Yosemite at Random II

Meet Brandon and Brittany. Brandon and I study together at SJSU and also work together at Hive. We climb too. Camping had been on my mind for a week or so, and the weekend was approaching. On Thursday night after our climbing session at The Studio, I ask if he and Brittany would like to go camping in Yosemite.....tomorrow. In the snow.

"Yes." With no hesitation he agrees to join me. He and Brittany have been talking about going to Yosemite for a few weeks, but no made any solid plans. 

"Pack your stuff. We leave tomorrow after work, and it's about 4 hours of driving." 

"No problem. Brittany has tomorrow off so she can get our stuff together. She'll be so excited."

"Snow is in the forecast. I'll grab a few zero degree sleeping bags from school, pads, and a tent."

"Cool. Thanks." I knew Brandon wouldn't have winter sleeping bags. Not many people do, including me. My 20 degree bag wouldn't cut it, and I didn't want to bring my big down comforter.

We bailed early from work and hit the road at 5:00pm from Campbell. We lucked out and hit barely any traffic. I heard about a rock slide in Yosemite, but the website didn't mention any road closures. Rookie mistake. As we left Merced there was a temporary CalTrans sight informing us HWY 140 to Yosemite was closed. Brandon calls for the current road conditions and confirms the closure. I had the phone numbers written along with directions. 

The detour in Mariposa added what we thought would be just over 1 hour to our drive. WE WERE ALMOST THERE! Nope. HWY 41 - Wawona Rd was windy, and covered in snow on some sections. Brandon and I had to put chains on in the snow, and I had never put these chains on before. We took it easy on the snow covered road, letting a snow-ready Jeep blast by us in a cloud of snow that looked like smoke in the night. 

It was 10:30 pm when we finally arrived at Camp 4. Brandon and I paid our fees ($6/person per night is rad,) scoped out a site, and began stomping down the snow to make a space for our tents. Yep, we had to make a path and pack down a foot of snow by the light of our headlamps. Good thing we have boots.

Good Morning!

They look so fresh after a night of sleeping on the snow.

Um. Is that the fire pit? We'll have to dig that out later.

 Yosemite Falls. It's going to flow well this spring.

The adventure begins. This is Brittany's first time to Yosemite! I couldn't believe it. We took in the sights along Northside and Southside Drive, and stopped for a couple photos. The tea we had for breakfast wasn't enough, so we made a coffee stop in Curry Village. Of course we browsed the sport shop too. Brandon and I love looking at climbing stuff even if we're buying anything. Brittany bought a shirt. Such a good tourist.

 With coffee in hand, we hit the trail.

Who wouldn't love Yosemite without the crowds?

Brittany brought her fancy camera in hopes of capturing the winter beauty on medium format. It's a heavy beast to carry around, and I can't wait to see what she captured. She had to be very selective with only two rolls of 10 exposures. She majored in photography, so I don't doubt she scored some goodies.

 Clark Bridge: built in 1928. Half Dome in the distance.

Goofballs. They're perfect for each other.

Merced River with Upper Pines campground on the other side.

I kept my maps from last year which was very handy given that the trail wasn't visible in some spots. We ended up following some ski tracks and scattered footprints through the snow along the river. It was a good warm up for what was to come.

Merced River in its winter glory.