Day 65 - 6/29/12 - The Good Life In Tuolumne Meadows

Contents:  Camp Before Donohue Pass - Tuolumne Meadows (14.1 miles)

Today was another pretty good day for me.  I'd slept well on the rock but woke up to find Smiles feeling really sick with stomach problems.  I was feeling fine but hoped it wasn't due to the wild green onion I'd shared with her yesterday.  Anyways, we all hung out in camp for a while hoping she would start feeling better and eventually took off bound for Donohue Pass at 11,056 ft.  Donohue Pass is also the Yosemite boundary line.

Tourist and I cruised the 2.5ish miles to Donohue Pass and then waited for close to an hour for poor Smiles who wasn't doing too well.  Fire Pit had  passed her and caught up to us at the pass and said she was struggling, so I actually started back down without my pack to see if I could take hers.  However, by then, she was almost at the pass.

We hung out a few minutes longer, and Smiles assured us that she would make it and that we should go ahead.  Tourist and I started down the pass, checked on her one more time, and then cruised on.

We had about four miles of down before a long flat stretch into Tuolumne.  We were walking through a wide valley with lovely meadows.  We passed a huge avy swath.  Tourist and I stopped for lunch at a great swimming hole.  As we were finishing lunch, Smiles showed up feeling way better!  We were so happy to see her.

The rest of the journey into Tuolumne Meadows was uneventful.  TM is right on the trail.  Our first stops were the P.O. (thanks for the goodies, Mandie!) and grocery store.  I also stopped at the Chevron Station/gear shop where I tried on some Solomon trail runners....I've been thinking about transitioning into some trail runners, but want to try on more than just Solomons.  The Brooks Cascadias are by far the most popular shoes on the trail, and I was hoping to try some on and possibly join the club.  

After hitting the store and P.O., Smiles and I caught a free bus to the ranger station.  We wanted to investigate Half Dome permits for Sunday.  Unfortunately, there was only one left.  We were feeling indecisive and didn't take it, but maybe this was a poor decision.  We did try to pick it up for Wash Out, but he had to be present.

Chores done, Tourist, Smiles, and I set up camp at the campground behind the store and P.O.  We then caught a bus to the lodge for our 7:30 dinner reservation at the restaurant.  Dinner was pretty epic.  The seating was family style, and needless to say, this was a high-end establishment.  I could write 10 pages about dinner.  We were hiker trash and they were high society but I think we all had a blast.  

We dined with a couple who splits their time between Lake Tahoe and New Zealand and an awesome family and their former nanny who now lives in Brazil. The father was an executive for some logistics company that works with Toyota and other huge corporations.  The major highlights were: Peels' uncontrollable laughing fit that also set off Smiles and Tourist when the server asked if we'd like the meals charged to our rooms, Tourist removing his shoes and holding them up at the table to show the kind of footwear we use, and the Kiwi woman with the British accent and painted eyebrows who insisted that South Lake Tahoe is "quite trashy" and that we should go to North Lake Tahoe to resupply instead.  In spite of all the differences, I think high society enjoyed our stories and got a kick out of us, and we had fun meeting them.  Since buses weren't running, we were fortunate to catch a ride back to the campground with some folks leaving the restaurant at the same time.  Turns out, they were from Redmond, WA and had mutual friends with the Tourist.  What a crazy, small world!

Thanks for the new shirt, Mom.  I just burned my old one in a ceremony at the campground.  It was a good shirt, and we enjoyed many adventures together both on and off the PCT.  Off to bed now!