Yosemite or The High Sierra Swim Hole Challenge

We've found a new favorite National Park:

This occurs every time we visit another one, so the title may not last long, but I'm sure we'll go back for more of Yosemite in the future - especially if we get to go again with our favorite camping cousins the Bousfields!

To get to Yosemite from Provo, we drove 9 hours across the great western basin and range of Utah and Nevada, braving one of the loneliest (and most restroom free) stretches in America.  The kids loved playing the "how far until Dad has to touch the steering wheel" game as we shot straight through dozens of valleys like this one:

As we neared the park, it became clear that the trip would definitely be worth it, despite the near-constant chorus of "How much further?", "When will we get to the next bathroom?", and "Are you sure there isn't a bookstore on this road that sells Mockingjay?" we got to listen to along the way.

We entered the park from the east through Tioga Pass and immediately encountered a lucky man working Kevin's dream job:

We asked him if he'd mind trading and taking Kevin's job as a university professor - he responded "Not on your life."  Oh well...can't hurt to ask.

We camped in the beautiful Tuolomne Meadows area (we highly recommend it) at just under 9000 feet.  As soon as we got there the kids discovered the Tuolomne River near our campsite and were so excited they didn't even change clothes before jumping in:

They soon realized how cold mountain streams can be:

and how long it can take the sun to warm you back up at 9000 feet:

Still, they went back in all afternoon, especially after discovering a very cool natural water slide:

One of our goals for the trip was to encourage the kids to do more strenuous hiking (you know, like one of those families whose 8 year old kids carry all their own gear on 30 mile backcountry trips...), so the next day we picked a couple of appealing destinations, loaded the kids up:

and headed out.  The first stop was Dog Lake, a few miles away, with a nice little increase in elevation along the way: 

Keeping with their commitment to find the best swimming holes in the High Sierras, the kids waded right in despite icy water temperatures:

After visiting the lake, we headed up to Lembert Dome - one of many cool rock domes in the park, and our personal favorite:

The scramble to the very top was fun for the kids (it just kept going and going...):

And the views were spectacular:

Despite a sprained ankle, ravenous bellies and the urgent need for a bathroom on the way down, we made it back to camp happy and proud of our kids for their 7 mile trek.

The next day we drove 55 miles down into Yosemite Valley for our first views of El Capitan and Half Dome:

Continuing our quest for good cold swimming, we decided to make the short hike up to Lower Yosemite Falls and play in the lovely pool we heard we'd find there.  Except that it turns out that in August that pool doesn't exist and we got to scramble up a quarter mile of boulders:

to get to the gorgeous, freezing pool:

under what was left of Yosemite Falls this late in the season:

We had a great time swimming (or standing) around in the boulder-filled pool:

and for once, we weren't shivering when we got out because the air was so much warmer than the water.  We spent the rest of the day biking around in Yosemite Valley and picnicking with intrepid ravens.

Our final full day at Yosemite, we decided to try a slightly longer and more arduous hike: just under 11 miles round trip to see Cathedral Peak and Cathedral Lake. We started out strong:

and it was very cool to see Cathedral Peak up close:

but after hiking 3.5 miles and climbing a couple thousand feet, the kids decided to turn around while the Jolly Rancher supplies were still sufficient for the journey back to camp (plus we enticed them with enough $ to buy foot-high ice cream cones at the camp store after thinking about how nice it would be to keep going without hearing "are we there yet?" every 2 minutes). 

Kevin and I happily went on, taking in the stunning views of Cathedral Peak:

incredible meadows and glacier-polished rock:

and finally the lake itself where we reclined against the hot stone and just enjoyed life for a bit:

:

We had to leave the next day, but waking up to below-freezing temeratures and the threat of snow helped ease the sorrow of departure.  Sure enough, as we drove out of the park, it started to snow and we enjoyed watching the squalls in side canyons down Tioga Pass:

One final stop at the incredible Tufas of (salty) Mono Lake (where I unwittingly became part of the committee to preserve the lake - "Long Live Mono Lake!"):

and we were on our way back across the great basin and range to our temporary home.  Luckily for our hiking ambitions, we have a few great trips coming up (Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Redwood, Disneyland?) where we'll certainly work on toughening up our little pack mules... 

Next up?  Red Rock Relay!!  (see http://www.redrockrelay.com/) Want to join our team next year?