A weekend at Yosemite

Third time's the charm, they say. There is no such adage about the fourth time, but does the writer not hold a license to modify these to cater her writing needs and avoid resorting to additional clauses? Case in point: It is my fourth time at Yosemite National Park; or the third time in less than a year, to use the third-time-charm-thing. I am resting on a rock, legs stretched ahead, debating with myself the can's and can-not's of a novice blogger. I shield my eyes from the bright sun as I look up straight at the sky. The sound of the water gushing through small rocks on its way to the eventual fall is quite reassuring and the idea of another post takes shape in my mind.

Let's go back a week in time to one of my run-of-the-mill Monday mornings in the lab. For most part of the hour left between e-mail replies and lunch I am switching furiously between social networking sites. After "productively" wasting several minutes in discovering Murat Morrison's blog on Quora, I check my Twitter feed and leap in excitement at this.

The greatest lookout of the natural world, Glacier Point, will open at noon in @YosemiteNPS: http://t.co/RmIQEpXrXv pic.twitter.com/a6HYK4S9l2

— SFGate.com (@SFGate) April 14, 2014

At once I call my roommate and we waste no time in sketching out the weekend plans. A few days later we start to Yosemite early (for a particularly bad hangover) Saturday morning. A seemingly never-ending drive later we reach the national park late afternoon only to find a throng of people and a panic attack. We attribute the crowd to spring break and the onset of an early summer; the panic attack to discovering that we don't have with us a memory card for The DSLR. 

While we make salvaging plans that included, potentially, a 2 hour drive to the nearest Walmart, we realize that we don't have enough time to find parking, catch a shuttle and then start on a hike. Unfazed, we alter our (non-existent) plan and head to Glacier Point. En route we stop at the Bridelveil falls which reaffirms my ability to slip on firm ground and my fear of loud kids.

Once we get on the Glacier point road everything is suddenly very silent. We pull over at the first trailhead that we encounter and meet a short trail to the Sentinel dome. The trail was perfect - hardly any people, patches of snow, expansive views of the valley, did I mention there were no people?

In case the reader has noticed, yes, that is a photo of a random road taken from inside the car and does not bear any significance to the trail.

Around sunset we reach Glacier Point, possibly the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I am out of words now and urge this picture that I stole from Wikipedia to say a few on my behalf.

We laugh at the full 4G AT&T coverage 3200 feet above the valley and I silently thank my friend for being there, for sharing my travel instincts, for making no fuss when plans invariably go wrong.

The next morning we start early, after I wake up from a dreadful dream involving violent dogs, unruly teenage boys and tragic hope for impossible futures. Now equipped with The Memory Card we stop at the quintessential Yosemite photography spot, Tunnel view.

Our next stop is the crux of the trip, the guitar solo of a 70's rock song, if you will. The Mist Falls! The trail starts with a short mildly steep stretch adorned with breathtaking views of mountains of granite. We then climb a few hundred steps with every step I am worried of slipping down and breaking an ankle. As we climb closer to the falls we get drenched in its spray. Talk about beautiful! I don't understand how I have been to Yosemite thrice without coming here, one of the most crowded hikes in the park. 

That's where I am now. The top of this falls.

I experience a multitude of emotions, deep respect for the mountains shaped by ice age glaciers standing tall against all tests of time; gratefulness for my own fortune to be in a place five thousand miles away from home, and love for a beloved friend whom I miss the most of all. For now this will suffice. No more thoughts, no more alarms.

Song in my head: Wherever there is light by No-Man.

The West Coast: A Sampler

I was chatting with a friend a few days back. The conversation, once edited heavily in my favour, went like this.

Friend: Start some random conversation. I'm bored. Stressed. And depressed.

I (reaching for my phone first thing after I woke up): Hey! The first topic in my mind. Hmm, Pacific Northwest!

Friend (in all probability, banging head on the wall, thinking): Again, why am I friends with her?

I (hiding my face under a pillow in shame, assuring myself): It's really early for a Saturday. I read a lot of geography yesterday, that explains it.

I: You can tell me to change the topic, if you want.

Friend: No, go ahead.  

I: The Pacific Northwest region roughly includes parts of Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and the Canadian state British Columbia.  

Friend: By the way, why is it still called British Columbia?

