I have heard so many wonderful things about Point Reyes, and I finally made my inaugural trip to an area called Bear Valley. (I know, late post; I hiked this in August.) As I was researching what kind of hikes I should go on, I discovered that Arch Rock was a main highlight. When I arrived at the Bear Valley Visitor Center, I discovered that Arch Rock was closed. Since I was already in the area, I decided to venture on the Bear Valley trail anyways. After being surrounded by the maddening drought situation, I was pleasantly surprised to see Point Reyes still lush and green. Some parts of the trail were still wet!

Usually, the North Bay Area is shrouded in fog or is cloudy at many times of the year. Sometimes it burns off during the day or comes back in the afternoon, making for some nice variable weather to hike in.

The day started warm and beautiful on the Bear Valley Trail.




The trail eventually reached a meadow. It's so interesting because in the first photo below, the clouds are slowly coming in and I can feel a bit of the ocean breeze and with a 180, in the next photo, the sky is clear.
Onwards! California doesn't have the natural and native cascading fall foliage of the East Coast, though there are some golden leaves scattered about.

And that concludes the Bear Valley trail (one-way; 3.1 miles). At the Baldy Trail junction, there is a sign warning about the Arch Rock closure. Stay tuned for part two!

On a whim, I decided to spend some time browsing YouTube, and came across two stunning videos. True, the two artists are famous in their own respect, and I didn't really discover these "secret" videos. However, I don't follow any of these artists and by finding their videos, I was really impressed by the beautiful scenes in each of their music videos. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did when I watched them.

1. Taeyeon's "I"
I love all of the picturesque New Zealand shots! Taeyeon's calm, good-natured spirit also resonates with her actions and her style as she changes state from a grounded ("caged") person to an exploding state of confidence and freedom.
'

2. Justin Bieber's  "I'll Show You"
Although we barely capture a glimpse of Justin's face, that may be a positive thing, so that we can focus on the powerfully emotional lyrics and Icelandic beauty. I am always in awe when celebrities divulge their "vulnerable" side. I am in full support when they do share and actually appreciate them more as a person because I know they're human like me and not just standing on a pedestal as a cultivated image. And, how do I know it's Iceland? Many thanks to Chris Burkard's beautiful Instagram feed.


Enjoy!
Cat

After checking out different viewing angles from different points on Lembert Dome, we continued to Dog Lake. The trails are very well marked, as long as you know where you're going!

We had originally planned to head up to Lembert Dome after Gaylor Lakes, but decided against the idea. After our extended detour, mild instability due to the altitude change, and the setting sun, we chose to set up our tent at the Tuolumne Meadows campground to get a good night's rest.

After our detour to Stanislaus National Forest, picking up hitchhikers for the first time ever, taking in the beauty of Mono Lake, and getting our first dose of Yosemite at Ellery Lake, we were more than excited to be at Gaylor Lakes.

We were so excited to be at the trailhead that we jumped right into hiking. Water? Check. Food? Check. Sense of adventure? Double check. Our mistake: altitude sickness at 8,600 feet. Whoops. After a minute of hiking, we felt winded, dizzy, and weak. What to do? Drink a lot of water and take lots of breaks. That's pretty easy because the view gets better and better as the hike nears the crest of the mountain. (The easiest way to acclimate to high altitudes is to sleep so the body can acclimate to the higher elevation)




Eventually, we made it to the lakes and were rewarded with a view that has no words for its beauty. Sometimes, I wish the English language had more words to express the grandness of seeing something so beautiful for the first time!

We strolled around the lake and frolicked in the meadow and hunkered down beside some rocks to shelter ourselves from the wind as we ate our dinner. What bliss!
















The trail can continue to a mine to the east or to another lake nestled beneath the mountains in the north east.

Gaylor Lakes Trail
Start: Tioga Pass exit/entrance parking lot
Duration: 1-2 hours (depends on altitude acclimation)
Difficulty: moderately strenuous
Length: 2 miles RT
Exposure: shaded in the beginning and open at the ridge and lake
Danger: high winds at the lake

Happy travels!
Cat

After a very long detour, we finally made it onto Highway 120 a.k.a. Tioga Road a.k.a our destination! Our very first stop: Ellery Lake. The lake pull-out is right before the entrance to the park (if heading west) or right after leaving Yosemite National Park (if heading east). We were already feeling a little winded from the altitude change, but we were too excited to rest.

If I remember correctly, this lake is dammed either to generate electricity or to hold water as a reservoir. Nevertheless, still very beautiful besides the strong winds!

Happy travels,
Cat

Another result of our unexpected detour?

A lovely surprise view of Mono Lake! I've seen numerous pictures of the lake in all sorts of settings and was so surprised that we had a nice vantage point from above and from the visitor's center.

