Isolation in Austin and Avoiding the Crowds in Yosemite

 

Managed to get through the vast Nevada 'Great Basin' desert without too many dramas. Albert was well behaved (thank goodness- the front tyre treads are looking a bit thin!) and got up to about 12,000kms on the clock. Ended up staying in little isolated Austin for 2 nights as I came down with a rather nasty little tummy bug. Not sure why, but my stomach has been increasingly disgruntled & gurgly with the starchy and glutenous foods that are on offer here. I tell ya – it's hard to find good healthy food sometimes! Restaurant menus are invariably the same in the cheaper places (sandwiches/burgers/fries/pizzas), and bread/meat/cheese/breakfast cereals from the supermarket are fatty and sugary, and just bad quality, on the whole. Fruit and veg not bad though. We are trying to have a pretty balanced diet with what we can find! Anyway...Austin....couldn't leave the motel room for a whole day. The place had a total of 100 residents, and didn't even have a grocery store, let alone a pharmacy – so was pleased the bug passed through quickly!!  Half the buildings were empty and it had a bit of that 'ghost town' feel about it.  Brent explored the 'attractions' of this tiny little town, in the middle of nowhere (didn't take too long). Mountain biking happens to be one of their 'attractions' – and according to Brent's feedback, it was pretty average! Good to see the locals trying new ways to attract different clientele!! Not much else to report on in that town, aside from it's located on the 'Loneliest Highway in America'.....amazing that people are happy to live there in such utter remoteness – we both decided we would go nuts :-)

Drove through to the Sierra Nevada in California, after our prolonged stay in the metropolis of Austin. Checked out the limestone tufa features at Mono Lake, and found a place to stay on the shores of June Lake. Mono Lake was an interesting one – it had a few streams supplying its water, and no water leaving it, apart from evaporation – so it had twice the salinity content of the ocean. Quite a serene lake in the middle of a desert-like area. Stomach still felt decidely average and gurgly so exploration was at a minimum. Made up for it in Yosemite though!

Camped in a primitive campsite halfway through Yosemite park, with a stream for water and a drop toilet for the 1s and 2s. Swam in local lakes for washing, which was both enjoyable and invigorating (and the water was crystal-clear beautiful)! Did a nice 3 hour walk / ride on the 1^st day up to May Lake, where we enjoyed a lovely VERY fresh swim until the mozzies discovered us. Neat views of the spectacular granite domes and rock formations in the valley. Yosemite was truly a rock climbing paradise – stunning rock faces everywhere you look, and plenty of climbers making the most of the good conditions. On Monday, we ventured in to Yosemite Valley. Had heard tales of vast amounts of traffic, and congestion and queues and crammed car parks – but...it wasn't too bad. We got there early in the morning, on a Monday, and therefore avoided some of the traffic. Saw awe-inspiring El Capitan, Half Dome and the impressive Yosemite Falls (highest waterfall in Nth America). Did a 3 hour hike up to Mirror Lake and saw some magic views of the valley, and a reflection of Half Dome in the lake. No bears but did see the hugest fresh bear poop ever! Made us move a bit quicker :-)

Half Dome is very famous in climbers circles, and involves massive multi-pitch routes that take a few days to complete. We didn't do that but we did investigate the option of walking up the back of it, which involves some hiking up steep granite inclines with cables to hold on to for safety. Turns out it involves a complex permit and booking system, in order to do the walk – as it's that popular! Put us off straight away (besides, it was booked until October anyway!!), but maybe it's good that we didn't – as we heard today that someone died on the route this morning. 15th fatality of the year, in Yosemite. Not good news!

Another interesting spot we visited was Tuolemne Sequoia Grove. A small collection of the largest trees (volume-wise) on the planet. We saw Giant Sequoias that were 25 feet wide at the base of the trunk, and 2500 yrs old. They had one which was dead (but still standing), but was carved out as a tunnel in the 1800s as a way to attract tourists.  Amazing trees, and obviously very resilient – we wanted to give them a big tree hug, but weren't allowed past the barriers ...bummer....

We both really enjoyed Yosemite National Park – certainly a magnificent spot, with picture-perfect views, amazing weather, bright blue lakes, and definitely

satisfies its massive reputation. Didn't see too much wildlife though. The black bears in Yosemite were a bit more human-savvy, and know how to break in to cars if there's food inside. So, there's proper secure food storage bins at every trail head, campsite and car park. The bears can smell a packet of chips sitting on the backseat and will make every attempt to get it! $5000 fine in the park for incorrect food storage. The tourists weren't too bad - you just need to get off the beaten track! We left Yosemite today, and we are now at Lake Tahoe, which is further north, on the border of Nevada and California. Possibly comparable to Queenstown, it's the holiday spot for local San Franciscans, but it also has a vast number of mountain bike trails! Checking out one of them tomorrow. Cool.