4/22-24 Little Yosemite Valley from Sacramento

4/21, Wednesday. Took Amtrak from Seattle at 9:45am, scheduled to arrive at Sacramento at 6:35am the next morning. At the station, I was assigned a seat. Right now, it runs at 50% capacity: the middle 2 seats are not for sale, so each passenger has the whole side (2 seats on each side of the isle). However, the train was not cleaned thouroughly: a ziplock bag with food crumbs in the seat pocket in front of me, hair and debris in the lounge car armrest. The couch seats are big and comfortable, with an adjustable foot rest, ample leg room (~twice as much as on a plane's main cabin). On the back of the seat, tray table and foot rest. 2 AC power plugs on the wall. I couldn't tell the difference, in terms of seats, between the couch class and the business class. I like the lounge car: large windows. Good view to the outside. I went there as soon as the train left Seattle, and stayed till lunch time. Didn't go back later, assuming it was full. There's a lady's room, two wash basins, a seat bench, has a toilet inside. I use this instead of the toilets outside.

We were on time till Portland. A couple of cars were added to the front of our train, took longer than normal. So we left Portland late. ~1 hour later, we stopped, the loudspeaker said that we may have to wait for another engine to be delievered from Portland, because the 2nd engine onboard didn't start properly and there was an incline soon which needs 2 engines. Thankfully, the engineer onboard was able to restart the 2nd engine, so we continued south.

I didn't take a day off from work, so worked from my phone's mobile hotspot (no WiFi onboard). I got a bit dizzy reading computer screen on the moving train, fell alseep ~sunset.

Face mask is required onboard. However, almost half of the passengers didn't mask properly. The guy snoring behind my seat had his mask on his chin only. While awake, he coughed from time to time, suspicous of covid. The lady across the isle from me chatted on the phone often, and with everyone walking by, mostly had her nose uncovered. Loudspeaker repeatedly reminds passengers to cover our nose and mouse, except when actively eating or drinking. One lady emphasized what "actively" means a few times. A noisy environment.

4/22, Thursday. We arrived ~7:30am. Not too bad. The Sacramento train station is in a nice building, but unfriendly staff. Restroom closed. No WiFi. No map, no info booth, no direction/signs for anything. One security guard, one ticketing agent.

I was not in a hurry. O's flight would't arrive for another 2 hours. I slowly walked the ~1 mile to Hertz' office. I like K street. This Thursday morning, all was quiet.

I got a Hyundai Veloster, a strange little car with 3 doors. Drove to PCTA office on Google map, but couldn't even find a sign, let alone visiting it. Continued along Sacramento River, checked out Sacramento Bypass Wildlife area (nothing much to see, not even water), before going to the airport. My instruction was "2nd floor, 1st exit", which is hard to follow. I drove to terminal B arrival (turns out it is downstairs). O didn't check in any luggage. Suprising to know that TSA let tent stakes in the cabin. She called for a lunch stop, and picked a Chipole 3 miles from hwy exit! At least we found a Winco so she could stock up water and juice.

Hwy 120 is very windy. It goes up ~6200' before dropping down to Yosemite National Park. Along the highway, quite some blue flowers (lupine, camas) in Stanislaus National Forest. This is our first view of Half Dome ‐ the main objective of this trip. Then Wildcat Creek Falls, Cascade Creek Falls. Once in the valley proper (~4000'), there was a ~20-30 min delay due to road work eastbound. Water level was a bit low, calm, but the waterfalls were flowing nicely: Bridalveil Falls, Ribbon Falls, Horsetail Falls. Kayak in river. Sandy beach. Pictureque.

At the visitor center (closed), we filled out a wilderness permit, marked the number of nights on a form. Before May, no reservation is needed. Two rangers outside under 2 separate tents answering questions. One told me that bear can was not needed at Little Yosemite Camp (I brought mine in vain), because there were food lockers. Redbud trees were in full bloom.

It was still early, so we walked to Yosemite Falls. Quite busy. The trail going to Lower Yosemite Amphetheatre was close (signed for fine). On the way we walked through part of the village where the park employees live. It is a very large area. I wonder how many park employees are stationed here. Very residential: kids playing in the backyard.

