My Favorite Place
The Aiguille Du Midi in France, Lake Como in Italy, the reefs of the Cayman Islands: I have lots and lots of favorite places, but the meadow beneath El Capitan in Yosemite Valley tops my list.
Why?
Maybe it's the epic stuggles taking place on the beyond-vertical pitches above. There's nothing like sitting in the green grass with your telescope as someone runs it out 100 feet above a #1 head to make your life look simple.
But just the beauty by itself is incredible, the way the light and shadows reveal Cathedral rock or the coolness of the Merced after a sweaty hike.
I like it all.
Today we're going for a swim. We're a bit pressed for time, and we're hot, and the Merced is calm and deep behind the meadow.
Cold too.
It takes some heavy psyching before I finally dive under the emerald green surface and into the impossibly clear water below. Christy summons the nerve, but Sydney never does. Too cold. Hannah is content to go up to her waist.
Time to push on.
Refreshed, we head up to 9,000 feet and Tuolumne meadows, the less-popular-but-every-bit-as-beautiful attic of Yosemite Valley.
All the campgrounds are full, but we like the area so much that we splurge, get a tent cabin at the Tuolumne Lodge -- even spring for dinner at the family style restaurant by the creek.
It's cold. Probably in the low 40s once the sun goes down. The wood stove in the tent feels good and we all snuggle down into the wool blankets on the beds.
The domes of Tuolumne
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment