50am for the 3.5 hour drive to Merced, with about 8 brief stops along the way. It was another gorgeous Saturday in September, and traffic was streaming into the park as we were headed out. We started out with many layers: hats, Smart Wool base layers, puffy jackets, tights under my skort … and when we got out of the bus in Merced it was hot! We arrived at the “Transportation Depot” about 11:30am, and when I was mapping out how far away the Enterprise Rental Car location was, I noticed that they closed at noon - whew - cutting it close! It was just 0.6 miles away, but because of all of our luggage, we summoned an Uber anyway - it was a $10 ride and I tipped him $10 for helping us get there on time with all that luggage!
I’d arranged for a one-way rental - to be dropped off in San Luis Obispo on Monday before we got on the train with my folks, but since that train has been cancelled, I think we’ll just keep the rental car and drive to San Francisco on Monday. We got a white Chevrolet Blazer SUV that fit our bags. I plugged SLO Amtrak station into Google Maps - and also searched for a UPS store along the way. We had the idea about shipping our camping gear back to ourselves so we could stop schlepping it through the state! We stopped at the UPS in the small agricultural town of Madera, where a young man helped us mail the large rubber bag with all of its contents (and its new wheels) along with my backpack in a separate box. It wasn’t cheap, but we feel it was worth it!!
My folk’s train from LA to SLO had also been cancelled a few weeks ago, and they were rebooked on a bus, which was going to arrive earlier than the train?! They got to SLO about 2 hours before we would be there, so I checked them into our hotel and they called an Uber for the short trip to the hotel.
We drove primarily on small roads through agricultural areas in order to get over to the coast. We went through an area with thousands of almond trees, and then saw an “almond co-op” that had mountains of almonds stacked outside - I regret not getting a photo! Did you know it takes over a gallon of water to grow each almond?! We arrived in SLO about 4pm and found my mom in the lobby of the hotel, purchasing snacks for their cribbage game. Along the drive, I’d been messaging with my cousin, Kris, about meeting for dinner. We checked in, and both Jeff and I took really long showers - we’d been so filthy. Jeff had a hard time getting his nails cleaned, I probably did too, but they’re covered with polish.
At 5:30p, we were cleaned up and ready to head out. Our hotel was on the SW side of SLO, so it was a quick drive to Avila Beach, where we met Kris and Greg at Mersea’s Seafood Restaurant at the end of the pier. It was a fantastic setting, with sea lions barking and great sea air in our lungs. It turned cold though, and lucky for us, Kris had several blankets in her car. The cold and a few tables of noisy kids made us not want to linger too long after dinner. We headed back to the hotel where we did a large load of laundry while we played a few games of backgammon - our first in a week as we didn’t play any while camping!
SUNDAY
We made a plan to meet in the lobby for breakfast, but we were surprised to find that the Marriott Courtyard didn’t have a breakfast buffet as they generally do?! We were headed to Paso Robles anyway since I’d made a 10:15am reservation for a paired food / wine tasting at Daou - my favorite winery from our trip here last year. I just searched Google Maps for a breakfast place along Hwy 101, and we went to the Kitchenette in Templeton CA, just south of Paso. Templeton was a really quaint old typical western town, where the houses had been converted to businesses. Would have been a fun place to spend the day. We drove through “Tin City,” then skirted Paso to head out to Daou.
The weather was a bit overcast, so the view from the top of Daou Mountain wasn’t fantastic, but we enjoyed our morning there - tasted 4 wines and had 4 “small bites,” which was actually a lot of food - a lobster roll, pork and beef. Our final tasting was their Soul of the Lion - a dark Cab that’s my favorite, and I drank everyone’s that morning as mom and dad don’t like the bold reds and JT was driving.
It was nearly 1pm when we left there, and Kris had arranged a tasting for us at the Hearst Winery on the coast (San Simeon). It took us awhile to get there, and along the way, we stopped at a roadside stand selling walnut butter and amazing dark chocolate walnut treats. We lost signal a few times and may have not taken the most direct route to the coast - we went past the Winery Justin, and Kris said we shouldn’t have done that. The Hearst Winery was in a gorgeous setting - we sat outside on couches, overlooking the beach. There we had another lobster roll (not as good) and a fantastic charcuterie board. Mom and I did the tasting and enjoyed the wines, Jeff waited patiently, and Geo waited not so patiently … he was tired of wine and wanted his gin and a beer!!
We made a few stops along the coast - one beach where the Elephant Seals live, just a few there, but so amazing! And in Morro Bay where you can generally see Sea Otters - we only saw one, but enjoyed our visit to the harbor. By then, we were all tired, and ready to head back. I didn’t need to eat anything, and we should have stopped and let Geo get a beer and a fish sandwich, but we headed back to the hotel where they ordered some stuff from the bar to eat. I helped mom with some train logistics, and we were all early to bed.
MONDAY
We met in the lobby, all packed up, and headed to downtown SLO to check it out. Without us shipping our bags, we might not have been able to fit all of our luggage in the SUV! We found a cute cafe “Linnea’s” and had breakfast there. Seemed like a lot of Cal-Poly students. After breakfast, we poked around in the shops and walked along a “river” area with outdoor seating, gorgeous plants and the remnants of a sidewalk chalk drawing festival. My favorite was the “Cat in the Pearl Earring” a spoof of the iconic Vermeer painting.
Mary and Geo’s bus was leaving about noon to take them to Emeryville (NE of Oakland) where they will resume their train trip later tonight. I felt bad about leaving them there. I’d have liked to bring them along on our drive north, but it would be too aggravating to drive them to Emeryville from the South Bay Area, and I didn’t think they could negotiate BART with their luggage, and they were happy to continue their adventure as planned. We headed north on Hwy 101, heading over to Hwy 1 when we were just north of Salinas.
We stopped at the Wharf in Santa Cruz (the boardwalk was closed). We had crab sandwiches and chowder there, and watched the sea lions for a while. There were a few little ones that were working so hard to jump up on the dock - when they’d make it the whole crowd would cheer! Back in the car, we headed up the coast to the cute little town of Half Moon Bay - all set up for their pumpkin festivals! Then just about 20 minutes back into the metro madness and we arrived at tonight’s hotel - a Marriott Fairfield. We dropped our bags there and then drove to the airport to drop the car, catching an Uber back. I had a long bath, and we played some backgammon and watched Monday Night Football.
TUESDAY
I was awake early and doing yoga when I got a notification from Delta that our flight (to ALT) was delayed. We really didn’t want to go to ALT anyway, and I was able to rebook on a earlier flight to DTW - still heading to the eastern time zone, but it is scheduled to get us home earlier. We showered and packed up for the final time. We decided to skip the Fairfield breakfast and called an Uber to go to the airport - arriving much earlier than we need to be. The TSA precheck was fast, and the Delta lounge was nearly empty. We had a nice breakfast there, and played some backgammon and practiced patience for a long travel day!
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