YOSEMITE FLORA AND FAUNA MAY 2013

First of all: May the 4th Be With You. Then take a gander at the slideshow of flowers and critters that emerge in the spring at Yosemite National Park. Various locations include the Merced River canyon, the Mist Trail, El Portal, Yosemite Valley Stables and my yard near the stables. The photo above features North Dome and the Merced River from the Happy Isles bridge on a lovely spring day.

The flowers: lupine, moss, Western Dog Violet, California Poppy, Miner's Lettuce, Some Unidentified Yellow Flower and MacCloskey's Violet. The critters: California Kingsnake, Common Raven, Belding's Ground Squirrel, millipede and Sierra Alligator Lizard (thanks to Todd King for sharing the photo).

DINNER AROUND YOSEMITE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

Winter is for hibernating and to achieve that perfect state of somnambulism you must eat. Fortunately you don't have to go far to eat well during a cold January evening in Yosemite National Park, thanks to the Chefs' Holidays event at the Ahwahnee. Each winter, chefs from all over the country converge on Yosemite's venerable Ahwahnee hotel to celebrate food (and wine) by sharing their expertise with park visitors. Daily cooking demonstrations culminate in a dinner feast prepared by the visiting chefs. Hot dog! This year we attended the "Chefs of the Big Apple" session with our faithful dining companions Christy and Joe, where we wined and dined in the cathedral-like Ahwahnee Dining Room.

The menu consisted of five courses, each prepared by a different chef from New York (with the exception of the soup course prepared by the Ahwahnee's Master Chef Percy Whatley). Each course was accompanied by a California wine: Sauvignon Blanc with soup, Gewurztraminer with salad, Chardonnay with risotto and Cabernet with steak. The pours are very generous and you can almost justify the cost of the dinner ($199 per person) based on the wine alone. However, the food may also be worth every penny. We were treated to Trotter Soup with Lentils and Salsa Verde, Endive with Gratineed Gorgonzola and Balsamic, Risotto Blanco with Quail Egg and Parmesan, Charcola Grilled Whole Strip Steak with Barbuto Potatoes, Broccolini and Salsa Piccante, and a dessert of Mont Blanc with Chestnut Shortbread, Salted Caramel and Blood Orange Sorbet.

Though dining at the Ahwahnee with America's famous chefs is always a sublime experience, this year's bite of the Big Apple paled significantly next to last year's seafood feast from Las Vegas Chef Rick Moonen. The Trotter Soup was tasty, even after we confirmed that 'trotter' refers to pig's feet. The risotto was also well-prepared and delicious with the egg mix-in despite being served in a ridiculously giant bowl, but we must have gotten the end of the batch with the wilted quarter endive (how can something not be good with gorgonzola?!), and the steak was... meh. Here's a tip for Chef Jonathon from NYC: we don't put salsa piccante on steak and we live a whole lot closer to Mexico than you do. Dessert is always good - amiright? - although I don't think the salted carmel quite lived up to how it was envisioned. Ted was very sad when his risotto was all gone, since it was the highlight of the meal for him. But the wine flowed and the company was excellent and a good time was had by all. Thank you Joe for treating us to dinner! And thank you DNC for allowing Yosemite community members to attend dinner at a discounted rate.

Even hibernating bears wake up once in a while, and so it goes that occasionally we have to make a trip into the big city for supplies. Emerging from wintery Yosemite Valley to the sunny Central Valley, we made the two hour trek to Fresno last week for auto parts, groceries and new shoes. We shop Fresno suburbia with no lack of restaurant choices, but Ted always wants tacos, so we often head down Blackstone Avenue to Don Pepe Taqueria for cervezas preparadas and really good Mexican food. Somehow this great restaurant has escaped my blogging ways, so here's the remedy: carnitas tacos and shrimp tostada with refreshing Pacifico beers topped by a jumbo shrimp and drizzled with Tapatio.

What else is good here? Just pick something from the menu. Super delicious fish and shrimp tacos, shrimp cocktail, carne asada - you name it. Run by a large crew of Mexicans who rush to prepare your meal, the place is always packed with people from all over town and the food is always great. They even upgraded the restrooms, so next time you're in Fresno, do yourself a favor and head to Don Pepe's for tacos y cervezas.

