A Cold Hike at Yosemite
Where: Yosemite (United States). When: on 03-06-2009.
Written at 15-05-2012 by Anonymous
3813 Reads
I had never been to California in my life, being from the Midwest, so when the airplane landed and I got out, it was almost like being in a foreign country, with a tropical environment, palm trees, and other plants I had never seen before in my life.
Our stay in California took us to the aquarium in Monterrey Bay where we also saw sea lions and star fish out in the ocean. However California is such a big state that we couldn't stay in Monterrey Bay long. We headed on to Yosemite National Park.
It was a long drive, but finally we arrived, and entered the park. Where should we go? What should we see? What hike would be the most interesting? Finally we decided on a trail. We drove high up on the winding mountain roads to reach the trail head. By the time we got to the top and climbed out of the car, we were at a high enough altitude and it was a cool enough day that it was actually quite chilly outside.
We were determined to go on the hike anyhow, however, and not to give up once we had gotten this far, so we all put on as many clothes as we could, since we had no winter coats. We hadn't brought any gloves either, so we pulled socks over our hands to help fight the cold, then set out, in good spirits, although most certainly a somewhat comical sight, had anyone seen us.
The hike was about an hour, and at the top it was quite steep. However once we reached the summit, the view was amazing, and we could see a long distance.
We made our way back to the car, and climbed back in. On our way down, we saw what we had long hoped to be able to see, but had never actually seen—a live bear—or actually two. We slowed down as much as we could to view this sight! These black bears may have been mother and cub, although one was much further away, back among the trees. The other one, however, was already quite large, and very close to the road. He was scratching a log to get out bugs. We were not the only ones driving slow with camera at the window to photograph this rare sight!
Our trip to California also took us to see the peach orchards, and the Redwoods, as well as some relatives before we had to climb back into the airplane to return home!
Our stay in California took us to the aquarium in Monterrey Bay where we also saw sea lions and star fish out in the ocean. However California is such a big state that we couldn't stay in Monterrey Bay long. We headed on to Yosemite National Park.
It was a long drive, but finally we arrived, and entered the park. Where should we go? What should we see? What hike would be the most interesting? Finally we decided on a trail. We drove high up on the winding mountain roads to reach the trail head. By the time we got to the top and climbed out of the car, we were at a high enough altitude and it was a cool enough day that it was actually quite chilly outside.
We were determined to go on the hike anyhow, however, and not to give up once we had gotten this far, so we all put on as many clothes as we could, since we had no winter coats. We hadn't brought any gloves either, so we pulled socks over our hands to help fight the cold, then set out, in good spirits, although most certainly a somewhat comical sight, had anyone seen us.
The hike was about an hour, and at the top it was quite steep. However once we reached the summit, the view was amazing, and we could see a long distance.
We made our way back to the car, and climbed back in. On our way down, we saw what we had long hoped to be able to see, but had never actually seen—a live bear—or actually two. We slowed down as much as we could to view this sight! These black bears may have been mother and cub, although one was much further away, back among the trees. The other one, however, was already quite large, and very close to the road. He was scratching a log to get out bugs. We were not the only ones driving slow with camera at the window to photograph this rare sight!
Our trip to California also took us to see the peach orchards, and the Redwoods, as well as some relatives before we had to climb back into the airplane to return home!