SF to Vancouver Adventure Part 4

This adventure is grander than I remember.  But the pictures don't lie I guess.


Tuesday 7/1/14 - Portland/Seattle
Today I woke up on Ryan's small couch and like the good friend that I am, I drove him to work.  He then gave me a tour of the Nike campus: kind of a symbiotic relationship.  It is gorgeous and has tons of great fields and facilities.  Then he went off to work or train or workout or whatever he does there, and I started on my way to Seattle.
I drove directly to Von Trapps, a German beerhall that Cronin took us to last year.  It was showing the USA World Cup game, so I met Cronin there with some of his resident friends.  The food was so good.  The game was not.  Oh well, let's go Germany.
We then went to a park/beach right on Lake Washington.  The water felt great and it had INCREDIBLE views of Rainier.  There was even a little dock with a high dive board.  Imagine jumping off a high dive with Mt. Rainier as your backdrop.  Now die because your life just peaked.

Just the view while swimming.  HOW DO YOU ADJUST TO THAT???

The adventure continued as we went to a delicious burrito place in Belmont neighborhod.  I stuffed myself with what might have been a five pound burrito (living in the Mission District in San Francisco now, this is a pretty common occurrence.  But at the time that was so magical.)  Then Cronin, his resident friends, and I went over to Gasworks Park and met up with James.  We chilled in the park for a bit with some beer; it was great hanging out with these two.  And I love that park.  Someone had the fantastic idea to turn an old gasworks facility into a beautiful park.  And it has a great view of downtown Seattle from across Lake Union.

Dat Skyline

Just a couple of champs champing it up

Gasworks!  YOU ARE ART NOW.

James, Cronin, and I then went to a dive bar with "zoo" in the name (so you know it's good) and had a few beers whist reminiscing until it was time to head home.  Such a great laid back day.  I love Seattle.


Wednesday 7/2/14 - Northern Cascades National Park
Today I got up early with Cronin and his roommate Becky.  While they went off to work, I drove the two-ish hours to North Cascades National Park.  A beautiful park in the North of Washington, near Canada.  I spent most of my day driving to various viewpoints to see sweeping vistas of these magnificent mountains.  Especially Diablo and Washington Gap overlooks.  I could stay at these two all day.  And the weather is great, so driving through the park is just a really pretty, fun time.
The river running along the main highway (where I stuck to most of the day) is home to three hydroelectric dams that help power Seattle.  These dams offer some pretty great views as well, especially since you can drive or walk over two of them.  So freaking pretty.  It's just really cool to see a work of engineering art in the midst of a gorgeous mountain range.  Hard to beat.  I basically just found myself snacking or eating lunch by the river most of the day just taking in the sights.  What a lazy bum.  Tomorrow is my day to venture forth and do some intense hikes up into the mountains.  There's still a fair amount of snow, but I should be all set with my microspikes.

I had to photoshop this to look uglier so it wouldn't completely blow your mind

SO FREAKING FUNCTIONAL

Nature makes electricity for us sometimes

It's July and that's snow over there

"Oh I didn't see you there, you caught me hanging out by this hydroelectric dam and mountain"

I started getting annoyed by all the "normal" timer pictures

Also there were random mountain goats

And some birds.  Whatever.

For now I'm just hanging out at Diablo overlook, trying to see i the sunset will be decent.
It was ok... the mountains were so close that the Sun just went behind them and didn't really go through enough atmosphere to make the really crazy colors that I'm used to at this point.  But it was still a nice night, cooking up some dinner back at camp.  I'm heading back up to Diablo overlook later at night to see how the stars look up there.
Yeah I didn't do that.  I was tired and the sky looked overcast.


Thursday 7/3/14 - Northern Cascades National Park
Today was nuts.  I hiked 18 miles today amidst some of the grandest mountains I've ever seen.  I ended my day super exhausted, but happy about that accomplishment.
I started early, driving about an hour over to Cascade Pass trail.  This requires you to leave the park and come in on a gravely, dirt road.  Thanks, that's always a fun and not-nauseating ride.  I started the hike up to Cascade Pass at about 8am, originally intending to hike up to Boston Glacier.  But the entire morning I was fogged in.  I couldn't see anything, even after the path turned to snow and I had to pop on my microspikes.  Oh well.  At least I made it to Cascade Pass... I think?  The trail kind of disappeared in the snow, and then got dangerously steep, which is where I think the trail continued to the glaciers.  Risking my life for fog wasn't worth it, so I turned around.  The views cleared a bit on my way down though, so you know, that's fun for whoever got to see that later in the day.