Junket Ratings:

Chefs' Holidays at the Ahwahnee: Junk in the Trunk! (Usually)

Don Pepe Taqueria: Junk in the Trunk! (Always)

WE MADE IT TO THE TOP: HIKING YOSEMITE'S HALF DOME JUNE 2012

There they are: the dreaded Half Dome cables that allow you to ascend to the summit. Four hundred feet of steel cable attached to stanchions positioned some six feet apart spanned by a wooden board at the base to provide a toehold. The slope gradually steepens and some sections feel nearly vertical as you hang out in space at 8000 feet of elevation. And that's after you've hiked many miles to get to this place, the saddle between the Subdome and Half Dome. As the proud owners of a Yosemite National Park Wilderness Permit for two nights of camping in the backcountry, we were scheduled to enter the backcountry at the Panorama Trail, camp the first night at Illilouette Creek, camp the second night at Little Yosemite Valley and somewhere along the way, hike to the top of Half Dome and back.

The Fellowship of the Dome was formed when two friends from Florida, Tamra and Warren, suggested that hiking to Half Dome was the thing to do on their California vacation. So Ted and I offered up the deluxe camping digs located in our yard in Yosemite Valley and reserved the wilderness permit. Not long after, Yosemite friends Weimar, Teri and Kristal decided to join our quest with their own permit. Weimar and Teri even recruited another Florida flatlander, their niece Grace, and thus the eight members of the Fellowship set forth for three days and two nights of backcountry adventure in Yosemite National Park. After parking vehicles in the Glacier Point lot, our adventure began on the Panorama Trail with all its outrageously beautiful views and we hiked/dragged our giant backpacks some three miles to Illilouette Creek, our designated campsite for the evening.

Tamra and Warren: hiking to the top of that thing behind them

Illilouette Creek

Ted spotted an established campsite near the creek with a fire ring and plenty of room for our party's four tents, so camp setup was easy and quick. We spent the late afternoon soaking our tootsies in the creek and the evening enjoying some freeze-dried dinner around the fire. Kristal caught up with us at camp as she couldn't get out of work like the rest of us, and illuminated the source of the mysterious ventriloquist-like noise we had been hearing on the trail that day: repetitive boom-like courting notes of the male Sierra Grouse. As far as Yosemite backcountry goes, this spot is idyllic: water cascading along low-angled granite, wildflowers and the deer that munch on them, High Sierra pine trees and stargazing.

Grace and TeriBack on the trail in the not-so-early morning, we labored up switchbacks while it was cool and marveled some more at the panorama of the succintly- and aptly-named Panorama Trail. Viewing Half Dome from its rounded side, you then wind your way down to cross the bridge at the top of Nevada Fall before traveling up the trail to Little Yosemite Valley, our second campsite of the trip, another 3 to 4 miles of hiking with giant packs. Thankfully, the plan to spend the second evening at LYV allowed us to drop our packs and do the seven mile round-trip Half Dome Trail as a day hike. But with tall thunderhead clouds building in the sky, we decided to put off hiking to Half Dome until the next morning and parked ourselves at the river instead. The stretch of the Merced River in LYV is wide and beautiful - perfect for a refreshing post-hike dip. But we began to abandon our rock perches in the river one by one as the sky darkened. And then, in the late afternoon as thunder cracked and rain poured, we contemplated our decision from the shelter of our tents. We all agreed it was a good decision to delay.

