Below are a few highlights from the past few weeks...
*ON THE TRAIL AGAIN - After a long wedding vacation and road trip from Portland to Washington, we were ready to get back on the trail again. But, as things go, fate had other plans. Our flight back to Mammoth had a layover in LA, where our flight was cancelled. This meant we got to 1)stay in the LA Hilton, 2)see some of our favorite peeps in LA, 3)eat at The Shack in Playa del Rey. Seriously, things could not have turned out more perfectly. When we finally got back to Mammoth, the trail was waiting patiently, and it was a beautiful hike full of purple Lupins.
1. Cowboy camp for the next 9 days
2. Hitch a ride into Yosemite or Mammoth to get a new tent.
We opted for option number 2, and wrote on a cardboard sign "Mammoth or Yosemite Valley" (which are in opposite directions) and headed to the road in hopes of a ride. Within minutes we received a ride to the valley, which was PACKED on the 4th. Luckily, there was a backpacker camp that allowed us to roll in at 9pm, sleep under the stars, and head out to buy our tent in the morning.
So, while losing our tent - our home - was a bit of a setback, we got to enjoy the BEAUTIFUL Yosemite Valley, a sidetrip we would not have taken otherwise. Our hitch even took us to a lookout point to show us a great view of halfdome.
The experience not only reaffirmed my faith in the goodness of people willing to help our their fellow man, but it also reminded me that even when you don't know where you're going to sleep at night, the world is beautiful and life is good. Things always work out if you stay positive.