The entrance to the Happy Isle trailhead parking was siged as "full". It was ~4:30pm, the parking lot was only 1/4 full. I ate more food and put food in the rusty food locker, left the empty bear can in the trunk. Saddled up, hiked towards Little Yosemite Valley camp (+2150', 4.3 mile). Saw a bear before even got to the real trail, in "The Fern" area. O continued on the track west of the river. Took some convincing to make her backtrack to the foot bridge to get to the main trail. Quite some hikers, most are coming out. Once the trail goes up, it's scenic: narrow gorge by rushing river. I filled water at the large stone drinking platform before Venal Falls footbridge. There's a restroom nearby. Afternoon sun was shining through the spray of Venall Falls. Bright double rainbow. Aptly named Mist Trail. This is closed in winter due to icy trail (alternative is JMT). At the top of the waterfall, nice slide of Merced River. Farther up, Nevada Falls. No rainbow. Not close enough to the waterfall to get wet. Still pretty.

We arrived at the camping area (~6200'), picked the cloest site by the camping boundary. Each site has a metal food storage box (rusty and dirty inside). There's a big fire ring. Some guy came later in the evening asking if they can setup camp fire here. It turns out that to limit the amount of fires, there're only 2 fire rings in the camping area, so these are supposed to be shared. It's a flat area, but too wooded, no view. The river is a short walk, which you cannot see from your camp. Cleaned up and rinsed my T-shirt and socks, laid them on the trees to dry. We didn't bother to cook dinner. O cooked water for tea. I ate some nuts and chocolate. Took the socks into the tent so they don't fly away at night.

4/23, Friday, sunny. Half Dome (~8800'): 7 mile RT, +/-2820'.

My new 20°F sleep bag held out the chilly night. Tent fly was wet. My T-shirt was frozen solid on the tree, so I had to wear another T. Checked out the camping area before O emerged from her tent. Found 7 tents, 1 hammock, all in the vicinity of the fancy outhouse. The outhouse looks quite new: solar panel, 4 stalls on the 2nd level (2 were closed). O later told me that it's clean, with TP and motion sensor sanitizer dispenser. I filtered water (I never saw O filter water). We cooked breakfast. Sun slowly moved into the camp.

Finally we set off. The trail is somewhat boring. Over-engineered: a lot of unneccessary stone steps (a waste of limited public funds). Gentle grade. A few fallen logs on the trail (none was cleared this year). First mile (~900') to junction of JMT. Another mile (~900') to a large flat area. Good view from now on (~7900'). Then serious zigzag stairs going up a butte.
A lot of signs, not just at trail junctions: "cable is down", "dangerous", "no camping above 7600'", "if thunderstore is looming in the horizon, do not pass"... If some idiots got fried on the cable by lightening, I consider it a good thing for the human gene pool. Saw a gecko.

After a short descent, we were at the saddle in front of the cable. A guy was gearing up slowly with harness. O brought a sling with carabinas, which is wise. I had nothing. Stashed my hiking pole and water bottle inside my backpack. Put on gloves, held on one thick cable (there are two), and up I went. O next, and the guy followed last: he had a prusik on each cable, very secure. The surface of Half Dome is quite grippy. From time to time, I could find a nook to stand, and rest my arms: the cables are heavy. The middle section is very steep. One section of the cable was up. I didn't feel any danger.

Maybe ~15-20 minutes only, we were on the top, ~11am. Marmot and Western Grey Squirrel. The Squirrel followed me around. The marmot ignored me. On a clear day like today, the view is excellent. We walked around. There was some snow on the flat part. ~half an hour later, 2 more came up. One guy was doing a lotus pose for awhile. Stayed put for ~1 hour. We headed down ~12:30. Met a few more hikers on their way up.