Happy Hikers: Kristal, Grace, Weimar, TeriHappy Hikers: Ted and Warren

Early the next morning (for real this time), we rose and packed our day packs with too-little water to tackle the ascent of Half Dome. Three and a half miles up to then cross the exposed trail on the Sub Dome and land at the base of the cables before pulling yourself hand-over-hand to the top. Though we left at 6:30 AM, we still encountered the notorious traffic jam that make the cables such a controversial sticking point with NPS and park visitors. With two exceptions, our party availed itself of a harness system to ascend the cables in the style of Via Ferrata assisted mountain climbing in Italy. Once we all arrived at the base of the cables, Ted kitted us out with harnesses, which took just enough time for every other hiker on the trail to arrive at the base of the cables too. In the noonday sun, we crawled up the cables with a hundred other hikers for an hour while the acrophobics in our party sweated it out. Personally, the height was not much of an issue, but the idea that my strength might fail before I reached the top as I hung on the cables did make me nervous. However, with the exception of acrophobic Kristal (who gamely tried to ascend the cables twice - she should get a medal for that), we all made it to the top, phobias conquered. I was extremely impressed by the performance of the Florida Flatlanders: from sea level to 8000 feet under your own power in a matter of days should leave you with altitude sickness and shortness of breath that prevents you from engaging in foolhardy actions like ascending 400 feet of steel cable on a granite slope. It was then that we realized we had consumed all of our water, but it didn't prevent us from scoping Yosemite from the top of the world (and encountering a friendly marmot):

View from the Sub Dome trail

Ted and Warren on the Sub Dome

View from the saddle between the domes

Gloves provided for free!View from the Half Dome

Happy to have conquered Half Dome, we struggled back down the crowded cables where most of the people seemed determined to stay forever. Believe me and anyone else who says it: coming down the cables is more stressful than going up. Again, not so much a heights issue for me, but hanging on the steep-angled granite clutching the steel cable is very, very tiring. Fortunately we found one last full water bottle in Ted's pack, though it wasn't near enough for the entire Fellowship and the 3.5 mile return trip to the campground in the afternoon sun. We were not in good shape by the time we arrived in LYV. As a matter of fact, Warren was our hero, trotting down the trail to acquire water from a creek that he took to the others on the trail.

So my advice for middle-aged folk hiking to Half Dome is this:

1. Bring plenty of water and more

2. Wear thick padded gloves for the cables - everyone in our party ended up with blisters and I didn't realize how shredded my gloves were until I unpacked them at home

3. Do not attempt as a day hike from Yosemite Valley!

4. Wear and bring sunscreen - no shade on the domes

After a brief respite in the river, we shouldered our packs for the 5 mile hike back to the Valley and home, dreaming of pizza and beers at the Curry Pizza Deck. We descended the Mist Trail, but were almost too thrashed to care about the spectacular views. Tamra swears the last mile was actually three, but we all made it home safely, smelly and slightly sunburned.

Yosemite Backcountry (Including Half Dome!) June 2012 from California Junket on Vimeo.

HIKING AND HIKING YOSEMITE TRAILS MAY 2012

Next week we'll be hiking to the top of Half Dome. There will be a whole gang of us, locals and visitors, attempting Yosemite's most difficult hike: 16 miles round trip and 4800 feet in elevation gain. We're breaking the trip up with some backcountry camping, but it will still be tough. Participating in a self-imposed training regimen, I decided to hike Yosemite Valley's big trails to prepare for Half Dome. All of them. Since the beginning of May I have logged some 50 hiking miles, including Snow Creek Falls, the Mist Trail to Nevada Fall, Yosemite Falls, and the Four Mile Trail. I had corrective foot surgery in December and started walking at the end of February, so I'm quite pleased with my progress (and my photographic evidence). However, after dragging myself to the overlook at Yosemite Falls, I may never hike that trail again. Though I started on Snow Creek, I started taking photos on the Mist Trail in early May on the way to the top of Vernal Fall:

They don't call it the Mist Trail for nothin'!

Looking down on the Mist Trail from the top of Vernal Fall

From the top of Venal FallI wore my rain coat on the stairs next to Vernal Fall and was still completely soaked by the time I arrived at the top. After a short rest in the sun, I kept on to Nevada Fall. No coat needed for the stairs and switchbacks next to Nevada Fall as the sun was blazing in all its glory, and you don't get close enough to feel the mist from the fall. This hike is 5.5 miles round trip.

From the top of Nevada Fall

I tackled Yosemite Falls in the late afternoon and labored seven miles round trip. I discovered I have a knee issue on the way down. Ah, the things you learn about yourself in the great out of doors. The trail has two sections of endless switchbacks divided by a relatively benign midsection that allows you to catch your breath and gird yourself for what lies ahead.