Wow, such a great view from up here!

That's pretty cool... it'd be nice if I could see this stuff when I was higher up maybe.  No?  Ok don't worry about it.

I then immediately drove to the town of Diablo to hike Sourdough trail, which I was advised against by a park ranger.  She didn't realize I have my microspikes though, and that I'm a complete baller.  Snow can't hold me back.  The trail description was "steep and strenuous."  No.  Fucking.  Joke.  Definitely one of the steepest trails I've hiked before.  I made fast time at first though, running up these steep switchbacks; I was motivated by the fact that I started hiking at 2pm and wanted to finish the 10.5 mile round trip hike before sunset.  It was definitely strenuous too - a lot of parts weren't maintained (I think it's too early in the season possibly), so I was climbing over a lot of downed trees.
And then I got to where the snow started.  Kind of scary, because the trail just disappeared beneath the snow.  But I saw a pair of boot tracks, so I followed wherever that guy went.  There was supposed to be some sort of fire lookout at the end of the trail, but nope, I never found that.  Instead, I followed my mystery guide's tracks around through a snowy meadow and up a steep, STEEP incline to the top of a mountain.  I was worried on multiple occasions that I would slip, which would have resulted in me sliding down the entire fucking slope to the bottom of the mountain.  But I had faith in these random footprints.
I passed treeline to see some breathtaking views of the surrounding mountain ranges and the lake waaaaay down below (I think this mountain was an elevation gain of 5000 ft).  At the snowy top of the mountain is was 360 degree view surrounded by amazeballs mountains.  Surrounded.  It was beautiful and incredible.  So glad the fog had cleared.  Words can't describe the feeling of romping on top of a mountain completely surrounded by the Cascades.  Absolutely astounding.

Get out of here

So yeah just mountains in every direction

I "like" this stuff apparently

So now I have to go down there again

Meh, it's ok I guess

The trip down was certainly quicker, but not without its dangers (namely, getting lost and/or falling and breaking a leg).  With the Sun setting, I admit that a few scenarious that would end in me dying popped up in my head.  Since I was on the trail alone (I literally didn't see another person the entire hike), it wouldn't take much.  A broken leg, a random slip, or just getting lost in the snowy, trail-less area would certainly be it for me.  I shook those fears off.  Sliding down the snow was quick, nothing would stop me until I hit a tree at mach speed.  I pondered this when I noticed the Sun creating a perfect rainbow circle in the sky, thanks to the thin mist of cloud above me.  I couldn't take a picture of it, so I will have to remember it as a truly unique and awesome sight.
The remainder of the hike down, past the snow sections, were very tiring (it was a long way up).  My dogs were barking beyond any level dogs had previously barked in all history.  So glad to take my soaking wet boots off.
I combined my dinner with my new campsite neighbors, which is great, because i'm down to half a bag of raisins and a can of beans.  Plus it's good to have someone to talk to.  Back to Seattle tomorrow.
One last note about the North Cascades in general - there is no reception for radio stations in most places.  Literally no stations.  I can press the "seek" button and it will scan through the entire frequency range and keep looping until I stop it.  I hadn't seen that before.


Friday 7/4/14 - Seattle
I got up early and started my way toward what I assumed was Seattle.  I didn't have reception for most of the drive, so i was driving blind (in terms of directions, not vision.  That would be a horrible way to drive).  But hey I made it, so everyone wins.  I met up with James in Capitol Hill at a bar to watch a couple World Cup games.
I met some of his friends, and at this point had enough beers in me to decide to join them as they took a ferry over to Bainbridge to watch fireworks.

Sweet views from the ferry

More of those same exact sweet views but actually different views

Just a couple of champions riding a boat

EVERY FREAKING TIME with this thing!

Now we're on the other side of the Sound because TECHNOLOGY

Drinks were had, fireworks happened, the view of Seattle was insane - it was just a blast.  We had to make the last ferry over, but had enough time to hop into the Sound for a swim.  I also got slightly lost on my way back to Cronin's.  But nothing crazy, just hitchhiking for an hour and hopping into an Uber car that was not at all meant for me.  It was a grand day overall.


