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Yosemite, 950915

0403 -
0403 -    ..
0404 - Summary/Objective
0405 -
040501 - Follow up ref SDS 9 0000, and at ref SDS 6 0000.
040502 -
040503 - This year I got only as far as little Yosemite Valley.  Ross reached
040504 - Half Dome again; Tavo got very near the top, as I did last year.
040505 - ref SDS 2 0001
040506 -
040507 -
040508 -
040510 -  ..
0406 -
0407 -
0408 - Progress
0409 -
040901 - Rather than drive like we did last year, ref SDS 2 HA6J, we took a
040902 - buss to Happy Isle location which is a main trail leading to Vernal
040903 - Falls and to Half Dome.  The bus was about 15 minutes later than the
040904 - posted schedule.
040906 -  ..
040907 - When we started, the trail was very crowded.  Ross managed to work his
040908 - way through the group.  I began doing the same.  Tavo seemed to catch
040909 - up with Ross.  I decided to conserve energy, rather than run out of
040910 - gas by surging ahead in the beginning like last year.  Figured Ross
040911 - and Tavo would wait at the foot bridge below Vernal Falls.  I
040912 - eventually got by the big crowd, but did not see Ross and Tauvo at the
040913 - foot bridge, so continued up.
040915 -  ..
040916 - This year I recognized the sign that showed the different path for
040917 - Half Dome.  Thought Ross and Tavo might be at this check point, but
040918 - did not see them, so continued on the Half Dome trail rather than take
040919 - the Vernal Falls route which is shorter but steeper, and which I took
040920 - last year, incorrectly, per ...
040922 -  ..
040923 - About a mile up a woman coming down asked if I needed water.  She had
040924 - come from Half Dome after camping out over night.  I was a little
040925 - surprised by this because the pack she had seemed very small,
040926 - especially compared to what Ross and I put together for the same kind
040927 - of trip last year, and then abandoned because we could not get
040928 - overnight permits, see ...  In any case I accepted her offer and got a
040929 - quart of water, one of those you can buy in a store.  I assumed Ross
040930 - and Tauvo, who had our water, would be at Nevada Falls, but this would
040931 - tide me over until then.
040933 -  ..
040934 - Hiked on up to Nevada Falls.  Did not stop to rest or drink until I
040935 - got there.  No Ross and no Tavo.  There were a lot of people around
040936 - the bridge across Nevada Falls, so I could have missed seeing them.  I
040937 - went on up to the rest room which is another check point a few hundred
040938 - yards beyond the Falls.  Last year, I was thinking of quitting at this
040939 - location.  This year, I felt better, maybe because I took the flatter,
040940 - though longer, route, rather than the Vernal Falls route.  Did not see
040941 - Ross or Tavo, so I kept going.
040943 -  ..
040944 - Made it to Little Yosemite Valley, about half way through the trail is
040945 - mostly sand.  I noticed my heels seemed blistered.  I stopped and
040946 - checked.  There was no blood, but the left foot in particular had a
040947 - blister on the heal on the outside of the big toe.  Decided to go
040948 - back.  Thought in part I might have passed Ross and Tavo at the Rest
040949 - stop, or at Nevada Falls.  They could be waiting for me.
040950 - Additionally, I did not to go forward and have the blisters get worse,
040951 - then it would be that much more difficult to get back.
040953 -  ..
040954 - Walking back was 95% downhill.  The foot slides forward, so there was
040955 - no problem with the heel blister.  At the few uphill grades, I had to
040956 - walk sideways to avoid further damage to the heel.
040958 -  ..
040959 - At Nevada Falls I stopped for about 30 minutes.  No Ross or Tauvo.
040961 -  ..
040962 - There is a ledge directly above the falls that has a metal railing. I
040963 - went down there and enjoyed the spectacular view of the long water
040964 - fall and the valley below.  Then went to the upstream side where there
040965 - was a pool of relatively quiet water.  Took my boots off and soaked my
040966 - feet in the cold water.  Not sure if this helped the blisters, but it
040967 - felt good.
040969 -  ..
040970 - Continued the hike back.  It seemed longer and more difficult going
040971 - down hill than it did coming up the hill.  A boy of about 10 caught up
040972 - and walked along with me for about a mile.  He was from Watsonville
040973 - and was with his parents who were behind us.  I finally suggested he
040974 - wait for them, so they would not worry.