I (completely ignoring the question): This region has several mountain ranges including Cascade range, Coast mountains, and Rocky mountains. The Cascades have very dense vegetation. Due to the proximity to the Pacific ocean, the Cascades experience heavy snow and rainfall every year. There are also many active volcanoes here, the Cascades are a part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. The tallest peak in the region is Mount Rainier which I visited last fall. Wikipedia says that the largest single season snowfall in the world was recorded in Mount Baker. I'm finding that hard to believe for some reason.

Friend: Why haven't you shared these pictures yet?

I: I'm lazy... Well here is one.

This place is called Reflection lake.

Friend: Serene! It's hard to think of snow and vegetation together.

I: The trip was so much fun, we were driving and driving. A couple of my friends flew from Austin and three of us flew to Portland from SF. It's another interesting story, but that's for another day.

Friend: Why don't you blog about all this! Why does it always have to be about that venna Vedder? * (venna = idiot/waste fellow)

I (mumbling rhetorically): I don't know, nobody reads.

I (Failing to notice the slight on my favourite musician): Anyway, back to the Northwest. What else do I know about the place?

Friend: The area? Population?

I: Washington and Oregon are politically very liberal. Washington has legalized medical marijuana. The major cities in the Pacific Northwest are Seattle, Portland and Vancouver.

(And then it hit me) Wait, the music scene in Seattle is spectacular. In the late 80s, Seattle gave birth to a subgenre of alternative rock called grunge. It was inspired by hardcore punk and heavy metal. Bands like Soundgarden, Nirvana and Pearl Jam became hugely popular and contributed to the commercial success of grunge.

Friend: Oh! Nirvana too. So, how does grunge compare to metal? Less noisy?

I: Mostly, and less growling.

Friend (laughing out loud): Better description.

I: Soundgarden was the first grunge band to sign a major record label. Its lead singer is this guy, Chris Cornell.

Friend (laughing again): I'll look him up. Long hair?

I: Of course. Check out the songs 'Flutter girl', 'Like a stone', 'Be yourself' (the latter two by the supergroup Audioslave) and the theme from the movie Casino Royale 'You know my name'.

Friend: Oh, that was him!?

I: Yes. (Continuing) On our trip to Rainier, we took a five hour detour to visit the city called Aberdeen, the place where Nirvana's Kurt Cobain was born and grew up. The city pays tribute to the late singer by installing this sign, a reference to one of his songs.

I: Anyway, back to the geography lesson. Let us now venture south of the Cascades.

Friend: South, yes! I'm ready.

I: The next big mountain range we cross is the Sierra Nevada. Fondly known as the High Sierra, the range is famous for towering Sequoia trees and the California gold rush among other things. The famous Yosemite valley was sculpted by alpine glaciers from the ice age.

Friend: A valley from the ice age! It's getting better.

I (rambling incoherently): Yes, it is very beautiful. Wilderness campers and backpackers are wary of the bears this region inhabits.

I: The lack of water in Yosemite falls is indicative of this year's drought.

South of Sierra lies the vast Mojave desert, the driest and hottest place in North America.

Friend: Oh yeah, there is a game that I play! With the cowboys, snakes and tiger lilies.

I (the narcissistic bad-friend that I am): Death Valley has the highest recorded temperature on earth.

Friend (probably angry by now): Oh!

I: Bad water basin in Death valley, at 282 feet below sea level, is the point of lowest elevation in the US. Anecdotally, the highest elevation in continental US is Mt. Whitney which is less than 100 miles from bad water basin.

I: And this is all in California.

Friend: Great place, California is.

I (Is he still angry? Is that sarcasm?): Moving closer to the coast, there are numerous mountain ranges that form the Coast Ranges. Big Sur coast is famous for the windy segment of the highway CA-1 along the coast, where the sheer cliffs drop down to the ocean.

In conclusion, yes I have fallen in love with California and the whole of west coast. In its diverse landscape. In the primal beauty it showcases...

Friend: <Silence>

Yeah, that must have been sarcasm. He was a great listener.. He said he was depressed!

* Dear friend,

If you are reading this, I regret to inform you that I can no longer consider you my bff**, now that you have opened up about your true feelings for Eddie. It's over.

Plays in head: It's all over but the crying by Garbage.

**The BFF spot is now open. Floyd lovers, Nickelback*** haters, and rich people who go to one or more concerts per month and are willing to buy me tickets fairly often may apply.

***I don't really hate Nickelback. It was them or Taylor Swift and I didn't want her in the same sentence as You-Love-Who.

OK, I am just kidding about the spot being open. Not just because of the Europe invite!