Caturday 7/5/14 - Vancouver
And today was the day that I took a hungover drive up to Vancouver, British Columbia with Cronin.  It is only a 2.5 hour drive... depending on how long the wait at the Canadian border is... so it's actually way way longer.
But hey we made it... to Canada!  Our hotel, however, was in the absolute worst part of Vancouver.  Shoddy buildings and completely insane people.  A LOT of homelessness.  So yeah we were experiencing some trepidation as we started exploring the city.  But by the time we reached the Gaslight district the city looked pretty nice.
Our first task was to immediately find some food because we were starving.  So we ate a ton of Japanese food and then had a drink at the brewpub down by the harbor (Canada spells it "harbour" though).  Whistler beer.  The port area was beautiful.  We walked around for a good long while and went to the Vancouver Lookout, grabbing a beverage while checking out some cool views of the city as the restaurant revolved 360 degrees.

Cronin's gonna Crone

And then some Olympic torch thingy thing

That's something too!

Pretty good setting for a Bloody Mary

And then there's this spheroid that is possibly vaguely museum related

We walked around a ton more - we seriously walked so much today holy crap.  And then went back over to the Gaslight district for a drink and some doner kebab.  We didn't stay out too late, but had a good time with a drink here and there.  So we called it early after a long day of walking around the city.  This city reminds me of a cross between Chicago and Seattle - lots of skyscrapers made of glass in a pretty setting.


Sunday 7/6/14 - Vancouver/Seattle
Today was raining when we got up.  It's weird; the only  times I've been in the rain on this trip were one night in Yosemite and in Canada.  But it was a short day in Vancouver.  We woke up, had the shitty continental breakfast, and drove North to Stanley Park.

Vancouver in the rain - it's like regular Vancouver but with rain.

Totem Poles!

We really didn't have much impetus to walk around in the rain.  But we did end up seeing crazy totem poles and a lighthouse.  So that's good.  Anyway, after that we drove back to freedom aka the US.  And back in Seattle it was sunny and we had some delicious salmon!
Unfortunately now is the time that I have to pack.  And it is going to take some doing.  And that rental car reeks.  This redeye back to Boston is going to be tough.


Fantastic west coast road trip!  I guess it's time to start planning the next one.

SF to Vancouver Road Trip Part 2

Ah, it seems like this trip is about to get REAL.  Real awesome.  I mean, it was already awesome, but now it's going to be awesome in Yosemite.  I'll just stop and let my past self take it from here.  Enjoy some more journal reading.


Monday 6/23/14 - Yosemite
I was not prepared for the temperature it seems; the morning was a bit colder than expected.  Perhaps that was a bit of an impetus to get going though, so that's good.  We took off driving towards Tuolumne Meadow, which is the northeast part of the park.  We took what I think is the only road to get there, which includes a great drive with a lot of amazing viewpoints.  I was especially happy to get a spectacular view of Half Dome, and for Kyle, Amanda, and Michelle to see it for the first time.

The first of like 9 different views of Half Dome on this trip

We continued the drive, stopping at more unimaginably beautiful places along the way.  Before long, we realized that we were running out of time and actually had to hustle; we had a back country permit to pick up by 10am and the clock was ticking.  But after some intense hustling we made it, got our bear canister, and started our backpacking trip to Tuolumne Meadows to end at Young Lake.
There were beautiful meadows and mountains (with snow on some of them!) along the hike - basically it was just glorious.  I love Yosemite.  So absolutely gorgeous.

True mountain warriors right there

Just some normal people doing some normal stuff

Upon reaching our destination, we were swarmed with more mosquitoes than I've ever seen.  Our plans to swim in the lake were immediately discarded as we fled for our lives.

In the time it took me to take this ONE FRIGGN PICTURE, I got over 20 mosquito bites.  Ugh.

After several more attempts to find a place to set up camp, we ended up having to backtrack about a mile near a creek to set up camp.  Still a few bastard mosquitoes, but it was waaaaay better.  We set up camp fairly efficiently and started cooking some rice and whatever else food we made.  The propane we (finally) procured is super inefficient, so it took a while.  And everyone was in rough shape due to dehydration and altitude: we were camping at about 9000 feet.  So there were naps and headaches abounding.
Kyle, Michelle, and I hung out at a tree opening near camp for a while to watch the Sun set and for the sky to gradually give way to incredible stars.

Here's PROOF that the Sun is trying to shoot me with it's electromagnetic rays

Thank you, Mountain, for saving me from those deadly rays

This is a Bear's world.  We're all just living in it.

