I wrote in a previous blog about a woman at Zion NP climbing a trail with oxygen flowing through a nasal cannula. I called her inspiration as I felt if she could climb the trail then others could too.
Well, yesterday when I was climbing up Yosemite Falls Trail I was near the top switchbacks where you are close to 8000 feet and the oxygen is thinner and I stopped for a young woman hiking down the trail.
It was early and didn't know if she stayed overnight or not but she didn't have an overnight pack. She could have left real early and climbed to the top and was headed down before I got there.
As she passed I said good morning and then noticed she had s prosthetic leg below her left knee. The stub of her leg was very red. I paused in amazement as she made every step over the boney trail.
In my mind I also labeled her Inspiration, like I did the woman on oxygen.
I felt so much strength in in this young woman's presence. This is no small hike and although it doesn't classify as a extreme hike it is advanced at 3200 foot elevation from the trailhead. Round trip is rated at 6-8 hours although my up and down times were close to 5 hours.
I hope everyone she passed on the way down felt this strength and made their climb a bit lighter.
My camping spot last night was so welcome after my hike on the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail. This is the view from my campground at Fleming Meadows Don Pedro Recreation Area Campground in La Grange, California. It's on a large lake with boating and camping. There are other Don Pedro sites but not all were open.
I came upon this campground by using my app AllStays. I had checked out other county campgrounds that were closed.
I couldn't believe that I was here camping all by myself. If you are going to visit Yosemite NP and don't mind driving a few miles into the park this is a great choice at a very reasonable costs. They do have sites with full hookups for a higher amount than the $18.00 I paid.
My drive west towards Modesto, CA this morning was through rolling hills of farms with beef cattle, fruit & nut trees, Vinyards. This is a sparsely inhabited area that is very picturesque.
This is a wonderful ride that gives you yet another perspective of the verity of California.
If I had settled for the night earlier than dusk last night I would have gone out to eat for dinner. Since I didn't get dinner I decided to find a diner for breakfast.
This was no small task. I did a search of Google Maps for diner or cafe on the road I was traveling on. Google only showed a couple places but none hit me as the kind I wanted to go to as I passed them.
I did see a parallel road to Modesto on the Google map about 10 miles north of me and it had a few Cafes. I decided to go off track in my search for this excellent breakfast. This is not something I would have done with the campervan last year due to the additive costs of fuel.
As I drove north into Oakdale, CA I drove by a couple places listed on Google. As I turned the block I found Cahoots Corner Cafe and the parking lot was full. This is a sign of a good place to eat. Locals packing a place, it can't be bad. I found street parking and took at set at the diner bar.
I knew I wanted an omelette and I got their Denver Omelette and hash browns with wheat toast. I couldn't wait to taste the perfict omelette so that is why there is a piece out of it.
If ever passing by Modesto, CA this is a good chice for s meal.
After my breakfast I was off to find the disc golf course in Modesto. I needed to buy some time before going to pick up Denise at the San Jose Airport.
I played 9 holes and called the game as I needed time to stop by McDonalds and get gas. The course wasn't very challenging. The park maintenance crew was also mowing the course so I had to wait as he passed by with the John Deere mower for a few holes.
At McDonalds the Internet was so bad I left in a couple minutes. As I was walking out I was stopped by a couple that had a droid tablet and couldn't connect to the Internet. I tried helping them but we couldn't get the McDonalds WIFI to bring up the accept our rules page on their browser. I recommended they try another free WIFI place as I think their problem may be related to the poor internet there.
On my drive to San Jose I stopped at Flying-J truck stop along the way for gas where I get $.03 off the price for having a Good Sam Card.
Then on to San Jose International Airport (SJC) to pick up Denise and then on to Monterey.
Dinner was fend for yourself from any of the many vendors at their very large farmers market that they hold on Alvarado Street that they close.
My choice for dinner was from an Indian food vendor. I had a lamb curry wrap. It was good. Oh, I had a oatmeal raisin cookie for a snack after.
Brent
macaloney@hotmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment