Destination: Yosemite- May Lake and Glen Aulin
Participants: Matt(Dad), Kay(mom), Eric, Karen, Me, Kristen, Kristine, Allen(uncle), Madeleine, Ben, Collin, Maren
So, we left Tuesday night and drove up most of the way.
We slept in a parking lot. My family was all out on a tarp with sleeping bags but Kristine and I were in my car with the seats down. On wednesday morning, we got up and drove into Yosemite, got our permits, walked around Yosemite valley, and then we all went to the trail head.
We had a really easy hike to our first campsite. It was only a mile and a half to May Lake. There were a lot of gorgeous views, and the lake was big and beautiful.
We went swimming- Kristine didn't have a swim suit, so she just stuck her legs in. The water was freezing! I didn't get all the way under, but I got up to my neck, and then got out as soon as possible.
We didn't do much before and after dinner except play a few card games before going
to bed. Oh, Kristine and I shared a large tent with my two sisters and my cousin, Madeleine. That night we were pretty crazy and annoyed the other people in the camp. I won't tell you everything that went on, but I will say the words, 'steam-roller', 'worm-wrestling', and 'marry,date,or dump'.
The kids in my family have a tradition that started on a previous backpacking trip called Toothbrushing Party! We all start brushing our teeth at the same time and we spit at the same time- its all great, silly fun. Sometimes we call it the Toothbrushing Addicts Anonymous, and we introduce ourselves like at a real AA meeting.
Us girls also took a chance to shampoo and condition our hair to keep it smelling nice and looking good. We didn't have very much conditioner, and we had to use little buckets instead of the faucet because we couldn't get soap in the water, but it was still fun. It was cold, but really refreshing.
On Thursday, Kristine and I went with my Dad on a day hike up to the peak by our lake. It was a brutal hike- almost all uphill- and then downhill on the way bake (both extremes are not fun- we like level hiking.)
But the view was amazing from up top, and we saw lots of marmots. They're like giant squirrels with small tails, and are much cuter. We also sat in some snow and looked down at my brother, Eric, and my uncle who had gone cross-country(no trail) over the mountain and then back up to the peak.
When we got back, my family all went swimming at a really cool spot in the lake with good rocks to jump off of and to swim out to.
We were really beat that night, so after dinner, we went to bed again, but were not nearly as rowdy as the previous night.
On Friday, we packed up our tents and hiked out to our next camping spot. This hike was nothing like the first hike we did. This time, we went over 8 miles, most of it downhill. It was long and hot and painful on the knees to go downhill the whole time.
Kristine and my sister Kristen were in the lead (my brother Eric and my sister Karen both went back down to the cars to get some things that we forgot and needed- they came up to the second place from a different, shorter route- they actually beat us there), my parents followed them, and I followed with my
11-year-old cousin, Ben. My other cousins came in last.
I was really glad to hike with Ben, because he was having a lot of trouble. He was extremely worn out and wanted to stop all the time. Our pace was so slow that I was perfectly fine the first 7 miles, even carrying his tent and mat. I didn't get tired until the last mile. It was very nice to have Ben as an excuse to go so slow, and it was really great for me to take a turn, finally, as the stronger one. I was so used to being the slowest in the group that everyone pities, but on this trip, I felt fit, I felt great, and I was even able to carry someone else's weight for the first time ever.
But still, 8 miles is a lot- by the time we got to camp, we were all dead on our
feet. Kristine and Kristen had plopped down with my sister, Karen and were reading Eclipse when Ben and I arrived- we plopped down with them. Once everyone had made it to camp, we set up our tents, changed into swimsuits and went swimming.
This lake was very different from the first. It was much smaller, and it had a large waterfall at one end. Kristine went swimming with us in her clothes, since she didn't have a swimsuit.
My family is very quick to get in the water, unlike me. They were all in and already swimming under the waterfall before Kristine and I could even make it in knee deep. It wasn't as cold as the first lake, but it is still shocking. I decided to just jump in and get it over with.
I swam over to the waterfall with my family and we all would go under, to the rocks behind it, and at the same time, we would all duck under and let the waterfall carry us out. I convinced Kristine to try it, but she didn't like it very much.
The only bad thing about swimming in that lake with the strong currents were the large rocks that were everywhere. If you didn't pay attention, you would bang your knee on one and get a bruise.
Kristine and I got out of the water sooner than the rest of my family and we lounged on the warm rocks in the sun.
After dinner, Kristine went to take pictures of the beautiful sunset. We played more cards and read more Eclipse- we had a bunch of people in the tent listening to Karen read it, including my brother Eric, who had never read it before. Eric did the sound affects.
On Saturday, instead of a hike, we followed the river down to where the river was quieter. My dad and my uncle wanted to fish.
As I was stepping from rock to rock out to where my uncle was, I stepped on one rock and quickly discovered that there was a SNAKE, slithering along in front of me!!!!
I screamed!! and jumped back, almost falling into Kristine. She laughed, but I didn't think it was very funny. If you guys didn't know, I am deathly afraid of snakes, I don't even like looking at the snakes in the zoo, even though they are behind glass.
I called for my brother Eric, and then Karen came, and they called my uncle over. Now, if you knew my uncle, you would laugh. He is like a giant little kid, the minute we said 'snake', he comes barreling over, and without even looking to see what kind of snake it is, he reaches down and picks it up.
Everyone was passing the snake around for the rest of the night while me and my little sister tried to stay as far away as possible. Karen and Eric made plans to take it home and keep it as a pet, even though it is illegal. They named it Iago (from Othello-which I actually approve of, the name fits). Luckily for me, the snake escaped while we all went back down the river to swim.
There were a bunch of smooth rocks that the river flowed over, and my family all had fun sliding down. We got some great pictures and video. It was when we got back to camp that Karen discovered that Iago was gone.
We went to bed early on saturday night because we got up at 5:45 on Sunday morning to pack up our camp and head out. It was really cold as we put away our tent and quickly ate breakfast.
Karen, Kristine, Kristen and I started off together before anyone else left. I wanted a head start because I like to go slow and I don't like getting rushed. Karen and Kristen eventually pushed on ahead and Kristine and I stayed together a little farther behind. Eric very quickly caught up to and passed us. The hike back to the cars was almost 6 miles, but Kristine and I made it in very good time. We left at about 7:30 and made it there by 11. It was great. We saw 3 deer along the way, including a buck, though we didn't get a good picture of him. He really scared Kristine when he jumped across our trail only a few meters in front of her.
The sites were amazing, we only wish they could really be captured with a camera, but alas, they can't. But don't worry, we did take pictures non-the-less; but you really couldn't understand how beautiful it was from a picture.
Here are some numbers from the trip:
Mosquito bites:
Me- 14(minimum)
Kristine- 4 (maybe 5)
Animals:
Chipmunks- a zillion
Marmots- 20
Deer- 3
Snake- 1 (already too many)
Cool birds- 3 different kinds
Fish- 1 (dad and Allen were very disappointed)
Hours on a trail:
(for me) 16
Stars:
I think Kristine went out and saw the stars, but I never did, the night I really wanted to, it was all cloudy. Well actually, it was smoky, because there was a fire somewhere far away.
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