Hodgkin Meadows, Yosemite

I joined Stephanie and (Pinterest) friends on a camping trip to Yosemite. Originally, we had a group campsite booked for two nights, but we cut the stay down to one night, under the mistaken belief of rain Friday night. Saturday morning, Stephanie, Anu, Dennis, Bhavik and I took her new BMW on the road. Car conversation was very fun and active for nearly the entire ride there; maybe we were a bit caffeinated. We stopped at a strawberry stand on the 120 for amazingly sweet strawberries. We reached Hodgkin Meadows last. Our group campsite was humongous. We set up camp and then left for the valley.

Unfortunately, we did not enter through tunnel view. There was severe traffic in the valley. We ended up casually strolling about half of the Four Mile Trail, as it seemed not many people wanted to seriously hike. The views did not change much, as we were mostly along switchbacks, but I took some decent pictures. Dennis, Bhavik, and I found a really nice spot on top of a rock to relax. Later, Akul and I walked together a lot, as we both wanted to reach a nice vista to take pictures. The group turned back about halfway. Our car needed gas, so we took the 140 to the nearest gas station, where we hilariously stuffed our faces with sweets and danced to music inside of the closing store. We returned to camp when it was already dark. Dinner was in the progress being made. I grabbed a quick bite and set to doing the fun stuff: making a big fire. I am pretty glad I have good fire-making skills now. I made sure to provide an avenue for airflow under the flame and eventually built a mini furnace. The fire going, everyone sat around and talked and sang. I pleasantly got to chat with Ken for a bit, who I hope to go on more outdoor escapades with. No one drank very much or got very rowdy. In fact, people headed to bed quite early. I wasn’t very tired but fell asleep eventually in my tent (Horovitz slept in my hammock).

Breakfast was pleasant, and I enjoyed sharing my coffee with others. After we packed up, we headed out around 0945 for the valley again. This time, traffic was more subdued and we headed to the visitor center. We walked around the small exhibits (and I began to worry my camera lens was scratched; it seems to just be something in the viewfinder, thank God). Then we walked to Lower Yosemite Falls, where Bhavik, Jacob, and I climbed over the rocks to get closer. After that, we said our goodbyes and headed out. It was a casual fun trip, nice to just get out and be with people.