Posted by Karen on 31-Jan-2010
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Lori and I went to Yosemite Valley to spend the weekend under the Full Wolf Moon, the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. From the Farmers’ Almanac:
Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.
On the way down Friday, we stopped at a vineyard and tried to capture the rows of bare grape vines and the precise line of trees behind it. We also stopped to look at a camping trailer I was interested in, so we didn’t arrive at Yosemite until slightly before sunset. We went up to Tunnel View to watch the sunset, which was fairly ordinary, but then the full moon started rising behind Half Dome and that was very extraordinary. For sleeping, we’d rented one of the Curry Village heated cabins and I must say, the heaters in those cabins are excellent.
Saturday morning, we walked over to the Happy Isles Bridge and photographed the Merced River and then we headed over to Yosemite Falls, Ahwahnee Meadow, Sentinel Bridge and just photographed away. We decided to spend sunset and moonrise on Sentinel Bridge, photographing Half Dome and the Merced River. We met a few other hardy souls out there with their cameras too and we all chatted and laughed away even though it was near freezing out there. We saw a little avalanche fall from Half Dome and I got a few pictures of it, which was kind of exciting. After the sun set, a huge cloud of fog settled over the horizon and even though it was the biggest and fullest moon of the year, we couldn’t see it rising, just the illumination of it behind the fog. Okay, time for pizza and warmth.
Sunday morning, we checked out the visitor center and the Indian Museum and met an old Indian woman weaving baskets in the traditional style. At Valley View, we met a couple of crows that were more than eager to pose for us, so of course we had to oblige them and take their photograph. As we headed for home, we stopped for one last waterfall on Cascade Creek, and then headed home after a really nice weekend.
Posted by Karen on 27-Nov-2008
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Happy Thanksgiving!!
Day 2 of the big storm that is hovering over the area. It looks sort of clear towards the south, so let’s head down Highway 89 into Arizona and try for a view of the north rim of the Grand Canyon today. As I drove across the Arizon strip, it was looking promising, but as I entered the Kaibab National Forest, the snow started coming down. It’s pretty, but it’s cold, thank goodness I’m actually dressed for snow–I knew I brought the snow boots along for a reason. At Jacobs Lake Inn, the half-way point to the North Rim, I decide going all the way to the Grand Canyon won’t be worth it since the visibility is next to nothing in this storm and the storm seems to be getting worse. Back to Kanab, Utah, where I check out the Levi Stewart Memorial in town. It tells about the pioneers and the founding of the town. The rain certainly makes all the red rock look redder, but it’s time to go inside now.
Posted by Karen on 21-Aug-2005
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Steve, Lisa and I headed up to Round Top Lake out of Woods Lake Campground with the intention of going on to Fourth of July Lake, which is on the other side of the pass. We headed up the Lost Cabin Mine Trail, enjoying the many wildflowers that were out and the wonderful views. We spied a nice little waterfall next to the Lost Cabin. We passed a very old abandoned car of some type and we mused what type it might have been and how it might have been used in the mining operation. We reached Round Top Lake (9,340 feet) and enjoyed a nice lunch break. Since I’d over-exerted myself the day before I decided that I wasn’t going down to Fourth of July Lake, but would wait for Steve and Lisa if they wanted to continue on. We decided to continue on to the saddle and when we got there, Steve and Lisa decided to climb Fourth of July Peak (9,536 feet) instead of going down to the lake. I hung around below the peak and took pictures while they did the summit. I lost sight of them about halfway up the peak, but then they reappeared again and we headed back home. It was suggested that I subtitle this trip “too many pictures!” because that’s what I kept saying all afternoon! It was a great day and a very pretty place.
Distance: approx. 8.5 miles. Time: 5.5 hours. Elevation Gain: approximately 1,500’.
Posted by Karen on 31-Jul-2005
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Frank, Rene and I joined Paul for a beautiful, albeit strenuous, hike up to the summit of Mt. Tallac (9,735 feet). Mt. Tallac is located in the Desolation Wilderness area of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) on the western shores of South Lake Tahoe. From the trailhead (elevation 6,480 feet) we followed along the edge of Fallen Leaf Lake, past Lost Island Lake and on to Cathedral Lake, where we took a lunch break. At this point, we’d covered about half of our distance, but only about a third of the elevation gain. All nourished, we began our climb up the front face of the summit. It was a long climb, but the higher we went, the prettier the views were. Once at the summit, we had a clear view of Lake Tahoe, Fallen Leaf lake, Hawkins Peak, Desolation Valley, Gilmore Lake, Lake Susie, Lake Aloha, Velma Lake, Pyramid Peak, Maggie’s Peaks and many other peaks and lakes that I don’t know the names of. After a break at the summit and watching the chipmunks try to get into our bags, we headed back down. The wildflowers are going full bloom on the trail and Rene was able to tell me the names of some that I didn’t know. It was a long day, but a good day. Unfortunately, the ice cream parlor at Camp Richards was closed by the time we got to it—maybe next time!
Distance: approx. 10 miles. Time: 8 hours. Elevation Change: 3,255′.
