6.20.09

After running around for the day taking showers, doing the laundry and getting reorganized; we made it over to the Backpacker’s Campground. The campground is only open to backpackers 1 night before and 1 night after a trip so we took advantage of it after we finished ours. It was a sweet place right on the creek, away from all the busyness of the valley. Between the bear that made an appearance and the drunk girls next to us, we managed to squeeze in a few hours of sleep. We were contemplating whether or not to go for another backpacking trip or try to get a spot at the walk in campground, Camp 4. We ultimately decided to forget the backpacking so we could actually set up camp for a few days without having to constantly be on the move; plus Steveo’s knee is really bothering him after the hard downhill pounding the days before. We woke up that morning at 5:30 to pack up our things and head off to Camp 4 to wait in line in attempt to grab a spot. Fortunately we got a site so it is now our home for a few days. After setting up camp, we did the whole touristy thing of visiting all the villages, gift shops and restaurants. It’s a busy place around the valley but it sure is awesome! I know everyone of you would love Yosemite, it’s beautiful. We ended the night by walking down to the little grocery and buying a jar of pickles to eat with our mashed potatoes for dinner then called it an early night. Today was even more amazing as we hiked up to the top of Yosemite Falls, the 5th tallest waterfall in the world. It was probably the coolest hike, and very strenuous, but well worth the effort. After all the switchbacks we made it to the lookout and felt the mist of the waterfall as we looked over the valley 2700 ft below. We found a huge rock with little cut outs so we plopped are bags down, laid back and ate our granola bars. It was so relaxing that we sprawled out there for about an hour before heading back down. The whole hike was breathtaking as we had so many amazing views of the falls but we were sure glad to be back on flat ground after it was all said and done. It’s crazy how much climbing up and down can take out of us both. I was just surprised to see so many different people all the trail, what an accomplishment for them. By the way, I think the entire state of California is here this weekend; it’s insanely crowded but good thing we have working feet because I would hate to be traveling back and forth in this traffic. Anyways, the pizza is about here so I’m off to eat!