It was getting hot. We hung sleeping bags and shirts on trees. I cleaned up and changed into my previously frozen T. Washed my socks again, and changed into sandals. Cooked an early dinner at 3pm! ~4pm, we followed Merced Lake Trail east, more or less along Merced River (but not close), in sandals. It was flat, with many fallen logs, a bit sandy. Not far from the camping area, all was burnt, result of 2014 Meadow Fire. The lake is more than 5 miles away, we only went to Brunnel Cascade (about halfway). The valley narrows afterwards, very close to river. I took a bio break here, rested in the shade of a big rock, before returning. O went a bit further. Saw Paintbrush here.

A warmer night. Cloudy.

4/24, Saturday, cloudy. Clouds Rest (~9900'): 12.6 mile RT, +/-4000'. Hiking out: 4.3 mile, -2150'.

We started ~8am. The first mile is the same as yesterday. At junction we saw a couple with overnight backpacks. So inquired where they camped. They came from Cloud's Rest. Discouraged me from doing the long loop (due to snow on ridge and largely burned area). The guy's phone (with Verizon) had signal, and informed us that a snow storm was coming that night. Snow level would drop to 5000'. I began to worry about the Misty Trail with snow, and also the drive out.

After the JMT junction, a flat if not slightly downhill half mile to a 2nd junction, we took the left fork (if doing my loop, would come back on the right fork). There is water source nearby. Here, we were caught up by a guy coming from parking lot (very early). Again, over-engineered trails with stone stairs and long gentle zigzag. A couple of miles later, we reached a very large flat area. Good view of Half Dome. Then, more switchbacks, which I cut a few.

At 9926', the view here is amazing, even on this cloudy day. The trail continues. Yes, a ridge forward covered with snow. But it's not steep on either side, should be safe. Burnt area ahead, definately. We shared some snack with the guy. He told us some alternative sights and trails in the area. He suggested detour to hwy-140 to avoid snowy road. I checked my offline map, it'll be an extra hour. He hiked down after ~45 min. A bit chilly here. We stayed a bit longer, and then headed out.

Then we met the 4th and 5th person of the day, and then ... a lot of them, many coming directly from the valley floor: 10.5 miles away (6100' EG). This reminded me that it was a Saturday. To avoid them, we cut a few zigzags, almost caught up with our new "friend". Near the trail junction, my phone showed signal. Google map painted hwy-120 red with "x". Weather.gov said possible heavy snow. So I decided to drive out tonight to below 5000'. The guy doubled back to lend us his phone. That's very kind.

Back in camp, we, again, cooked dinner at 3pm. Then packed up. It was quite sunny then, O was reluctant of leaving. Going down to the parking lot is like going to the zoo. So many people, causing bottleneck on narrow stairs. Took some manouverings to sqeeze by people. Retrieved food from the metal box. Drove out ~6pm. Traffic, very slow going in the valley, many merging traffic. Had the windows down for fresh air. O's socks (the same pair) were hard to put up for the long drive.

We stopped at Rainbow Pool (~2800'), but it's a day use area. A family came to fish. Ended camping nearby at Middle Tuolumne River, after a bunch of kids left their fishing. It didn't rain until the next morning.

4/25, Sunday, light rain, sightseeing.

Stopped at the next town, Groveland, to use the facilities. Cooked breakfast on their picnic table. Light drizzle. There's even a museum here, closed now (too early). My phone has no signal here. More curvey road around the town of Priest, before junction of 49. Quite scenic. We stopped at Don Pedro lake overlook: a few camper vans there. Took O'Bryne Ferry road, and stopped at Lake Tulloch. The Table Mountain north of the road is inside a fence, don't know how to access. A father and son told us they can catch many fish varieties here. Pink corncockle Then hwy-4, then Pool Station road. Very scenic: rolling hills, green grass, some trees, small creeks. All fenced private land. Bucolic. Back on hwy-49 to Jackson, a larger town (has a Walmart) to check Internet on my phone.

I had marked a couple points of interesting on the map long ago. The first is decommissioned Rancho Seco Nuclear Station (over 30 years ago). All fenced in. Sacramento Municipal Utility converted the area to a solar farm. I've never seen so many solar panels in one place. They aim at slight different directions. While we were there, maybe at 11am on the dot, the panels tilted up a bit one row at a time. Next door is a large vineyard. Nuked grapes.

