Please read part 1, part 2 and part 3.
We cooked some mushroom soup for breakfast to be eaten with some bread. It wasn’t enough for me but I wasn’t really hungry at that time, so I didn’t say anything about the quantity that I had.
By 0700 on 3rd July, everything was ready and we left our first camping ground no later than 0800.
We were supposed to follow the trail that leads to the Ten Lakes but somehow, we had the urge to see the Grand Canyon of Tuolumne. Therefore, instead of going to the right, we headed northwest towards White Wolf.
It wasn’t long until we reached a place where rocks were a predominant landscape instead of soil. We saw a huge rock and decided to climb it. We left the backpacks behind for awhile so that we could climb the rock faster. We got up, armed with a digital camera and a view cam in order to record anything that we would see.
Up there, we saw some footprints. Leman said that it was dears’ prints but I suspect that it were not dears’. In any case, I think it was mountain lion’s print since the prints were somewhat similar to the lion’s print shown the Valley Visitor Center. In any case, a few feet ahead laid a ledge that overlooks the mother of Yosemite Fall, the Yosemite Creek.
The creek was more like a river full of rapids. The water from far looked greenish but a closer look convinced me that the water was crystal clear. And of course, the sound of dashing water made the view surreal in the cold morning. In any case, I was surprised but delighted to be treated by Mother Nature with such a sight so early after we begun our hike.
Once satisfied, we went down the rock to continue our hike. For an hour, our trail went through a forest with a rather flat terrain until a point where trees suddenly ceased to exist on both side of the trail. While the trees gone, an enemy started to appear – mosquitoes.
Actually, even where the trees provided much needed shade for us, the annoying insects were already feasting on our red blood. However, I managed to shake the mosquitoes off me by applying a rather smelly insect repellant. The thing worked greatly at first.
Then, while we were in the open, it seemed that the mosquitoes were making a nest on our shoulders. At one time, there were roughly 20 mosquitoes hanging around on Epol’s right arm. 20! Even when I was in my grandparent grove, never had I ever encountered 20 mosquitoes at one time. We frequently swung our cap from left to right and to the left again so that the mosquitoes wouldn’t have the chance to suck our precious oxygen-rich blood.
As the trees somehow stopped growing at some point, an open space opened up with dried grasses standing almost everywhere. There was nothing worth mentioning about the open space since it was merely sort of a vast field with improper grass.
Somewhere at the end of the field, where the greens started to reconquer the scenery, we took a rest for a few minutes. We did plan to take a longer rest but the insects were getting on our nerve. Consequently, we got on our feet marched from the mosquitoes breeding place with hope that the insects’ would not follow us. On also, from here on, our trail went away from the creek.
It would take another hour or two until we met the creek again. However, the water behavior changed. Rather than the wild dashing white water fighting for its way among the rapids, this time, the atmosphere was relaxing. Calm water as clear as crystal flowing gently towards the Valley.
We stopped and freed our shoulders from the evil fat guys and went off trail to check out the creek. Across it, a fallen timber formed an improvised bridge, allowing us to cross the creek without getting wet unnecessarily. On the other side, the stones looked must like Cinderella’s fair skin with the sand acted like her fumes. A type of plant grew as tall as me, became an artist’s finishing touch to the already masterpiece work. I was so entranced by creek that it made me deaf. I didn’t response to neither Leman nor Epol, who was calling me to get back and carry on. With a heavy heart, I returned to them and carried on.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t long until we discovered a waterhole with a cliff, some place as high as two meters exists on both sides of the creek. The place seemed to be a marvelous stopping place; the water was so irresistible that we decided to make an unplanned stop and take a swim. With properly place the backpacks against a fallen, almost rotting tree trunk, we with an unusual fast speed, got into our swimming gear, ready to jump straight into the water.
Unfortunately, we didn’t realize that the water was icy cold despite the Sun shining at full capacity. The first and only victim was Leman, who jumped from a full two meter high ledge into the water. We were still on the dry ground when we saw Leman was struggling back to the ground. Upon seeing that, both Epol and I put our jumping trip on hold and checked Leman out. Leman later strongly recommend us not to jump; we simply adhered to his advice.
It would be a waste not to take a little swim at such pristine water located in the middle of the forest high up somewhere nearby to the Sierra Nevada. So, we still went into the water slowly. I in particular took a long time to get into the water. Once in the water, I simply found it hard to breathe because the temperature of the water was so low compared to my usual body temperature. Nevertheless, I did enjoy having my whole body submerged in the cold refreshing water.
The time I took to get out of the water was as long as the time I took to get into the water. This was our first bath since we left Ann Arbor and so, I tried to be in the water as long as possible until I suddenly came to realize that something is wrong with our little detour to the canyon. I got out, put some new clothing to my half naked body and asked Leman for the map.
For today, we were supposed to camp somewhere in the middle between Yosemite Creek and White Wolf. I made a few rough calculations and confirmed my fear. If we were to follow the plan, there is no way we could make it to the Valley back in time without missing our flight back to Michigan. After voicing out my opinion, we realized that we must hike more than 14 miles (roughly 23 km). Deep in my heart, I thought it was an impossible hike although I was the one that first raised the issue.
Thus, we got our backpacks and marched with a renewed mission. We left the waterhole sometimes at 1100.