Once the temperature dropped to "nearly unbearable," we called it quits (after some great conversations including Kyle's plan to propose to Amanda on Half Dome - spoiler alert).  I decided to take my sleeping bag out of the tent and sleep under the stars.  It was the correct choice.  While cold, it was the most intense session of stars I've ever seen.  Not exaggerating.  So amazing that I was in awe and had to force myself to close my eyes to eventually get some sleep.  It almost seemed foggy because every point in the sky had either a dim or bright star that it seemed almost cloudy.  So indescribably amazing.  It was definitely the best sky of stars I've ever seen.  To think that before electricity, this was the view every night, everywhere.


Tuesday 6/24/14 - Yosemite
Waking up was not difficult with sunlight burning directly into your optics and a freezing cold morning settling in around you.  I opted to move around, getting breakfast ready to stay warm.  I do not regret sleeping under the stars though.  So epic.  I got some water and oatmeal going as everyone else slowly got up.  The altitude was still messing with us, but we persevered.
After packing up we started on our way back to the trailhead.  More grand meadows and quaint forests - have I mentioned how classically beautiful Yosemite is?

We had to deal with crappy views like this ALL DAY

We had a tiny wash in the river and visited Soda Spring, a natural spring that is carbonated and tastes exactly like club soda.  Yes I drank from it.  Aptly named.  The remainder of the return trek was fairly uneventful but for a few Yosemite varmints.
Driving through more of the park, we decided that we deserved a swim/bath/putting cold water on us because it would feel great.  So we found a deep part of the river and jumped in.  Super refreshing after a long morning of hiking.

Kyle training for the next diving competition in the coming Olympics

We luckily avoided any encounters with Yosemite river sharks

Wait your turn, TOMORROW is Half Dome day

We then drove to the Yosemite Valley.  I hadn't really seen it before because last time I was here I climbed Half Dome and was in the valley before sunrise.  It is phenomenal.  Surrounded by amazing mountains like El Capitan, amazing waterfalls (seriously, some of the best in the country, if not the planet), and everything was crazy beautiful.

I know they look small, but the Yosemite Falls are actually very large.  It's called perspective and it's very tricky.

Our goal (after parking in a maze of cars) was to go up a short trail to Lower Yosemite Falls.  This turned into a longer adventure of climbing boulders all the way up to the falls.  Here, Kyle and I jumped into the absolute GLACIAL water and stood under the falls, adrenaline counteracting the frigid water.  The Bear and I embraced under a curtain of freezing, amazing water.  A manlier hug there has never been.  Seriously, standing under the famous Yosemite Falls was an amazing time that I shan't soon forget.

Now it's a bit easier to see that the falls are a little bit taller than human beings

Gauging how safe it is to jump into the water

And this is only half the falls

So very cold

But so amazing

[poundsign]roomiesunderwaterfalls

Nice attempt, Mr. Tripod.

After this freezing cold excursion, we went over to an area where we could see the entirety of the falls and it was framed by gargantuan Redwood trees and it was just the best.

Ok yeah that's pretty big

I have a sneaking suspicion that this isn't a worm...

I should be getting advertising money from Stunners of the Month

The rest of the evening was basically setting up camp and carbo loading for our Half Dome hike tomorrow.  Aside from a brief excursion out of the park to find some cell service for Michelle and gas/firewood for driving/cooking.  But yeah, a lot of prep for our 3am wakeup to start the hike tomorrow.  We're maybe an hour drive from the Yosemite Valley at Hodgeton campground.  Not bad, but we're pretty much only focused on the hike right now.  Hopefully Michelle will be able to stop stressing about work to be able to enjoy herself.  I think it will be one of life's more amazing moments.


Wednesday 6/25/14 - Yosemite
Our day started at 3am, packing water and day packs for our big Half Dome hike.  It probably took about an hour to drive to the Yosemite Valley trailhead from our campsite, so we passed the time with some pump up music.
We started off the hike (after some confusion with the location of our permits) at about 4:30am.  A gentle start up the Misty Trail led to the bottom of Vernal Falls, which looks like Gollum's fishing pool.  The stairs were a bit slippery and steep, but the falls were amazing.  And the Sun started to rise at this point, so everything got a little more... viewful?

HOW MANY WATERFALLS ARE WE GOING TO STAND NEAR???

Shut up, Yosemite

That tripod is trying it's damndest

The march up to the top was pretty tough, but then we got some respite with a pleasant jaunt through the woods toward Nevada Falls, passing Emerald Pond along the way.  The path up to the top of Nevada Falls was again fairly difficult, with tons of switchbacks, but really pretty.