We drove to the second marker on my map, but couldn't figure out what it is for :( So continued to Sacramento, after a gas stop.

Sacramento State Capitol was not only closed, its lawn was fenced off. It was drizzling. A roundabout filled with yellow roses. From there, we walked to Sacramento River. I returned earlier, as the rain got a bit heavier, and I was in sandals. Didn't want to get my last pair of clean socks too wet. I waited in the car. The back of the capitol (east), is a nice State Capitol Park, with a lovely rose garden. A few memorials. Some trees have labels. Many orange trees, too high for me to pick any oranges. I cooked my lunch on one of those benches, and O went to Chipole.

After lunch, O suggested Sutter's Fort ($5). The center adobe 2-story building dates to 1841, oldest in Sacramento. John Sutter, a fortune seeker evading debt from the old world, built this fort to house pioneers and later gold diggers. He employed Hawaiians, local Indians. Sutter's son June Jr started another settlement by the river, and became the first mayor of Sacramento. There's a lady sitting in one of the many demo rooms (of course none working due to probably COVID), and another employee in the center house. They were happy to answer my questions.

Still too early to go to the airport. O suggested Leland Stanford Mansion. We arrived only a few minutes before 5pm, and it closed. Built in mid 1850s. Quite ornate.

Had to fill up gas again on the way to the airport. Arrived at SeaTac ~10pm. Lightrail was running sporatically. Waited for over 30 minutes. Got home by midnight.

Summary

• Late April, condition is perfect. No snow to worry about, temperature is mild. Weather at Little Yosemite Valley camp (Elevation 6100'). GPS map. Half Dome doesn't require a day permit (only needed from late May when cable is raised). wilderness camping permit is self-registered until April.
• Originally planed in mid March for almond bloom in Sacramento Valley. Weather.
• Train on the way in is easy to bring all gears (including isobutain gas) and drinks.
• Potential extenstion: Lake Tahoe: 2 hour drive
• Always need a plan B. I didn't plan for early exist of the park.
• Lost items: 1 knee brace, 1 sock, laptop charger and cable.

2021.4.19. Lane Peak

When I learned that V and O's climb of Lane Peak was for Sunday, I asked if I could join, but not via "Zipper", a north face couloir. I would climb via the saddle from the southeast. That was already 9pm Saturday -- a real last minute request.

4/19, Sunday. Left home at 6am. My bus had some mechanic issue, that the driver stopped twice checking around. The 2nd time, he asked for a replacement bus. But in the end, he drove the bus to the end. So I was 20 minutes late! We were supposed to meet O and T at Narada Falls' parking lot at 9am. Here, you can see Lane Peak's north face, and the couloirs. The waterfall was in the shade in the morning. It carved a ditch in the snow below. We put on spikes, and followed the trail down.

At the end of the boot track, we followed some ski track, more or less the same as the trail on my GPS map up hill. The trail gets very close to the road (closed now, but snow free). O and V put on snowshoes, T and I were postholing a bit. We got onto the road, but very soon had to drop down again, cross Tatoosh Creek. The creek was more or less still buried under the snow. Very small. Earlier, we did worry about crossing this creek. This flat basin looks quite pretty, a good place to camp (before the road opens). See the photo with O and T ahead of me, and Lane Peak. At some point, I realized that I left my water bottle in V's car. So chewing snow frequently.

Soon after crossing the flat basin, we parted our ways. I went up toward the saddle, and they towards the "zipper". O and V stashed their snowshoes here, which is too early. Before my climb started, I put on crampons, and took out ice-axe. The going is straightforward, plenty boot tracks to follow. The slope is steep first, then eases out. I postholed a lot. It was a bit painful going up, when you lose half of the steps. After the first acent, veer left through trees for a minute before going up again, less steep. Many footprints here. I wish I had brought my snowshoes, instead of crampons. All soft and slushy snow. Before I reached the saddle proper, I saw my team had finished the zipper. That was a surprise. They didn't even rope up. Must be easy. We waved to each other. For some reason, here, O took to rocks instead of staying on the snow.

