Saturday, August 08, 2015

Hetch Hetchy Day Hike - Aug 8

Just a 3 mile turnaround day hike today, but we decided to start out in the hottest part of the day. First time to the Hetch Hetchy area, and I was surprised at the amount of damage caused by the 2013 Rim fire - the area still feels bleak.

Took a great swim in the lake. The water was perfect! Very little water coming over Wapama, and no water at all over Tueeulala, so we hid a bit in a shaded grotto at the fall base by the bridges, then said the heck with it and just found a good spot near the rockfall east of the falls to jump in.

Must come back here when there's more water - maybe to do the lake Vernon loop around to Rancheria - eating up the last of the food at Rancheria so there's nothing to fight the bears over.

We stopped at Priest Station Cafe on the way in for some German bratwursts and the view from their deck - pricey, but good. I'd heard it was a must-stop kinda place. However, the winner was eating at Happy Burger in Mariposa on the way home - just squeaking in for a burger and bubbly water before the 9:00pm cutoff.

Been a while since I've been hiking. My hamstrings were actually sore on Monday from walking around!

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