Days 23, 24, 25: Yosemite National Park

Roadside 7-point buck

After our night in Redding, CA we tried to drive all the way to the Yosemite to set up our camp before dark, but as we approached and the drive was almost entirely on curved single lane mountain roads we realized we would never make it there by sundown so we picked a state park a little ways outside of Yosemite N.P. and spent the night there.

Tuolumne Meadows in Yosmite

 The next day we drove into Yosemite, braving more single lane mountain highways before arriving at our campsite just late enough that we didn’t have time to do anything exciting in the park that day.  Fortunately, after we drove down into Yosemite Valley for some supplies the gentleman in the campsite next to ours suggested a serious 15 mile (roundtrip) hike up to the “Cloud’s Rest,” which we attempted the next morning.

Cloud's Rest

This hike was very strenuous, with a 3,000 ft. climb in elevation to 9,926 ft. above sea level (from our camp at Porcupine Creek which was at 7,000).  It took us about 6 hours to complete, after which we were both dead tired, but the views from the peak were absolutely incredible.  We could see snow top mountains, massive rock cliffs, valleys and lakes for 360 degrees around us.  It was amazing.

Immediately after we completed the hike, before we went back to our campsite, our plan was to go get gas for the car because the gas light had been on for about 30 miles already.  So we drove all the way to the east end of the park, only to find that the gas station over there was closed for the season.  This left us on the far side of the park, with around 50 miles to drive before we hit a gas station, and it was getting dark quickly. 

I (Joe) was driving, and with the mountainous roads it was pretty nerve racking—driving up big hills using the gas, then coasting allll the way down the other side of the hill, all the while never knowing if or when we’d run out of gas.  After riding all the way across the park with the gas needle fully below Empty, we actually made it to a gas station, saving us from the nightmare of being stranded on the roadside in Yosemite in the dark.     

After that adventurous day we passed out pretty quick back at the campsite, waking up in the morning to a cool, crisp 28 degrees.  We braved the cold, packed everything up, and drove all day and into the night to reach fabulous Las Vegas, where we are right now.