Yosemite: Backpacking Day 4

On the last day, the plan was to hike Tenaya Peak, get back for cheesy pancakes, break up camp, then hike back to the road to have the shuttle drive us back to our starting point. Such was the plan, at least.

Then the morning clouds looked like this:



Don't get me wrong--I love clouds, and I think that they're great for having more dramatic pictures, but these clouds were looking at little malicious. The hike up to Tenaya peak is largely granite, and not many trees, and when there's any lightning or thunder whatsoever, being stuck on that peak would not be the most ideal situation. What made this all the more exciting was the fact that Virginia was telling her own lightning story where she was caught in a field with lightning crashing down all around her and her hiking partner. They were hiking in basically a big meadow-like area, and a lightning storm just came down upon them pretty quickly. They were caught in the lightning storm with nowhere else nearby that was more lightning-safe, so they crouched down as small as they could, and hoped that the lightning would not hit them. Virginia says that she went into what she calls "Bovine Mode," which is basically a mind-set of extreme panic to the point of complacency. Luckily, the other hiker had a game plan, and they counted the time in between lightning strikes to determine when the best time to run would be. They made it out alive, thank goodness, but it was a possibility for something that could have turned for the worse.

Anyhow, so while we were getting ready to head up to Tenaya Peak, we could see rain clouds far off, and possibly a clap of thunder or two in the distance. Karen decided that we should just make it up, and basically quickly run back down. So... not many pictures of the hike to and from Tenaya Peak, but here we go.


Virginia on her way up.

The view from Tenaya Peak:

Tenaya Lake, and a road somewhere off in the distance.


Over-exposed me.


Mike and I.


Mike.


Mike and I with Phil in the background.

So when we got down, we decided not to make cheesy pancakes because the rain had started coming down. Instead, we ate cheese, bacon, and some other stuff that was meant for lunch. Afterwards, we went to pack up our tents, and then the sun decided to shine. So we had pancakes after all. :)

We finished packing up camp, and headed off, back to civilization.




Beautiful granite slabs.


Me looking so clumsy with my massive backpack.


So green!


Indian paintbrush.


Elephant flowers.






Bear scat! No bear, though.


Leopard lily.


Our beautiful guides and Mike and I.


Take two.


Virginia and Mike.


More Indian paintbrush.


Something growing in the cracks of the granite.


Granite is so beautiful.


Virginia taking a break.


My tent looks a wee bit sloppy and falling off.


Scruffy Mike.


I'm lookin' a wee bit tired.


Perhaps there was a landslide before?


View from the "Frying Pan"


The Thumb we were following all the way from camp back to the road! :)


Back to civilization!


Crossin' a river.


The end of the trip!