Mono Lake has no outlet, and is fed by runoff by creeks and streams from the nearby mountains. The lake is high in salinity naturally, and was made even more so when the city of Los Angeles pumped a lot of the water out. And with the severe drought, the water level is even lower than usual. I read that the lake does receive snow and receives a fair amount of precipitation, but the lake level lowers drastically during the summer in the intense heat. The famous area of the lake features tufas, which are a type of limestone formation that sticks above the water. Unfortunately, we did not visit those because we were eager to visit Yosemite. Till next time Mono Lake!





Happy travels,
Cat

I never expected to say this, but we picked up hitchhikers for the first time. Here's what happened.

After leaving our stretch break at Stanislaus National Forest, we mustered the strength and energy to keep going. We had the windows open for fresh air, and we see some people alongside the road (speed limit is between 25-45 mph in the mountains), and we hear "Can we get a ride?" from some nice ladies. I look at my friend and we decide to pull over. Over come two guys. I'm confused because I thought we were picking up girls? Then, the husky guys tell us that the girls decided to send the guys first because girls can get rides more easily than girls. Yup, if there was a scenario were there were girl hitchhikers, we would stop. If there were a couple guys, we would have passed. The guys tell us that the girls are like brides because their sweet, innocent voice attract more rides. So true!

It turns out that the guys who worked in the oil industry quit/laid off and started the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in southern California and were traveling all the way to Canada. So, they needed to get to Bridgeport (where we were going) for some errands and would head back to where we picked them up to continue the journey north.

And so, here they are!



Unexpected encounters on our unintended detour! How exciting :)

Happy travels,
Cat

Here's what not to do on a road trip:

Plug in Tuolumne into the GPS and let it take you there. We put too much trust into the GPS and it was my fault for not looking up the directions earlier. The GPS calculated the distance and took us into Stanislaus National Forest via highway 108. (We later found out we missed the exit for Yosemite). And with the GPS losing signal in the mountains, all we could do was drive. Well, that's what a road trip right? When a 4 hour drive turns into a 7 hour detour. ;)

Lesson: Always make sure the destination is where you expect it to be.

I have never been to Stanislaus National Forest and it was a real surprise and treat to the see the pretty landscape. After driving for several hours, we decided to stretch and smell the fresh mountain air.





Happy travels!
Cat

I don't remember how or when the idea germinated that some friends and I would take a road trip down to Big Sur (California). I was excited because I've wanted to drive down Highway 1 (a.k.a. "the One" or "PCH") for a very long time. I had the very fortunate experience of attending college at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, (Cal Poly to all those in the know!) and had wanted to take a road trip down from home to college on my many routine trips back up the Bay Area to visit family over breaks. It never happened. And so, I was ecstatic to do at least a part of the drive along the coast with some friends.

When I was doing research on places to visit in Big Sur, I didn't realize that Big Sur is a reference to the general area along HWY 1. It's not a specific point, but more a general region. There was a time when some friends (who drive very fast) did a night drive up (north from San Luis Obispo) to a random point on HWY 1, and in my mind, Big Sur refers to the region between Carmel in the north all the way down to San Simeon in the south. More preferably, Big Sur refers to the windy roads that hug the mountains on one side with views of the sheer drop-offs and the Pacific Ocean on the other side.

We started early in the morning, and made a stop for brunch at First Awakenings in Pacific Grove. This is a really great spot to grab some delicious eats before heading down the coast.


I am no coast weather expert, but I think that all types of weather are what makes Big Sur so alluring. The morning started off grey, cloudy, foggy, and misty, and burned off in the afternoon, revealing the vivid and beautiful blues of the Pacific Ocean. Then the clouds returned later in the evening, making the whole day a wonderful experience of exposures of Big Sur weather.

First stop: Bixby Bridge! There's a parking lot on both sides of the highway for different vantage points.


Along the way, we stopped at different pull-outs, experiencing the rugged coastline. And the clouds cleared, too!



We had tried to visit Pfeiffer Beach, but the guard told us that the parking lot was full, and was not admitting any more cars. We didn't want to make the hike down and back up along the dusty road, so we skipped it...

Next stop: McWay Falls! The magical highlight of Big Sur and one of the must-visit sights. Either park along the side of the road or in the paid parking area. I was expecting a semi-long hike to the overlook, but the hike was maybe 5 minutes! I think views this stunning deserve some sweat, but I guess the drive along HWY 1 and getting to the waterfall was the 'sweating' part.


We decided to turn around at this point, not wanting to drive along the windy road in the dark. We made a second pass at Pfeiffer Beach, and the guard said it was open. Hurrah!

Pfeiffer Beach was an amazing end to a beautiful day on the coast. I highly recommend going to Big Sur, even if it's only for a day.

And if you're looking for a dinner spot, I recommend Hula's Island Grill in Monterey.



Happy travels!
Cat