I continued up in the snow, postholing. Avalanche signs everywhere. In fact, thin snow slides went on both sides of me. The last ascent is very very steep. I think I'd prefer harder snow here. Near the summit ridge, I yelled "I'm almost here, wait for me", assuming the other three had already arrived. A very short, exposed walk left to the summit block. No one was there. I took off crampons, shoes, socks, and gloves. Laid them on rocks in the sun to dry. Then walked bare feet to the last rock. It's flat. Took photos. A little bit of wind, I put on my fleece, and walked down hiding behind a rock, watching over my wet laundary. Ate my lunch. Still no sign of anyone else. The view is splendid here. 40 minutes later, I saw a red helmet. That's T. And slowly, very slowly the three of them finally arrived, more than an hour after me. They were all roped up now, T and O were arguing...

Once we all rested, I went down first. T followed shortly after. It's better to space apart. At one point, he decided to glissade, without ice-axe. He brought 2 ice-tools. He went down safely, so I followed suit. Soft snow helps, didn't need to break much. There were 2 anchors tied to a tree up there. O and V tied rope to it and rappelled down, very slowly. T and I waited hiding in the shade. Here's a photo of the steep ascent from where we sat. Again, a long wait. When O arrived, T said he needed to head out. He asked me if it's easy to find his way out, and then took off. We waited for V to arrive at last, and went down together. I lost my micro-spike again post-holing. I went back up and found it. V lost both spikes. Once I caught up with them down at the Tatoosh Creek basin, I took over V's 30m rope. They put on their snowshoes, I kept on postholing. Afternoon is worse. At least on the way back, we knew how to cut the trail. We took to the road, walked along the road to right above the parking lot, and just glissaded down. T followed our original route, hadn't left the parking lot.

I hid a can of beer in the snow next to the parking lot. Found it and drank. Was very thirsty. Left the can by the car. I went to talk to O, and when I came back, my can was gone. It turns out some car drove over it!

We left the park much later than I expected. Only got to my P&R ~8:20. Waited for the bus for 15 minutes, and the damn bus drove by without stopping. Signed "bus full". Had to wait another 30 minutes. Thankfully this bus took me. Otherwise, the next one won't be for another hour!

2020.4.17. Mosier flowers

Mid April is a good time to see a large variety of flowers in eastern Columbia Gorge. I was debating Catherine Creek area or Mosier on Oregon side. To save time, I opted for I-84 on OR side.

4/17, Saturday. Picked up a rental car ~8:15am. Drove straight to Rowena Crest without stop. On the way, many mustard flowers along I-5 in southern WA, and filarea along I-205 and western I-84 on the highway divide. Some poppy along rocks by I-84 on the eastern Gorge.

I was lucky to find a parking spot next to the trail head, and started towards McCall Point with my umbrella and face mask. Very crowded trail, for a good reason. Flowers were abundant. Probably will be even better in a week. Lupine was still starting. Lomatium columbianum was mostly in buds already. Balsomroot was the show now, and probably for another week or two, but not longer, given the warm weather.

The summit didn't have as many flowers. You can see this "end of trail" sign. Most people stayed lower where the flowers were. About 10 minutes before the end, you could see Mt. Hood. But Mt. Adams and Columbia River are almost always in the view. Lower plateau had tons of blue-eyed Mary. Lots of miner's lettuce in flower, popcorn flower, larkspur, toothwort, Oregon sunshine, a few prairie stars, some golden bells, some big pink vetch, paintbrush, a few shooting stars, even glacier lily.

I finished the hike an hour ahead of schedule. Didn't even stop for lunch, because I didn't want to sit down (tick season). So headed to an even shorter hike on the way: Mosier Plateau, hoping to finish in an hour. Again, I was lucky to find a parking spot right by the TH. Temperature was rising. The town of Mosier felt hot. The waterfall offers some refreshing air. Many desert parsley here. Heading up the zigzag, again, a lot of people, sometimes, hard to step aside. Tons of vetch here. Only saw 1 bachlor's button. 1 bicolor cluster lily.

