Yosemite 2021

[Drunk Monk]

"I just got back from a 30mile backpacking trip. I think I'm good"

AWESOME!!! Makes it so worth it.

I'm heartbroken to think that the lovely campsite and meadow where we spent the night is ash.

[Greg]

Hopefully, it's just clearing out the undergrowth and leaving the trees standing. Or maybe it will clear a few trees off the frickin' trail!

[Greg]

I'm reading the Yosemite Death Book and one of the episodes occurs in Tiltill Valley. A man was starting brushfires there and threatening people with a pistol. The man was eventually found dead from a gunshot wound. So, that's not the first fire to sweep through that area.

A startling case out of Yosemite National Park this weekend:

A man from Brentwood, about 25 miles west of Stockton, is suspected in the murders of his wife and daughters and is then believed to have travelled to the park and set a 2000-acre wildfire.

The rains yesterday extinguished much of the fire, officials say.

32-year-old Richard Celebrini was an unemployed stock trader.

His body was found on Saturday in the Tiltill Valley just north of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.

Earlier on Saturday, 32-year-old Michelle Celebrini and the two daughters, Nina and Samantha, had been found dead in their home by police.

Police believe Richard Celebrini killed them and then drove to Yosemite and set the fire.

Few details of the murder have been released.

Visitors and rangers at Yosemite reportedly saw a man with a gun and a blowtorch setting fires.

A body believed to be Celebrini´s was later found with a gun and blowtorch nearby.

Last night, a crowd of mourners held a vigil in the rain in Brentwood, to remember the Celebrini girls and their mother.

[Greg]

Woo-hoo! I've finally lost my bruised toenail that I made on the hike.

[Drunk Monk]

I hear the waterfalls are spectacular now. If only we had a photographer nearby...

[Greg]

Trying to work out tQ's schedule to get us up there for a visit. It was supposed to be this Friday but work interfered. We wanted to go up to Glacier Point area to hike to Taft point, but Bomb Cyclone had other ideas. Stay tuned to this channel for updates.

Of course, there are always the Yosemite Web Cams.

[Greg]

The Fall Daytrip.

I'm not sure if tQ sensed DM's mocking or whether it was the picture of Swinging Bridge with the water of the Merced mere inches below the bottom of the bridge that caused it, but at 8:30 on Tuesday the Queen popped into my office and asked if we could drop everything and head up to the park. Sure. Anything to curb DM's mocking.

It was indeed a triple threat kind of day. Clouds rolled over the valley. The trees exhibited all sorts of different colors. And the waterfalls all thundered from the first significant rainfall of the season. Our first stop was the aforementioned Swinging Bridge. The water no longer caressed the bottom of the bridge, but it was far higher than it was when we visited in July with tQ's mother. We had a delightful lunch at Camp Curry, purchased at the super market and eaten in the car. We had to navigate the horde of Nature Bridge kids filling the walkways. I also spotted Mother Curry's original bungalow

tQ made the mistake of leaving the itinerary up to me. This has been bad for people in the past. I'm thinking of Mama tQ and Scapino's kids. I thought a quick hike to at least the Vernal Falls bridge would be entertaining. My mind had once again edited out the information that would have informed me how steep that initial hike was. All the information I retrieved from mental data bank was "It's not that bad". tQ sucked a lot of wind. I sucked a fair share myself. It was still great. Illouette falls was visible in it's side canyon. We saw it at probably the only short window when the sun lit that narrow canyon. By the time we made it to the Vernal Fall Bridge, shadows already lengthened across the river. The falls themselves were still brightly lit making for terrible photography conditions because of the tremendous contrast between the dark and light areas. I took photos anyway.

