Beth in Yosemite Day 7

 Today was our final day at ECCO conference center.

After breakfast we took a short drive to a trail in the Sierra Forest which borders the ECCO property. From there we went on a 2 mile nature walk to Lewis Creek and continued on to ECCO. 

It was a beautiful, clear morning and the trail was very nice. The creek had a waterfall and interesting rock formations. 

Once we returned to ECCO, we packed our things, met for lunch, then boarded the shuttle bus back to Fresno.

At the hotel I had time to read by the pool again. Tomorrow I fly home.

It's been a great week. A really nice group of people, terrific instructors,  challenging hikes and gorgeous scenery.  

Beth in Yosemite Day 6

 Today was our last full day of hiking. After breakfast we drove back to Yosemite Village. Starting at the Happy Isles trail head we made our way to the Vernal Fall footbridge.  

The first section of the hike was very challenging.  A paved path with a steep incline that went straight to the footbridge.  We were all glad when that section was done!

Using the John Muir trail we made our way to the top of Vernal Fall at Clark Point. There we had lunch and looked at the amazing views. We had a view of the southern exposure of Half Dome as well as the falls which were actually running a little bit in spite of the long dry season.

Then we started down the John Muir trail with a detour to see our guide's favorite bridge. It rained on us part of the way but that actually made the landscape even more beautiful.  

Three miles up and three miles back. 1600 feet of elevation gain. It was a challenging day and so rewarding! 

Beth in Yosemite Day 5

Today we had a change of pace (no pun). After breakfast we drove a little over an hour to the Yosemite Valley and Yosemite Village. 

When we got there, our trip leader Justin took us on a nature walk through the meadows of the valley. A real change of scenery after the past two days at high elevation.  

Justin explained that the meadows had been in bad condition after so many visitors walked through them. After a

restoration project that reversed over 100 years of damage, the meadows have returned to their original condition. The plants, birds and wildlife are very much like they were when the Native Americans lived in this valley. 

After the nature walk, we visited the village. An historic and quaint area with a museum, the Ansel Adams gallery, a visitor center and the Awahnee Hotel. The hotel was built in 1927 to attract wealthy visitors to Yosemite.  It is a beautiful and rustic hotel. A few of us had lunch in the dining room which has vaulted ceilings and great views of the high elevation rock formations that surround the valley. 

Late in the afternoon it started to rain a little.  This is the first rain in the area since April.  The low cloud cover created an incredible effect over the mountains. 

Beth in Yosemite Day 4

 Today was a full day of hiking. After breakfast we rode for about an hour to our first trail which would lead to Taft Point (named after President Taft who visited Yosemite during his administration).

At Taft Point we were able to see incredible views of El Capitan and a great deal of Yosemite Valley below. 

From there we hiked toward Sentinel Dome. Both the Taft Point and Sentinel Dome trails were sandy, rocky and had many changes in elevation. 

At the base of Sentinel Dome we ate our lunches then made the climb to the top of the dome. It didn't take very long but it was challenging because of the granite surfaces and the elevation. The top of the dome is about 8200 feet.

Anyone who knows me well knows I'm not a fan of open heights. However, standing on top of the dome was amazing. We had terrific views of Half Dome, El Capitan and many other famous Yosemite formations. 

From there we hiked down to Glacier Point with another perspective on Yosemite Valley and closer views of Half Dome.

A great day. Lots of hiking, phenomenal scenery, beautiful weather and nice companions. 

After dinner we had a guest speaker who is a well known rock climber. He told us many tales about his years as a climber in Yosemite. 

Beth in Yosemite Day 3

Today we were up with the sun. Early breakfast in the dining hall. We packed our lunches and snacks then boarded the bus to Mariposa Grove. Our first Yosemite hike.

Mariposa Grove is where you see amazing Giant Sequoia trees. Many of them are thousands of years old.  Our instructors taught us about the history of Mariposa Grove and Yosemite National Park.  They also showed us how to identify a variety of conifers growing among the Sequoias. 

The trail began at an altitude of 5500 feet. We continued for 7 miles through the Lower Grove, Upper Grove and eventually to Wawona Point where there were incredible views of the Sierra Nevada. 

Along the trail we saw a tree that had a tunnel carved into its trunk. In the early days of the park it was thought that more tourists would visit if they could drive right through.  We also saw trees with fire scars that mar the bark and  sometimes  even hollow out the base of the tree.  And we saw three mule deer cross our trail!

A great day. Perfect weather, amazing scenery and a challenging hike.

More hiking tomorrow!

Beth in Yosemite Day 1 & 2

 Day 1 was a travel day. I left Boston on a very early flight. 5 hours to Salt Lake City and then a connection to Fresno, CA. With the time difference, I landed in Fresno about 1130am. Salt Lake City airport was impressive.  Very modern with lots of moving sidewalks and plenty of food options.  Fresno airport is much more modest.

After checking in to my hotel I just relaxed a bit, had an early dinner and went to sleep. Looking forward to tomorrow and the start of my next Road Scholar adventure. 

Day 2 I had some free time because the shuttle bus to Yosemite would be picking me up in the early afternoon. It was in the 80s and sunny in Fresno so I spent some time at the pool reading. Then packed up, grabbed some lunch and waited for my ride.

The trip to the ECCO conference center where we will stay this week took about an hour. The ECCO property is very beautiful.  It's in Oakhurst CA which is a small town close to Yosemite.  We arrived about an hour before registration so another woman and I took a walk on a nature trail near the main lodge. 

After dinner our trip leaders spoke about the plans for the week and then we watched a short film about the history of Yosemite. We learned that Abraham Lincoln officially set aside the land as protected even though that was before the National Parks program had begun.  

Tomorrow is our first hike. Looking forward to it!

London Day 3

 On Wednesday for our last day of our trip, we slept in slightly and then had breakfast downstairs at the hotel. We went out into the neighborhood to get a last few things from Tesco and Whittards to take home then went back to pack which was a project. We did some shopping on this trip. After checking out of the hotel, we went over to the British Museum for lunch. I hadn't prioritized going to this museum because the impression I have is that it was filled with items obtained by the Brits in some less than savory ways. While we were there, we decided to see a few things though. We went to the mummy area but half was closed. We also got to see the Rosetta Stone. It was really cool to see that in person. We walked around a little but then went back to our hotel for our afternoon tea reservation. We had a lovely tea and then got our bags and took the train to the airport to journey home. As we were walking to the train, we bumped into the breakfast hostess who said goodbye which was really sweet. We were impressed how they all seemed to know who we were after only being there 3 nights. 

Train to Heathrow was uneventful and then we got there a little too early so we had to wait before our bag drop. Even though we didn't really know where we were going everything was well labeled and announcements were helpful. We did some shopping at my favorite duty free and then got some food at Wagamama before finally getting our gate assignment and heading to the plane. We were stuck on the tarmac for a half hour for an undisclosed issue but otherwise everything was smooth. 

Back to reality today. Thanks to everyone for following along!