June 19, 2007

The mosquitoes were nasty when I was breaking camp.  I looked over at 30-30 and he was donning his mosquito netting.  I teased him and called him bug man.  We both got moving by 6:30 a.m. and planned to hike close to 16 miles to Tuolumne Meadows.  The first 2.6 miles were relatively easy as I climbed to an elevation of 11,056 feet over Donohue Pass.  30-30 and I took a short break before descending to the valley.

I hiked around a beautiful meadow and enjoyed a lunch break on top of a boulder watching the flowing water from Lyell Creek.  I hiked around more meadows and observed some very blue dragonflies dot my path.  I had never seen dragonflies this royal shade of blue.  The streams were pristine and the meadows were green.  The flowers were scant but evident.

30-30 and I hiked into Tuolumne Meadows Lodge hoping to be able to reserve a tent.  Luck was on our side today.  Two tents were available.  This meant we could also take showers and eat a real dinner!  I took my shower with my clothes on and lathered on the soap to launder them.  I washed my socks and my buff.  It was great to put in a 16 mile day, get a warm shower at the end, and it was only 2:00 p.m.

We took a shuttle a mile to the campground.  After hiking 941.6 miles why would two hikers take a shuttle for one measly mile?  Because the one mile didn't count.  I ate a hot dog and a soft serve vanilla ice cream cone. 30-30 and I mingled with several other hikers before catching the shuttle back to the lodge.  We enjoyed a family style dinner with a Korean family and a mother-daughter set from Los Angles.  I had steak, salad, minestrone soup, rolls with butter, and a strawberry/pineapple cobbler with extra whipped cream.  Yummy!  30-30 lit the wood burning stove in the tent and I read the USA Today by candlelight.