The flat midsection of the trail which doesn't last

Yosemite Creek just above the fallsFrom the top of Yosemite Falls

Yosemite Falls and Half Dome in the same shot on the way downHere, with 1.5 miles to go, my knee said, "Done now. Thanks."After a sufficient rest period for my knee - apparently long distance up and downhill hiking causes strain on the illiotibial band where it crosses your knee joint - it was time to address the Four Mile Trail. On the opposite side of the Valley, this trail offers great views of Yosemite Falls and Half Dome as you wind your way up to Glacier Point for a nine mile round trip. The bonus of this long hike is the access to ice cream at the top. The other bonus is that it is not nearly as crowded as the other trails. Don't be fooled by my strategically framed photos - there are hundreds of other hikers on these trails in the summer. I was dreading the notorious switchbacks on the Four Mile Trail, but it turned out to be a much more pleasant hike than Yosemite Falls. The switchbacks are numerous, but the angle is not as steep. My knee didn't like this hike either, but it was manageable. I also found occasional wildflower gardens busy with blooms.

Half Dome from the top of the Four Mile Trail

Unfortunately, at mile three on the way up the Four Mile Trail, I rapidly acquired and then broke open a heel blister. I jimmied my footwear until it was bearable and finished the trail, but I'm on timeout until it heals. I'm planning to fit in the Yosemite Valley Loop trail - all 14 miles of it - before the Half Dome ascent next week, so wish me luck and send me some moleskin (thanks to Beth for the knee brace). I've been all over the Valley this spring and it's been a pleasure. Where do you go after Half Dome? I'm thinking a float trip on the river sounds just about right. With beers.

For a preview of the Half Dome hike, check out my friend Dalius' video of his run up to Half Dome in May. Dalius is a long distance runner and this was part of his training regimen (as opposed to my goal). Hiking to Half Dome is less difficult for some:

SPRING HIKING IN YOSEMITE APRIL/MAY 2012

Not to be confused with my last post, "Spring in Yosemite", this post showcases spring on the trail where we leave behind cocktails and brunch (but not beer!) and get out into the wildflower-riddled landscape. Though technically spring did not arrive early in Yosemite, it had glamoured winter into thinking it was spring, so we went with it. Actually, spring has started to feel like summer on some recent days, so wacky weather is the order of 2012. Perhaps we've been transported to Westeros or perhaps it signifies the end of the world...

Either way, here's what the Mist Trail looked like in April:

Even without significant mist, we still got a rainbow at Vernal Fall. By now, the waterfall has swelled considerably, the hordes have descended on the trail and the rainbow is delighting hikers as they ascend the Stairs of Death to the top of Vernal and beyond.

Though we briefly experienced the Hite Cove Spring Wildflower Extravaganza as every good Yosemite local should, we also took a spring excursion down the Merced River Trail starting at Briceburg past Railroad Flat. Ted and I always seem to hike this one in the fall, so I was delighted by the wildflower show. We even brought along old Fleabag, who made an impressive showing by hiking almost 5 miles round trip to the North Fork and back. Friends Joe and Christy (and their much younger dog, Cody) patiently accompanied us as we shepherded the oldster along the trail. Fleabag is 15 years old and though he ran out of steam toward the end, had to be carried over rocky sections of the trail and even lost the trail a couple of times, he still navigated under his own power from beginning to end. What a champ!

Today I had to do a little work at Glacier Point, so I checked out the haps at the Sentinel Dome trail on the way home. Last year in June my mom and I could not hike to Taft Point from the same trailhead because there was too much snow. Not so in Westeros, the path to Sentinel Dome was sunny and clear with views of Yosemite Valley and Half Dome. Once at the top of the dome, you'll see one of the most photographed trees in the world, now just the remains of one of the most picturesquely-situated Jeffrey Pines in Yosemite National Park.

The Jeffrey Pine back in the day by Ansel AdamsFortunately for me, this spring has been conducive to hiking all over the park as I am in training for a trek to the top of Half Dome in June. I can catch any number of trails right out my front door and yesterday while out hiking somewhere between Church Bowl and Lower Yosemite Falls, I shared the trail for a while with a bobcat. And that's spring hiking in Yosemite.