Trail-bound

It was lovely to sleep in, knowing that we’d hike no PCT-miles today either. Everybody got up and ready at a leisurely pace, I joined some of the group into Half-Dome village around 0900 to grab a coffee. It was a beautiful morning and I really enjoyed sitting in the amphitheater with a fresh brew and  snacks. At the grocery store we stocked up on food for our resupply to Kennedy Meadows North, some 70 miles away. Some of us (me included) were hoping to get out of Yosemite today in time to do the Clouds Rest hike, a trail which supposedly would lead to magnificent views of the entire Yosemite valley. First we needed to get back to Tuolumne Meadows though, to set up camp and catch another hitch to the trail-head. This morning none of us were moving too fast though, everybody was just enjoying themselves as the Yosemite Valley came to life. It takes quite a while to get rid of all redundant packaging material and to to sort out food into your bear-can and pack. Therefor time passed by and we were enjoyed lunch at the campsite. I could not be rushed either and was probably one of the last ones to be ready. Fortunately nobody did mind.
Around 1500 we finally tried to hitch out of the valley, but after some time we figured we’d be better off taking the bus to the border of the park and hitch from there. After getting off the bus we were pretty close to the base of El Cap, so it was great to get some last views and photos of the immense wall towering above us.

Birdman, Rocket and Snow-white ended up getting a hitch before Photo-op and I could secure a ride. It was the longest I’ve ever had to wait for a hitch (over an hour), but we got a ride back to the junction towards Tuolumne Meadows, from a climber whose girlfriend had hiked the PCT in 2016 (and was always telling him that he’d definitely should pick up PCT-hikers when he saw any). At the junction we fortunately scored a ride with 3 girls (Madeline, Anna & Anya), who’d been doing trail-maintenance work in Yosemite and were heading to the same camp-site as us in Tuolumne Meadows. They would spend the weekend hiking trails in the area. We had a great time with them and shared stories of our adventures of the trail. They were crazy about the outdoors, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they’d hike the PCT themselves someday. Photo-op and I definitely recommended to do so. By the time we got to the campsite, it unfortunately was too late to head out the the trail-head and hike Clouds Rest. It was shame, because my mind had been keen hiking at least a few miles today. No this day had turned into an unplanned zero. Sometimes it just doesn’t work-out the way you want, which is okay, my legs will probably be thankful for it. After setting up at the campsite, the rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. Tomorrow I hope to get out early, to catch up on some miles. I hope to catch Pops and Jukebox any time this week, but it might take a while, since if they really pushed on, they might be 2 days ahead by now.

She left me and said,
Baby won’t you come to bed
But I cannot sleep while the sun’s awake
And the night’s been so long
You don’t get me right, don’t get me wrong
Now my head tells the tales, I hardly know

Ooohhh

Yeah I remember T-shirt weather
I remember some days
We were singing out lungs out in backseat together
And the seatbelts were burning our fingers, In the T-shirt weather, I remember sleeping till the early afternoon…

T-shirt weather – Circa Waves