my mental meanderings...

So over the weekend I went to Yosemite with a few of my co-workers. This has become an annual tradition for us. We were even at Yosemite around the same dates last year. Boy did it feel great to get away from the Bay Area heat wave. Friday it was a cool 67 degrees in Tuolomne Meadows. Since we've had so much rain and snow this year due to El Nino, not only is the water level nice and high in the middle of summer, but there are still patches of snow in Yosemite and five campgrounds have been closed because they still have around five feet of snow! This year we stayed at Crane Flat, which was a definite improvement over Tamarak Flat from last year. There was actually running water and toilets, but no showers...I guess you can't have everything when you're car camping. =)

So those of us who made it to Yosemite around noon on Friday decided to hike to Elizabeth Lake. We were warned that the mosquitoes were out in force and they must have smelled my sweet, sweet blood coming from a mile away, since they pretty much ate me alive. Those persistent buggers got me right through my clothes! In the end, the view was definitely worth it. I'm so glad that there is still snow on the peaks at Yosemite, it makes everything look more beautiful.

So this year, instead of tackling Half Dome again, we decided to hike North Dome. Now, I know some of you are probably thinking to yourselves, 'What? North Dome, where is that?' I had never heard of North Dome until one of my co-workers suggested we hike to it, and at first I didn't know what to think. Would anything be as good as hiking Half Dome? It definitely wouldn't be as strenuous since it's half the distance to Half Dome and it won't take as long either. I didn't realize what a great view of Half Dome and the Yosemite Valley that you get from North Dome. Since it's not as high as Half Dome you can get a great view of the valley below on one side, and the other side you also have a good view of the face of Half Dome. If you have binoculars you can even see people walking around the top of Half Dome.

So many people from around the world come to Yosemite just to climb Half Dome, I wonder how many of those people return or stay to explore the rest of Yosemite? There is a lot more to Yosemite than Half Dome, and I look forward to exploring the rest of the it in the years to come!