We set out after Scott and I had gotten, literally no sleep, as we had both traveled from New York all night, arriving in Merced, CA just as the sun was rising, to an anxious Kevin, bursting with energy and a strong desire to hit the trail. In the first image below you can see our optimistic faces, 3 miles into the hike and just before the 2500 ft elevation climb that nearly put my system into shock.(As it turns out... living at sea level + flying all night with small children + hiking to 9500 ft + swimming in a cool crisp alpine lake = a few rough patches for Matt Gruwell. Scott handled himself much better.) The picture was taken in Cahoon Meadow and we joked about climbing the top of the peak seen above our heads. Silly fools, we camped a good 500-800 ft above that peak and in the end hiked to 1500 feet above it.
Once I had some hearty Lasagna with meat sauce (compliments of Kevin) it was time for some evening fly fishing. The fishing was fantastic (a strike on every well placed fly) and the fish were beautiful brook trout. We let them all live and I might have glimpsed heaven as I sat, fishing in this amazing lake as the sun went down.
During the night we had a fun visit from the deer shown in the third picture. I was sleeping under the stars and had a good fright (this was bear country) as the foot steps of this fine animal approached. Kevin was even more startled as he was caught with his pants down (not figuratively) when the deer came into camp. To our relief, it wasn't a hungry bear and while it stayed around for the next few hours, I found it comforting company because having her around meant that there were no bears.
The next day we set out for Silliman pass into Kings Canyon and saw a really good sized chunk of the world. I can't describe the feeling, but it was wonderful to behold the great western divide of the Sierra Nevada range in all its glory. It rekindled the East Coast/West Coast battle inside me as we will be seeking gainful employment over the next few years. I really miss mountains...
Childish optimism
Reelin them in, one at a time
The Night Watchman
Ahhhhh - Sierra
Overlooking our campsite on one of the twin lakes
Coming down the mountain
