Alien Rocks – The Walk

Checkout from Airbnb wasn’t until 10am and we were going to take advantage of every moment before hitting the road. I spent most of the morning trying to come up with my plan to stay in Yosemite Valley in a couple of days.

I called the Tuolomne Ranger Station and got a little more information on the best way to get to the valley. He said the Tuolomne backpacking campground is closed but the post office is open, which means we can’t stay in Tuolomne. Instead, we have 5 options. Option 1 is to continue hiking 8-10 miles past Tuolomne to the next legal PCT campground. Option 2 is to obtain a backcountry permit and hike for 2 more days to reach the valley, thus becoming eligible for the valley backpacking camp. Option 3 is to obtain a half dome permit, also being eligible for backpacking camping. Option 4 is to take the YARTS bus, and the fare counts as a backpacker camp permit. Finally, option 5 is to get a camping cancellation or last minute reservation in one of the accommodation options.

It’s all so complicated. Entering Yosemite Valley seems like an intricate riddle that I have the answer to, but that I still don’t fully understand. That’s why it took me all morning to solve it. I think our best options are 5 or 6, take YARTS to the valley or get lucky with a last minute campsite.

We took the Mammoth Shuttle back to the Horseshoe Meadow trailhead to hike again. Half of the group decided to delay their departure to stay in Mammoth and watch a World Cup game. As much as I love the World Cup, I wanted to get back on the track to gain more rest time tomorrow at Thousand Island Lake.

I walked with Flash, Dromedary, Cowboy, Rambo and Posh Spice for half the day. We stopped about 5 or 6 miles away at Devil’s Postpile for lunch. Drom and I wanted to go see the rocks up close, so we turned off down a side trail to take a look. The rock formation was cool, but I didn’t remember that there were infographics that weren’t actually next to the rock pile. We will continue to wonder how and why rocks have a hexagonal shape.

We covered about 15 miles during the day before catching up with Flash, Cowboy and Posh Spice at camp. We are only 6 miles from the lake. I can’t wait to lie down and enjoy the sun.

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