Again, on the plateau, balsomroot was the show. Earlier than I thought. The cell tower has no-tresspassing sign, so I didn't go there. The lookout had some log bench and fences. People picnic here. Continued down a bit closer to the edge, more flowers, and better view of the river. Looks like I need to go to Dog Mountain early May this year for balsomroot.

On the way back, I almost forgot to stop by Hood River's Panorama Point. The roads near the point offers fabulous view of fruit blossoms in the shadow of Mount Hood. Some orchards have view of Adams. I'm, maybe a week later than the peak. Leaves were coming. So a shade of green amids of the snowwhite flowers.

3pm, drove towards Portland. The car reported 86°F. Multnomah Falls parking lot was full. Ramp was closed eastbound. Westbound cars were parking long the ramp. Refilled my water bottle in office, half with coffee from yesterday. ~5pm, headed back home. Minor traffic out of Portland. Returned the car ~8:20pm.

2021.4.15. Got my first Covid vaccine shot

On 4/15, everyone over 16 years of age in WA are eligible for COVID vaccine.
4/13, I received an email from SCCA "We are writing today with an update on how to schedule your COVID-19 vaccine. By Friday, April 16, you will receive an email with a link to schedule a vaccine at the Fred Hutch/SCCA COVID-19 Vaccination Program at South Lake Union".
4/14, received this link, and I scheduled right away.
4/15, I packed a sandwich, a drink and a book, and headed to the clinic just before noon.

It was very efficient and orderly. Arrows on the floor and helpers at every turn.
First my temperature was measured at the door and some questions were asked.
2nd, registration table, ~7-8 simutaneously. More questions were asked, data entered into a computer, and I was booked for my 2nd shot (3 weeks from today). I received my vaccination card.
3rd, vaccination room with 10 stalls (each with a shower curtain, looking like a change room). I was given a timer. They wipe everything between each patient. The nurse administer the shot, and set the timer for 15 minutes.
Last, I sat on this comfy chair in the observation room with partitions around each chair, until my timer expired. Someone came to collect my timer, cleaned my chair and raised the blue arrow to mark its availability for the next patient.

Very smooth. I felt nothing, until the evening. My abdomin had bad cramp for ~45 minutes, and then the pain subsided. I was fine the next morning.

update: 3 weeks later, when I returned for my 2nd shot, there was a lot less people (maybe ~1/3?). The vaccine, by then, was widely available. I could have gotten the shot in my neighborhood drug store. Instead, I walked 30 minutes the same facility. Countrary to most people, I had no reaction to the 2nd shot.

2021.4.12. Teneriffe

4/12, Monday. I took a day off, and went to Teneriffe, because it's a short drive. First time this year. I opted to go up via Teneriffe Falls and continue on Kamikaze trail (~3.8 miles). On the way back, I opted for the normal Teneriffe Mountain trail (6.5 mile) because I don't like going down in snow on steep hills without ice-axe.

About 25 cars in the parking lot on this weekday. Many folks just go to the waterfall. I tried to cut some distance by going offtrail a bit. Not sure I saved any time, but defintely avoided everyone. I took this photo of the lower cascade below the view point. Going up from there is straightforward, following the trail. Saw ~6 hikers. Some on crampons and ice-axe. Up to the ridge, was almost snow free. I did put on micro-spikes later on.

The vew is excellent today. Very clear. Can see downtown Seattle, Olympic Mountains across the Sound. This is the summit with 180° view to the north-east-south: from Baker to Rainier. I had the summit all to myself. Ate my belated lunch here (2:30pm), before going down.

Mount Teneriffe Trail is a long detour, towards Mt. Si. It offers gentle grade. On the top of the ridge, it was very flat for awhile, postholing a bit. No need for any traction device. In fact, I lost my microspikes due to postholing. I only realized this when the 2nd one stuck in the snow when I pulled my leg out. Had no idea when I lost the first spike. So packed away the surviving one. All the way, there were footprints to follow. Once awhile, the trail was cut by a creek, where you can see how deep the snow is.

Got back to the parking lot ~5:30pm. Still almost 10 cars.