PHOTO CREDIT TO SAVANNAH WHO TOOK ALL THE LANDSCAPE / FLOWER SHOTS
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PRELUDE - SAN FRANCISCO
Golden Gate Bridge. Cable Cars. Dinner in Marin County. Architecture. Culture. Chocolate.
YOSEMITE - CATHEDRAL LAKES
To prepare for Mt. Whitney we needed to spend time at gradually higher elevations. Our first hike was from Tuolumne Meadows to Upper Cathedral Lake for hammock napping and off-trail scrambling in the backcountry.
YOSEMITE VALLEY
We rested for a day in the Valley with tourists from all over the world, counting at least a dozen different languages. Bike rides beneath Half Dome and Royal Arches, Yosemite Village, Washburn and Glacier Point.
YOSEMITE - CLOUDS REST
Our second Yosemite Hike was from Lake Tenaya to Clouds Rest. A classic Sierras high country hike to an exposed summit ridge with the best view in Yosemite. Savannah and I jumped in Lake Tenaya at the finish to "add 10 years to our lives".
MAMMOTH LAKES - REST DAY
We took a day to rest and prepare before the Mt. Whitney hike. We went up to June Lake where Grandpa and Grandma Rex, and Uncle Phil and Aunt Joan would go fishing each year.
Mt. WHITNEY - 14,508'
The Mt. Whitney Trail from Whitney Portal has spectacular scenery and is rarely mentioned because the summit gets all the attention. We arrived at Trail Camp at 12,000' in a summer hail / snow flurry storm. The morning of our summit hike was cold and windy. Wind chill temps at Trail Crest 13,600' were in the high teens. Once on the summit however, there was barely a breeze.
POSTLUDE - BIG SUR DRIVE BACK TO SAN FRANCISCO
After a crazy night looking for a bed in Lone Pine, Ca we headed for the coast to complete our big loop of California. We spotted whale spouts from the car and when we stopped for a closer look, we actually saw them breaching or jumping out of the water! We grabbed some crepes in Monterey and then watched the sun go down as we hit Santa Cruz and headed east over the mountains one last time.
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