Lions and bears and plague and sweat bees, Oh My!

A few weeks ago we were back in Yosemite for the guys to practice and me to hike.  My goal was to hike a marathon (26.2 miles) in a day.  Unfortunately, I had been sick earlier in the week and there was an unimaginable amount of sweat bees on the trail I chose and so it didn't happen.  It also didn't help that I would be hiking alone in high bear and mountain lion areas, which I decided was really unsafe and so turned around.

I did, however, get an early start and so hiked 7 hours before calling it quits and going to sit with my feet in the river.  That part was perfect!

The guys dropped me off at the base of El Cap in the valley, which was a pretty start to the day!

 Things in Yosemite are vast...and dry.

 Looking into Tenyana Canyon from the trail.  It was a remarkably strenuous hike; I was resting every few switch backs!
Here is the link to the Snow Creek Trail information

 I call this look "Bug Bandit". Mirror Lake is more like a marsh because of the drought and the sweat bees were making me crazy.  Thank goodness I still carry the bandanna from my friend Jessica!  I was covered in little welts by the time I was done.

Bears. Right where I planned to hike.  This is where I decided to turn around: I love a good challenge and take as many precautions as I know to be safe on the trail, but am not foolhardy enough to think I could fend off a bear or mountain lion on my own.

Views like this are what keeps me coming back to these really tough hikes: you have to earn it.

 This is Mirror Lake, a stark reminder of how severe the drought is.  I am standing in the middle of what should be a full lake: they used to have a boat house and charge tolls to cross it because it was so large.  It makes me so sad.

Tiny strip of stagnant water=tons of bugs

Dry sand where there should be a lake

I forgot my "reward shoes" back at the tent: flip flops to celebrate being done hiking and enjoy chilling my feet in the river.  Thankfully, I was able to get a deal on these beauties before joining Brit and Mark in the river.

xoxo