On to Yosemite

After seeing the redwoods on the coast, we headed east into the mountains of northern California. We'd had cooler weather with a few clouds on both the Oregon and California coasts, but that all changed as we moved inland. It was 37 Celsius by the time we'd driven an hour and for the next 10 days, we got a taste of what most Californians had been experiencing for about 3 years straight. Sunshine, hot temperatures, and the constant threat of forest fires.

Our first stop was in Weaverville for a 3 day hike in the Trinity Alps Wilderness just north of town. The Happy Camp Fire is the largest fire of the 2014 California fire season at 135,000 acres, and was burning a little northeast of where we were hiking. While it is now under control, it is not expected to be fully contained until October 31st. We were never in any danger, but we did see significant smoke one night and awoke to ashes on the tent fly in the morning.

We hiked up to Canyon Creek Lakes on the first day, up to El Lake then over to Boulder Creek Lakes on the second day, and back to the trailhead on the third for a total of about 34 kms. The mountains were very jagged and uniformly white - much different than what we were used to in the Yukon.

Canyon Creek Lakes

Upper Canyon Creek Lake

Early morning at Boulder Creek Lake

After the exertion of hiking we felt we deserved a little rest and relaxation, so we headed south to Sonoma in the heart of California wine country. Sonoma was the complete opposite of our rough, sweaty, and smoky hiking. We enjoyed lattes in the outdoor cafe and delightful pastries from La Boulangerie on the Sonoma plaza. We browsed in the expensive downtown shops. We did tours and tastings at several of the dozens of wineries in the area. It may only have been a couple of days, but for those two days, we were almost civilized.

Vineyard at Benziger Family Winery in the Sonoma Valley

Benziger Family Winery Caves

Next on the itinerary was Yosemite National Park. This visit had been a long time coming. My Uncle Doug - my mom's younger brother - worked in Yosemite for over 40 years and was now retired and still living in the area. When I was growing up in Bracebridge, Uncle Doug would visit every year or two, and would always invite me for a visit to hike the incredible trails in the area. It took me way longer than it should have, but on September 12, I finally made it there.

Yosemite Valley

El Capitan from Yosemite Valley

I hadn't seen Uncle Doug since before we moved to the Yukon over 15 years ago. He had married Joanne about 20 years ago, and I think we had only met her once previously. So in addition to an opportunity to visit an incredible area, it was a wonderful time to reconnect with long lost family, and to get to know new (to us) family for the first time.

Uncle Doug's first job in Yosemite was at
the Ahwahnee Hotel Dining Room

Yosemite Valley from Glacier Point
Half Dome on the Right

Uncle Doug and Aunt Joanne were the consummate hosts. They put their lives on hold the moment we arrived until the morning we left, showed us the highlights of Groveland and Sonora and gave us the insider's tour of Yosemite Valley and area, then spent a full day helping us shuttle our car for our big John Muir Trail hike. They fed us, let us wash our dirty clothes (twice), and provided the first decent internet connection we'd had since we left home. They even looked after the devil dogs for a long day so we could do a hike in Yosemite National Park where dogs aren't allowed.

They may regret having been so kind, as we're already trying to figure out how we can get back sometime to hike some of the many trails we couldn't fit in this time.