NO VACANCY

So today was a very unplanned day, compared to all the other days on the trip (very un-J-Mo). Maybe it was the sense of JJ’s section of the trip coming to an end that caused a loss of some steam. Or maybe it was the 19-hour days we were putting in the previous 7 days. Anyway, this day had one goal of getting to Yosemite. We took a little bit of a circuitous route, so we could drive through Death Valley NP. I was expecting a desert with no people. I was right about the desert, but there were surprisingly a lot of people. None of us could understand why people would want to vacation to Death Valley in the heart of the summer. I actually wasn't that hot until we got down to the valley floor at -190 ft below see level. At that point, we had to get out and take a picture in the only attire that seemed appropriate for such weather, undies. That picture may surface at some point, but per JJ's request it will stay out of circulation for now.

The rest of the drive through Death Valley was actually pretty cool. It was rough on Old Blue because we were going from 6,000 ft to -190 ft back up to 6,500 ft + the 115 degrees at the valley floor. The valley was so barren but all the mountains surrounding them were awesome. The park is very large, about 3 times the size of Yosemite, so it took us about 2.5 hours to drive through the park. Once we got out of the part, we found ourselves staring at the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We couldn't get a great look at them because the sun was behind them, but their silhouettes were impressive enough. The peaks and ridges of the southern Sierras were more sharp and jagged than anything I had every seen. I was very impressed. The drive north along the eastern slope of the Sierras was very impressive. To the west you have the jagged, but lush, Sierras and to the east you have the desert mountains protecting Death Valley. This continued for quite a while. Then we finally made the turn for Yosemite.

Now Yosemite had proved to be elusive for me last time I was out here. We had a 3-day, 32-mile hike planned, but due to trail conditions we were limited to a 7-mile day hike, womp womp. This time around proved to be very similar. I didn't get a campsite reservation in time and the first-come, first-served fill up by 11 AM. We had an 7 hour drive from Vegas, so there was no way we were getting that. In addition to that, the Sierra had been pounded with snow during the winter and had a very mild spring and summer. That means most trails require an ice ax and crampons AKA not for us. We got to the park entrance around 6:30 PM and we wanted to go straight to the Yosemite Valley to see the sights there. We were in a race against the sun. But we had all ready made it to the park, so we were golden. Wrong, again! It was an 70 mile drive to the Valley and with roads that only allow you to go 55 mph and 7:45 PM sunset, it was going to be very close. Basically, we got there with the last glimpses of daylight revealing the massive rock structures. I was overly impressed with the size of all the sights: El Capitan, Half Dome, the Falls. It was all amazing. As quickly as the sun went down, we were on our way out of the park. I was visibly upset about missing out on Yosemite once again, but JJ reassured me that we would make it back.

After we got out of the park, it was an interesting night drive which I can only assume was right along the edge of a cliff. Then we got out of the woods and into civilization. Found a gas station that had strip steak sandwiches which were surprisingly good. Then we found a Holiday Inn Express, which we knew would make us all smarter the next day, so we chose to stay there. Caught up on some blogging and picture uploading and then went to bed. Overall, the day wasn't as ULTRA as I wanted it to be, but seeing all that we did and going from the hottest area of the country to seeing snow is still pretty ULTRA. ULTRA day 13/39: COMPLETE

JM