Last Tuesday, campah loaded with food, beer and climbing gear, Carol and I departed for Lover’s Leap, which, according to our guide book, was a great place for trad climbing newbies (that would be us) to practice their craft:
“There are few places as conducive to learning trad climbing as Lover’s Leap. Most climbs are well-protected and offer rests to place gear.”
Sounds like a plan. Continue reading Post ID 1561
Last night we went to friends Chuck and Deb’s house where in addition to dinner and beers, we got treated to a slideshow of their trip to Alaska with Chuck’s parents.
Great stuff – mountains, glaciers, strange cultures, they went dogsledding on a glacier, animals, flowers, carnivorous plants…
We wanted to go before, this all elevates the urge.
This morning we woke up and Dena was still non-ambulatory from our previous two days’ activities, so Carol, Jordan and I took off to climb up on top of a ridgeline we could see from our campground. There was no trail; we were making this up as we went. Dena stayed behind to have an easy day. Continue reading Post ID 1561
Today we decided to leave our little piece of paradise as the temperatures in Yosemite Valley were forecasted to remain in triple digits. We headed for Tioga Pass on the east side of Yosemite NP with the hope of snagging a campsite at Tioga Lake campground. Continue reading Post ID 1561
Having camped overnight at Yosemite Lakes and gotten going early, we arrived at Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley a little after 8 a.m. Our plan was to hike the Mist Trail up to Vernal Fall. This is an easy 3 mile round trip hike with 1,000 feet of elevation gain. Continue reading Post ID 1561
Click me for today’s pictures…
We all piled into the car with towels, chairs, food and a bunch of beach toys our nice neighbor lady loaned us (she has grandkids…) and head for the Half Moon Bay area. We wound up at the James V Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, where we learned about the no-bucket rule at the reserve. It makes it too tempting to gather plants and animals, the ranger told us. Continue reading Post ID 1561
This morning we spent some time goofing in the garage on my Indo Board which is basically a piece of plywood on a roller that we use to improve our balance.
Then we piled into the car and went to the climbing gym for several hours.
When we got home, Continue reading Post ID 1561
After yesterday’s big day I couldn’t get anyone (except Jordan, of course, who doesn’t have any intermediate speeds) interested in going climbing or something today – so we mostly stuck around home.
After breakfast, we went out in the garage for a good workout, lifting weights and so forth. After that, Jordan and I did a little project to go in the camper. Continue reading Post ID 1561
Big day today – we got up and out of the house by 8:40 which didn’t sound too hard to me until I had a 7-yo involved. We were on our way to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey and wanted to be sure to get there in time for the sea otter feeding. We made it, and in addition to feeding they were working on training the sea otters basically for stimulation for them (the otters, not the trainers). I guess the otters can actually get sick without the intellectual stimulation. Continue reading Post ID 1561
Tuesday morning we met Dena and Jordan at their hotel. I had told Dena to bring whatever she needed. I didn’t realize they made suitcases that big. We had a few moments in the parking lot getting everything in our car.
We went on to San Francisco, Continue reading Post ID 1561
