I’ve been playing hooky from my blog lately, and here’s one of the reasons why: a fall foliage and hiking trip to the eastern Sierra. We stayed in Lee Vining and dined out at the overrated Mobil Gas Station every night. Best dessert: sharing a pint of dark chocolate chip Haagen Dazs gelato. Yum.
The landscape was blanched of color by drought and a season headed into dormancy. This subdued palette of tans and grays that hung from a sapphire sky made the brilliant yellow of the aspens even more striking. Double yum.
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Favorite fall foliage outings?
]]>Since it was 105 degrees in Bishop, we lucked out with balmy nights 4,000 feet higher up. So I was able to use my sleeping bag as a quilt after all. I was so grateful, I barely minded the cheek-to-flocked-vinyl sleeping experience afforded by Jonathan’s ban on sheets (which, after all, add a couple of extra ounces to the weight of the two-ton car).
True, hot weather meant hot hiking, but since the Sierra Club trip leaders, like time and tide, wait for no man (or woman), we were on the trails before 8:00 a.m. every day. It was good to beat the heat, since all the hikes were 12+ miles long with 2,300+ feet of elevation gain. With a group of 24 hyper-competitive hikers, it was a bit like the running of the bulls in Pamplona: Stopping for a sip of water meant being trampled to death.
But did I mention how beautiful it was? There’s a drought on, but the wildflowers were still good, if a month earlier and not as profuse as they would be in wet years. The mosquitoes, however, seemed to think there was sufficient moisture.
So a good time was had by all, especially the mosquitoes. Also, important research was conducted:
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