Mt Hoffman or Bust!

September, 2008: Mt Hoffman

John Muir once said that if you only have one day to spend in Yosemite National Park, that you should spend it hiking up Mt. Hoffman. As Hoffman is the geographic center of the park it affords amazing views in all directions.While i wouldn't necessarily take all of JM's advice, like climbing a tree in the middle of a storm, i think he was right on this one. It was a beautiful day with lots of time spent with a map identifying features & dreaming up future backcountry trips.

With Naomi and Katie on the summit.

The view towards Half Dome and the Valley.

Katie ponders Tenaya Lake.

Napping on the western ridge.

Instead of taking the trail back down, we scrambled down the western side adding a bit of adventure with lots of rock hopping down to beautiful alpine meadows.

Looking across May Lake towards the southeast.

YI in the house.

Jen and Claire's Wedding

September, 2008: Palo Alto, CA

i felt so honored to be invited to join Jen and Claire to celebrate their marriage in Palo Alto. There were so many wonderful friends to celebrate these two wonderful people and their commitment to one another and to making the world a better place. Now we just need to repeal Prop 8 so that some day they can share the same legal rights as well!

Jamie, Anna, & Carter

ML & Levy

Jen with her parents

Jen and Claire exchanging gifts as part of the ceremony. The wedding was the first traditional Jewish wedding i have ever attended. It was interesting to see the different ways in which cultures celebrate the joining of two people. The afternoon included a Tish, which was a roast of sorts. The couple gives a short presentation while the rest of the family and friends sings songs and heckles them. Claire's family sang mostly traditional Jewish songs, but we got in several ultimate cheers and Harvard soccer team cheers to round it out. After the religious ceremony, we drank margaritas and then proceeded to dance the Hora for a good half hour pre-dinner, getting enormously sweaty & totally disheveled before sitting down to eat. So fun and such a beautiful, wonderful day.

Grand Canyon of the Tuolomne

September, 2008 Grand Canyon of the Tuolomne

Taking advantage of our first three day weekend in Yosemite to run away to the backcountry, Katie, Naomi and i set our sights on the Grand Canyon of the Tuolomne. Being way too bad ass to walk down the canyon like normal people (read... hannah's knees did not want to walk downhill all that way), we started in White Wolf and spent the next two days hiking up the river past the incredible waterfalls and amazing views. Combined with testing out every great swimming hole, eating lots of yummy food, reading the whole Sunday Times at the Tuolomne store, and getting to hang out with two wonderful friends, it was a fantastic weekend.

Naomi and Katie crossing the Tuolomne River near Pate Valley.

A successful hunt for the secret pictographs. It is amazing the number of things that exist in this park that do not show up on any maps or guidebooks and require knowing someone who knows to even hear about. We were given directions to this amazing wall of pictographs that required a short detour but were clearly well off the beaten track. The whole wall was covered in drawing and handprints, providing an incredible connection to the long human history of this place.

Another swimming spot with water slides and all.

Yeah whatever..... more beautiful waterfalls.

Our second night was spent camping just above California Falls, right at the edge of the valley overlooking the whole canyon. Although our first evening had been pretty warm, the temperature dropped sharply this evening and we quickly made dinner and crawled into bed. The next morning began with yelling as we tried to fight the cold to get out of bed and ended with us skipping the whole breakfast thing, packing up in a record of about fifteen minutes and hitting the trail well before 6:30, trying to find some sun.

Naomi and Katie above Glen Aulin; with the sun finally up, we were almost finally ready for some breakfast.

Heading into Tuolomne Meadows with Cathedral and Echo peaks in the background.