September 16th Tuolomne Meadows to End of Lyell Canyon

I was able to sleep in this morning because the earliest my dad could conceivably get here for resupply would be at ten. The extra hours in the sack sure were nice considering that the air outside my tent was a wee bit nippy. When I finally crawled out of my sleeping bag, the sun was well up, but there was still a slight chill in the air. Took some time to do some laundry, which was essentially scrubbing the trail dust out of my clothes by hand in a wash basin in the camp bathroom. Finished writing a postcard and was on my way to the post office next to the store when I met my dad pulling into the car park. He had a picnic lunch ready, so we crossed the road into Tuolomne Meadows and found an old log to sit on. While I was eating, he gave me an update on the family, mainly my grandma, who at 97+ years is now suffering from some form of dementia. Some of the stories he told were pretty funny, others definitely not so. It's only a matter of time before she'll have to be put in a home where she can receive some professional medical care. Physically she still gets around pretty well. Who would have thought that the mind would be the first to go. After polishing off the picnic food, we returned to the backpacker campground where I made my selection of trail food. Not knowing exactly what I wanted, my dad brought a wide variety of items. In the end, I pretty much took them all, rejecting only a handful of those offered. With the next resupply only three to four days off, my constant craving for food, plus the need for additional calories in this high altitude environment I felt it a wise decision. Over those next several days, I'd be eating twice what I normally did. Steve's advice kept ringing in my ears. "It's an eating contest." Before leaving, my dad suggested meeting again along the trail, perhaps in Idyllwild on my birthday. A possibility, but miles to go before then. I told him I'd try. So, mid-afternoon and I'm on the trail again. A leisurely stroll down the length of Lyell Canyon. I've done all the trails they have in Yosemite Valley and a few in the Tuolomne Meadows area, but I'd never come this way before. I must say that it was on a par with the best Yosemite offers. A seemingly endless stretch of golden grasses, a meandering river popular with anglers fishing for trout, stands of pine growing on the boundary between grass and granite, rock domes standing as silent sentinals, and solid canyon walls closing in the farther you hike along. Climbing up towards its source, I camped on the opposite side of a footbridge that crosses the Lyell Fork. Fell asleep to the sound of rushing water.

Lyell Canyon

The Source

10 Miles