040976 -  ..
040977 - I rested a bit at the Vernal Falls footbridge.  This is another
040978 - spectacular location because of the water gushing through huge rock
040979 - formations.  I was again surprised, as last year, about the distance
040980 - from this location to the beginning of the trail.  It always seems
040981 - like a very short distance starting out until you get to the
040982 - footbridge, but it seems to take forever to cover the same distance
040983 - coming back.
040985 -  ..
040986 - Since I was on flat ground back at the Valley floor, decided to walk
040987 - back to our camp area. This about 1.5 to 2 miles.  Stopped for a beer
040988 - at a service facility about 2/3 of the way back.  Arrived at camp
040989 - about 1415.  Got a Snapple softdrink at the store and a Time magazine
040990 - to read the cover story on the release of Colin Powell's new book.
040992 -  ..
040993 - Rested in the hammock Ross set up the night before, and read the
040994 - magazine until about 1600.  There was an article on Off-label drug
040995 - applications for medical problems.  It described some non-standard
040996 - treatments for colitis, and so saved this for Millie to give to Pam.
040997 - ..
040998 - Went to the store and bought beer and cokes for Ross and Tavo.
041000 -  ..
041001 - They arrived about 1715.  Ross had made it again to the top of Half
041002 - Dome.  Tavo got to the switch trail just before the cable leading to
041003 - the top.  He was too tired to go further; apparently he got cramps
041004 - like I did last year. ref SDS 2 4977  Ross took pictures at the top,
041005 - and had someone take a picture of him, which he didn't do last year.
041006 - These should be great.
041008 -  ..
041009 - Ross said the water filter he got yesterday on the way driving to
041010 - Yosemite, worked well.  They refilled their water at the spring.  I
041011 - wonder if this indicates we may need more water for a third person
041012 - next year.
041014 -  ..
041015 - Ross wanted to have a drink to celebrate his triumph.  We went first
041016 - to the Yosemite Village where he remembered there was a bar.  After
041017 - some searching we found the building he remembered as having a bar,
041018 - but it turned out that in the ensuing period it had been discontinued.
041019 - While Ross was getting directions from a store clerk about where we
041020 - could get a drink, Tavo bought a postcard to use for a class project,
041021 - telling the story of our trip.
041023 -  ..
041024 - We drove to the Awanhee Hotel and had one drink outside near a lawn
041025 - area.  It was warm and about dusk.  Looked like there was a wedding
041026 - taking place or just completing.
041027 - ..
041028 - Went back to our camp site.  Stopped at the store and I got some
041029 - milk for the pasta dish Ross was preparing for dinner.  Also got more
041030 - chips and dip.
041032 -  ..
041033 - Ross fixed dinner using the cooking equipment he brought.  This, like
041034 - last year, was quite elegant and tasted excellent.  It was a
041035 - combination of pasta and some special sausage, plus some sauteed
041036 - mushrooms and squash.
041037 -
041039 -  ..
041040 - Religion- Case Studies, Case Law
041041 -
041042 - Followed up our discussion from last night. ref SDS 9 5555  The Bible
041043 - survives because it is only assemblage of "case studies" that
041044 - exemplify a constant set of principles.  People like to venture out
041045 - into what seems like forbidden waters, to challenge accepted wisdom.
041046 - But unless there is a set of constant principles, then people cannot
041047 - get the charge of trying something "forbidden" or marginal.  There is
041048 - nothing else as constant as the Bible in Western Civilization.
041050 -  ..
041051 - Today, television and the movies provide alternate "case study"
041052 - metaphors.  There are good guys and bad guys, and a moral to every
041053 - story if we look closely.  Ross noted how cartoons the children watch
041054 - follow this format also.  These "morals" can generally be traced back
041055 - to the 10 Commandments in some way.
041056 -
041057 -
041059 -  ..
041060 - Investing Intellectual Capital
041061 -
041062 - We considered the "farming" concept of investing time to save time,
041063 - reported on 950426 1130, ref SDS 5 4404, as a model for executive
041064 - productivity.  Did not bring up the phenomena of "knowledge creep."
041065 -
041066 - We had a pretty full weekend.
041067 -
041068 -
041069 -
041070 -
041071 -
041072 -
041073 -
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041075 -
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0411 -