If we hadn't woken up so early that Sun would be BLASTING us in the face right now

Several perfect pinecones and waltzes through the woods later and we made it to the part that started getting steeper.  And there was FINALLY a sign to remind people to have their permits - I would be incredibly angry if I only realized after 5 miles of steep hiking that I didn't have my permit.  The constant views of Half Dome were great motivators at this point.
After what seemed like several more miles we made it to the base of an exposed switchback section.  Super tough, but doused with amazing views of the valley and all the surrounding granite formations.

I think this view right here might be why Yosemite is my favorite National Park

I'm going to climb ALL OVER your face

Excited to be part way up it seems

And noooooow the fun part

Then FINALLY (the second "finally" of the hike) we got to the chains that will provide access to the summit.  I was incredibly excited, but had to put most of my energy into motivating Michelle and at times physically pushing her up to the top of the dome.  So worth it, because I think she enjoyed it deep down, and frankly summitting Half Dome is pretty damn awesome and the views are breathtaking.  It's a somewhat strenuous hike up those chains, at least for the upper body.  Such an amazing time at the top!

Fun fact: those gloves got DESTROYED on the way up

Steep is the correct adjective

Only one of those smiles is a lie

My butt is clenched tighter than humanly possible

Aaaaaand Kyle proposed to Amanda!  Such fun, excitement, and intrigue.

Got her!

Technically, since I took the picture, I am also engaged to them both

The way down was even more fun because you can actually see how steep it is.

That is a smile of pure terror

Half Dome Summitter x2

Is this the moon?

I'm pretty proud of this one

I legitimately want to do that part again.  Well... the whole thing really.  But for now, we have earned some reward beers.  We made it down to a small swimming area (no swimming allowed but... um... we just hiked Half Dome, so...) near the top of Nevada Falls, where we took a refreshing dip and soothed our barking dogs aka sore feet in case you can't follow along.  We also stopped to hang out at the top of Nevada Falls, complete with another amazing view and a spectacular spot to see the falls crash over the side of the cliff.

HOW MANY FRIGGN WATERFALLS DOES YOSEMITE HAVE?

2 cute

Weeeee

The rest of the descent was a series of stairs and sore foot complaints.  And sunscreen stops.  Plus I dunked my head in Emerald Pond because it was toasty out.  After running down what seemed like an eternal trail, we made it to the car, where we removed our boots and stretched our overused muscles.  Then over to the village store for our well-earned beer.  The rest of the night was spent celebrating with Bisquick pizzas and Yosemite beer by a fire.  So good.  So exhausting.  I love this park.


Thursday 6/26/14 - Yosemite
Today started off on a bad foot with rain getting a few of us in sore spirits with damp clothes and tents.  Also my camp stove stopped working.  Fuck.  That was frustrating.  But we turned our day around with a drive down to the southern part of the park: Mariposa Grove.  We packed our camp up because our plan was to leave from the southern exit after romping around in the Giant Sequoia groves.  And romp we did.

The last (non)view of Half Dome

That's some magical shit right there

It's really hard to get scale on these things, but I took this picture from like 30 feet away

We spent a significant amount of time walking through the forest of enormous trees, more impressive than you can imagine without seeing them in real life.  Some of these areas seemed like they should have pixies and fairies flying around like a god damn Disney movie.  And I once again was able to hug a gigantic fucking tree.  Incredible groves here.  I want to go back.

And that's not even remotely the biggest one

CARS DRIVE THROUGH THIS YOU GUYS

Sequoia sandwich

Are you kidding me?

Hello ladies

But alas, it was time to leave Yosemite.  I shall be back.  We drove into the central valley and the clouds cleared to an oppressive heat.  The central valley of California sucks.  There is nothing there, not even shade.  My hunger at this point was on a murderous rampage.  So we stopped at a taco place - it was ok.  Enough to sate my hunger for now, and we were able to dry out our wet gear in SECONDS.  Then we stopped at REI in Santa Clara to replace my stupid stove.  So that's done.  Free stove - thank you REI rebate.  The rest of the day's worth of driving was uneventful until we stopped for dinner at a brewery near Jimmy's house.  Which is where Kyle, Amanda, and I were staying the night.  Unfortunately, the breaking of the fellowship was inevitable.  Michelle's flight back to Boston was at 10pm, so we had to drop her off at the airport after dinner.  Unhappiness.
The rest of us drove back to Jimmy's house, this time to stay the night.  Jimmy and Tassi are incredible hosts: they provided us with beer, showers, and comfortable sleeping locations.  And then I got about a billion texts and emails when I got into a service area again.  [poundsign]stuffthathappensinsociety