Another Memorial Day in Yosemite

A brief summary of this year's Memorial Day weekend in Yosemite. I can't guarantee you'll learn something from this one, but it was certainly a funny trip in many ways. Sara's brother Alex and his wife Jess were visiting from Boston, and Sara's friend Janelle joined us from SF.

Rafting on the Merced River
After years of being a kayak snob, I agreed to go on my first rafting trip. It was fantastic! Thanks to those lovely "footcups" (new favorite word), and much to Alex's dismay, no one fell off the boat. We successfully surfed a little wave and managed to survive amongst 6 other rafts of very hungry boyscouts. We found piles of river booty (RV parts...) because an RV had driven into the river the night before.

Crane pulling the RV out of the river.

I'm adding this picture of me and Jess to spare Alex a belly shirt picture, but those will end up on Facebook soon enough...  

Gorgeous sunny day in the river!

Holiday Traffic in the Valley
As predicted, two minutes after we passed the first turn around point we hit stand-still traffic in the Valley. We made it a more exciting experience by policing/blocking the right lane (where only buses are allowed) and trapping people trying to skip the line. Alex and Jess got their fill of Valley traffic and we were happy to turn around as soon as we got to the next turning point (~ 2 hours later).

Camping at Yosemite Lakes Park Campground
It took us a while (and an entire camp re-mobilization) to find and occupy the right campsite (thanks to a strategic pee break). The bathrooms were pretty luxurious with hot showers and mirrors. We really didn't spend much time at the campground, but overall it treated us well. I only had to make one polite 4am inquiry to ask our neighbors to shut-the-hell-up! :)

(Not) Hiking to Sunrise Lakes
The next day we set out on a hike to Sunrise Lakes, which are just southwest of Tenaya Lake. Five minutes in a group of hikers informed us that the trail was completely snowed in, so (thanks to another strategic pee-break discovery) we made a left turn and forged our own trail up the rocky side of a mini mountain. The rock face was covered in little streams that we refreshingly waded across in bare feet.

Janelle and Sara crossing a chilly stream at the beginning of the hike.

Wandering up the rock face in our bare feet.

Beers-On-A-Rock and Limited Wandering in Tuolumne (The Unpronounceable) Meadows
I say limited because we promised the park ranger that we wouldn't stray from the short road between the visitor center and Soda Springs. We listened, only adding a tiny wander to a group of roadside rocks where we cracked the Bud Light Lime and enjoyed an afternoon the sunshine.

Hot springs bubbling into Tuolumne Meadows.

So remote. Universal symbol for "I'm Okay".

Budweiser commercial, during a heated Budweiser debate.

Dinner and Sunset at Tenaya Lake
Not much to be said here except BURRITOS (unhealthy ones). Except for a spying deer we had the lake to ourselves for sunset.

O'Schaughnessy Dam and Hiking around Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to Wapama Falls
We walked across the dam and through a tunnel in the cliff to get to a trail along the north side of the reservoir. It was a pleasant hike, with a few ups and downs. We reached Wapama falls a little over an hour later. Maybe some day I'll come back and add a little blurb about the dam and valley's history - it's pretty interesting. But for now, I'll leave you with some pretty pictures :)

Hold your hats! It was pretty windy at the top of the 450 ft dam.

Huge spillway!

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir

Wapama Falls, about 2.7 miles from the dam on the north side of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.

Clear Lake: Boiling water, volcanoes, Bambi, and gnats.

Clear Lake, in Lake County, California, has been on my to-paddle list since I discovered it on a map and learned about its fascinating history a few months ago. More than a few friends responded with apathy at visiting the lake, alluding to its reputation for motorboats, rednecks, and water quality issues. While I certainly love a remote, undeveloped lake, I also enjoy exploring other flavors of paddling! Alice agreed to make the long day trip. We left the Bay at noon, drove about 2.5 hours (after each "meeting" at a different park-n-ride in Novato), and put our boats on the water around 4pm. Within 5 minutes we jumped out of our boats to refresh, ignoring the algal bloom that filled the water around us.

Stopped for chocolate milk on the way to Clear Lake. Photo by Alice Miller.

We launched from Lakeside Park, which is on the southwest side of the lake. It's a free county park where we could leave our cars after sunset (unlike Clear Lake State Park). There were some big swarms of "Clear Lake Gnats," which apparently hatch during this season and used to be a major pest. According to Wikipedia, the swarms were so thick before the 1940s that people would have to stop every 1/4 mile to wipe gnats off the windshields of cars (this is surprising since cars probably didn't go as fast as they do today). Control efforts involving DDD during the 1940's and '50s killed many birds (Western grebe) on the lake. Today the gnats are kept under control by two fish species that provide competition for food (zooplankton). [How do gnats eat plankton? Crazy]

Leaving the dock at Lakeside Park.

Apparently Clear Lake is one of the oldest lakes in North America. It used to be much larger and flow into to the Russian River, but volcanic eruptions and landslides severed that connection. Today the main outlet is Cache Creek, which is now controlled by Cache Creek Dam. A few dormant volcanos surround the lake, making for an interesting skyline. The Sulfur Bank Mine, once one of the largest mercury producers in world, is located on the east side of the lake. It is now a Superfund site (and historical landmark), and has led to very high mercury contamination in Clear Lake.

Hot springs in the middle of Soda Bay! Look closely at the base of the red rock to the right and you can see the springs bubbling up.

We paddled around Clear Lake State Park and into Soda Bay, where we encountered an unusual island (see photo above) of bright orange rocks. As we approached, the area between the rocks seemed to be boiling. There are a number of vent holes around Soda Bay, with the deepest (~100 feet) acting as nurseries for juvenile catfish. In the early 1900's these baths were built up and connected to shore by a walkway (destroyed by a fire in 1940).

A quick stop at the Country Store for a failed beer run.

We crossed over from Soda Bay to a narrow peninsula. The wind and waves picked up significantly in this exposed stretch, and made for some unexpected excitement. On the way back we were craving some cold beers and pulled over at the Country Store, which was in a shadier part of the bay. By the time we entered the air conditioned store we were quite chilly (not having brought extra layers) and no longer craved beers, so we munched some almonds and went on our way. :)

Alice paddling into the sunset

In summary, Clear Lake is a lake with many troubles, but also many unique and interesting stories and sights. I've been craving a long paddle on a big lake, and Clear Lake was perfect for that. We did not encounter the droves of motor boats that were predicted, and we almost felt alone on the lake - a strange feeling for California. I can't speak for Alice, but I'd go back to do some more exploring on the south end!

Mandatory sunset over the mountains picture.

Our return was perfectly timed with the sunset. We had an audience of fishermen as we loaded up our boats. On the drive home we crossed the mountains westward to HWY101, nearly hitting Bambi on the way (coincidentally during a conversation about movies with animal name titles).

Date: Saturday June 1st, 2013
Time: ~4.5 hours
Distance ~ 13.5 miles