A quick trip to Yosemite

And we were successful. We crossed Ireland Creek, ate lunch down by the river, and thought over our options. I hoped to cross the river and set up camp on the far side, where there would be fewer people. But M didn't like the idea of a waist high crossing in that cold river. So we explored a bit further down the trail, and up the hill, and finally found a nice spot to camp. It was nap time. We set up our tent, stored our gear, and took a quick look at the darkening skies. Hmmmm.

No sooner had we climbed into the tent than it began to sprinkle. We weren't worried, as we've been in many showers in the past, and enjoyed a delightful rest while the forest got refreshed.

But not today. Soon thunder was cracking around us on all side. Big, loud thunder. And cloudbursts of rain pummeled the tent. Hmmm. 50% turned out to be 100%--and these were serious storms. Cold wind hammered the tent, the rain pounded down, and there were times when less than a full second elapsed between the flash of lightning and the explosion of thunder. We were in the middle of it!

And that's when we noticed that my old tent that had served us pretty darn well in the past (including rain in Cloud Canyon in Kings Canyon) was no longer up to the task. It was leaking. And this was not the kind of rain for a tent that was leaking. We bundled up inside (M wearing her rain gear) and waited out the worst of the storm. By 3:00 the rain was now just a steady rainfall, and the thunder and lightning seemed to be moving away. That was good. But there were more dark clouds on the horizon, and we agreed that we would wait another fifteen minutes before making the decision to bail. Then we waited another fifteen minutes. They we agreed that we would decide by 4 p.m.

At 4:15 things were not a lot better. The rain was lighter, but didn't look like it was going to end in the near future. And we knew that if he hiked out, we could easily make it by dark. Our only real concern was M's foot. As long as her foot held out, we would be fine, and sleeping warm and dry. If not....well, we weren't sure. No camping was allowed within four miles of the trailhead, which left us few alternatives.

Like any good husband, I left the decision to her. And at 4:10 she decided. "Let's get out of here." About five minutes later we were on the trail, hiking through a light rain.

And of course, as we hiked, the weather improved. The trail was muddy and puddled, and every branch and bush loosed a cascade of water if we touched it. But it was also beautiful and fresh smelling, and step by step we slowly hiked back to the trailhead.

By the time we had gone a couple of miles, we were feeling a bit more optimistic. M's foot was holding up fine, and the sprinkles we saw were a far cry from the darker clouds and downpours further up the canyon---where we could still hear occasional claps of thunder, and see the dark clouds. We were also meeting lots of hikers who had started out much later in the day...and they all asked us about the weather up the canyon.

Sunlight began to work its way through the clouds, and the views were spectacular. In fact, as we hiked through the late afternoon, we found ourselves re-thinking our usual daily schedule when backpacking. Instead of hiking in the morning and early afternoon, and taking the late afternoon and evening off, maybe we should do more hiking later in the day. It was stunning.

And there were lots of animals out and about. We saw more marmots than we've ever seen in our lives, including lots of families with little ones. And a host of smaller rodents as well, from squirrels to pikas to ground squirrels. They were all out for dinner. Closer to Tuolumne Meadows we also saw a lovely buck with a full set of antlers. And by the time we got to the trailhead, we added a black bear to the wildlife sighting list. Pretty darn cool.

But it was about two miles from the trailhead where M's slow pace began to takes its toll, and those last two miles were hard. We slowed down, we snacked and drank plenty of water, and finally, about 7:45, we walked across the last bridge, dodged the bear, and climbed into our van. For a day that was supposed to be a gentle re-introduction to life on the trail, we'd somehow managed to hike about twelve miles with full packs.

That was not the plan.