We met up with our son David on Labor Day and made our preparations for the next day's hike and overnight in Yosemite. David has been a wilderness leader now for two summers at Camp Tawonga, a Jewish summer camp in Yosemite. It was just wonderful to see our oldest son in HIS environment which he is soooo passionate about. He helped us with our packing and prep and also had given us a fabulous lead on a "babysitter for Sammy" while we were going to be away. So with Sammy safely settled, we woke up early the following day dressed in our hiking gear as well as our GRISWOLD FAMILY VACATION T SHIRTS which David had given all of us for Christmas last year. David carried most of the gear which included our sleeping bags, pads, food, and Bear Can. A Bear Can is a container in which you put anything that has a scent that a bear would smell (this included deodorant, food items, wrappers, lip gloss, etc). This container has a locked top in the event of a bear visiting our campsite searching for food. David had quite a load but apparently he was up to the task. We hiked 4.5 miles on the Porcupine Trail which led us to the Snow Creek area which has phenomenal views of the quarter and half dome mountains. Along our hike, David informed us of the necessary information on how to live in the woods; such as digging your own hole so you can go the the bathroom; using smooth sticks and stones for cleansing, and filling the hole with the dirt and leaving a curved stick in the dirt to alert other hikers that this area was already used!!!. Trust me, I told my son that I was not about to use any sticks or stones for cleansing; I would be using tissues or wipes and would gladly carry it in my personal "garbage" bag until we reached civilization. I have to admit that camping in the wilderness with no modern conveniences was quite a stretch for me but I did it!! Thank goodness there are no pictures of that!!! Ha Ha Ha!! Also, David told us about how we would need to purify the water we take from a creek or stream using his pumping system which has a filter attached to it. Since we are supposed to be consuming at least 2 liters of water a day, we will have to replenish it however we don't want to use water that might contain microorganisms, etc. in it. It was amazing to watch him to this when we were at the creek later on in our trip. When we reached our destination, I assisted David with the putting up of our tent and Lee assisted with dinner. David made an incredible coconut curry veggie stir fry with rice. Wow!! Boy did it taste fabulous!! You know the expression "clean or lick your plate clean"????......well, that is how you are supposed to clean your plate and utensils so that it won't leave a scent for bears. You use the water that cooked the rice, pour a small amount into the plate, move the remains with your fingers, and then drink the liquid. Doesn't that sound tasty and something I would love to do!!! Well I did it but really couldn't drink all the "liquid". I am glad to say that Lee helped me out in that department. You should have seen, however, David clean the stir fry pan. Oh my goodness!! The reason we did this is that the "mantra" of hikers in the back country, "Leave No Trace". By utilizing the remains of the cooked food and water, we were able to conserve on the fresh. Talk about being Green!!!!!
After dinner, with additional layers of clothes put on, I wanted to try out the sleeping bag in the tent. I have to admit that I fell asleep right away and woke up in the middle of the night staring at the incredible stars above. What a day!!!
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