I overslept to start the day, but Poppins was a gracious host and overlooked my tardiness as she prepared a wonderful breakfast of fresh eggs with diced SmartDogs, lots of butter, bagels, and strudel. Steve, a volunteer trail crew member was also invited, although I had to roust him up as he was a little shy about imposing upon Poppins good nature. In the end we had a wonderful time.
As I left Tuolumne I called Betsy to check in and let her know I tried and failed to upload the latest blog posts. Yosemite is still doing a great job of keeping cell phones at bay with very limited service. I'll be in Sonora Pass in about five or six days and then I can update everything as I visit Bridgeport.
Along the way today I briefly talked with Camper Dan at a break on the edge of the Tuolumne River and shared a little lunch with him, Prince Charles, and Liftoff at Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp. Later I hiked and camped with Prince Charles and Liftoff. Along the trail to Return Creek in Virginia Canyon we were passed by a very fast hiker who we later saw on his way back. The lad had tried and failed to cross a creek on a log. He fell in and was swept under the log whereupon he smartly unhooked his pack and extricated himself from that dangerous position. He was able to retrieve the pack and toss it on a stream side rock, but lost both his hiking sticks and cell phone to the rushing Return Creek. When we saw him he was soaking wet and about a mile from the stream on a return trip to Tuolumne Meadows to try to get a new phone and possibly skip this part of the Sierra. He was very discouraged that he lost all of his pictures and his primary navigation tool. We were happy we weren't involved in recovering a body! As I told Liftoff and Prince, it's better to walk across a stream and get wet that to risk a sketchy log crossing. I only do them over shallow slow moving water and only if they're on a BIG log where I can use my sticks to help with balance.
Camper Dan at our break area.
Tuolumne bridges.
Tuolumne waterfall above Glen Aulin.
High Sierra Camp.
Liftoff and Prince Charles.
My tent in the background.
Hikingsolo
Keep your boots on crossing water no matter how shallow it may seem and, don't hook your pack thru your pants loops or you'll never get the pack off when the current sweeps you under.
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