That awesome sound, coming down...

Hetch Hetchy windy road reminds me of Utah...granite waves with wild flowers, manzanita, pines...walk over dam, peer down at water shooting out in arches white and roaring...through a lighted tunnel, water dripping, getting our feet wet (for the 1st time)...along the Reservoir we step over stones and breath the flowery air..."Hetch Hetchy rivals Yosemite Valley", said John Muir...OH beautiful trail!! there is a foot of rushing water on you for me to splash though with laughter and smiles and sunshine...squishy boots finally taken off to dry at rock water slide into cold pool...."Go over all the bridges", said fellow hiker soaked through and through...round the corner at giant rainbow and step onto the first bridge built over the base of the falls...cold water spraying all around and over you, so cold at first, exhilarating! Over second bridge to chase rainbow bubble through the mist....drenched....arms outstretched to the falls above...stone path, another bridge, the other side....giggles, amazement, sheer joy.....soaked to the bone, sunny rock to rest..."Why dry off? We are going back the way we came!!".....and Momma bear scratches the log, ignoring her cubs who climb into a tree and pose for our camera....and we think that THIS one is EPIC...and we drive out and see another Momma bear with her own 2 cubs scurrying across the road and take pictures of them as well.....

In the middle of everywhere...

Have you ever walked alone in the middle of nowhere, right in the middle of everywhere??  That's what my walk  home was like tonight.  Twilight, gentle rain.....So quiet.  I did not see a squirrel, a bird or a bear.  I did not see anyone until I crossed the bridge into Housekeeping Camp, and that was more a hearing than anything.  There were no campers around the fire, no children running with flashlights.....I had the whole walk to myself...the whole of Yosemite Valley was mine for 15 minutes.......I arrived on the other side of Housekeeping Camp just as the Shuttle (which I could have taken home instead) arrived there.  It was jam-packed!! standing room only!! with folks that missed out on a beautiful, wet, warm, quiet, refreshing walk.

In other words

How can a 3 mile round trip hike that was flat and mostly on an old railroad trail take 5 hours you ask?  Well I will try to tell you.....First, park the car at the trailhead and gaze upon the beauty and wonder of the best swimming hole ever.  You can imagine other days when the cool water will envelope you and make you shiver in delight....Then walk beside the rushing river and wrestle with the idea of being so powerful!  The give and take, the roar as the powerful water tumbles over boulders and the serene calm of the deep....Butterflies flitter about and land on the ground, making you stop to look at their beautiful wings as they reach up to catch the sun's rays...they are beautiful blue or yellow.....they mimic the colors of the flowers, yellow, purple, pink...and especially pink, with soft petals that you want to caress and make your own...........The day is warm, but there is a gentle breeze that blows upon you, and you thank it from your heart for the stillness, the beauty, for connecting to something from the heart, soul and mind......you gaze at the rushing power that is the river and it makes you tumble to the ground where the rocks, twigs and leaves sting your body and leave reminders of this beautiful, simple hike that turned into a journey of knowing and wonder of more hikes to come......