Just beyond the bridge the trail splits into the Mist Trail and the John Muir Trail. The Mist trail hugs Vernal Falls. The prevalent mist makes for dangerous conditions in winter when the water tends to freeze on the granite steps of the trail. The John Muir Trail takes you to the top of the falls, too, only on a more circuitous route. I hoped we could at least walk to the base of Vernal along the Mist Trail but I had noticed a white board sign at the start of the trail indicating the Mist Trail had been closed. The white board was almost illegible because people had touched the markings and wiped them off. I was not surprised then when I did see the gate was closed. The ranger was the surprise making sure no went passed the gate. We bumped into one couple who said that if the ranger wasn't there, they would have gone through the gate and paid the fine when caught. I explained to them about the Yosemite Death Book and the effect it had on me so if the ranger told me to do something I would do it. I also got to wheel out some history. At the juncture of the two trails stands a giant rock. In the histories I have read, the rock is known as Register Rock. When the John Muir Trail was first opened, there was a toll booth there for people to use the JMT. You originally had to pay to use the trail. It's how the trail builders made money. People going up the trail would carve their name in the rock to 'Register' they had used the trail. I asked the ranger if that was indeed the Register Rock. He had no idea what I was talking about. I thought the Rangers were supposed to know everything. He was young. I'll give him a pass. And I'm sure his young ranger dreams did not include standing at a gate on hillside telling belligerent tourists they could not do what they wanted to do.

For our last trip of the day, we went to the base of Yosemite Falls to stand on that bridge over Yosemite Creek. I was very happy they had opened parking on the street near the falls. Street Parking was closed all summer as the park service tried out new traffic models to increase traffic flow in the valley. If you can't park on the street, you have to park at Yosemite Lodge and walk an additional half mile to get to the trail to the Falls. We lucked out and got a spot. We had to hurry because the shadows were starting to grow over the falls. But we made it in time. Again, nice to see all the water flowing in the falls.

The last stop was at tunnel view. Clouds artistically filled the sky. Shadows gave depth to the scene before us. I stood in the tunnel to take a picture that I had seen many others take. Rainbows accentuated the water in Bridalveil falls. All in all a good picture taking excursion. I only yelled at a few of my fellow tourists for bringing their dogs on trails or for stepping over barricades and into meadows. I also got to text DM pictures from the day.

[Drunk Monk]

 Anything to curb DM's mocking.

You want to know what curbs the DM0ck? WhiskEy. And I just polished off some Gordon's vodka I found in the back of my dad's liquor cabinet. It was awful yet medicinal. I'm suffering a Svale allergy attach and bailing early tonight. My left nostril keeps vacillating between wetting my stache with mucus and feeling like I just snorted a rail of thumbtacks. Allergies are my tragic flaw. 

And yes, I am seething with jealousy at your trip. Nothing like the Yose after a bomb cyclone power wash, right? Those falls - that's the holy land right there. Thanks for sharing those pix on fb. 

Yose must be a different experience now that you've read all those books. You should carve those out into its own indie thread. It would be a better archive for your research. But that's none of my business. You do your research your way, and I'll just sit here sniveling. Feckin svale pollen.

[Greg]

tQ was close to tears of boredom with all my new Yosemite stories. Hey, let's stop here so I can point to a hump and the grass and tell you that's an old building James Hutchings used.

Currently really curious about the hippy riot in Stoneman Meadow on July 4, 1970.

[Drunk Monk]

tQ was close to tears of boredom with all my new Yosemite stories. 

tQ has our sympathies, just like all the D00M sigOs.

[Greg]

Scapino and I did threaten his boys with more stories about the Log Flume history in my area. They were less than delighted

[Greg]

I wonder if there is a way to celebrate Turkey Day other than gorging? I'll let you know later.

[Drunk Monk]

On T-day? Expect traffic.

Did I ever tell you of our Disneyland trip on T-day? Maybe it’s posted here. That crowd was ridiculous.

[Greg]

I expected traffic and was delighted there was minimal traffic until late in the day.

[Drunk Monk]

There was a hilarious moment with Alex. 

Alex just dropped a new track