Results tagged “hike” from Phoebe Chuason Blog

I took this picture a few years ago.  Yosemite is probably one of the most easily recognized landscapes in the United States. I haven't been there recently, but this month has been rolling by far more quickly than I ever imagined it to.  And looming over it all in August is our Half Dome trip, which I am excitedly anticipating. 

A few years ago a few of us hiked for about six hours to the top of Upper Yosemite Falls (above).  It was supposedly the equivalent height of two Empire State Buildings, but of course, far more scenic.  There was also a lot of snow at the very top of Upper Yosemite Falls (picture below, right).

... but Half Dome is going to make Upper Yosemite Falls look like a cakewalk. 

So I'm faced with a dilemma: bring my SLR or bring more water?  I had initially glibly answered, "camera, of course!"   However, according to Tony, by the eighth hour on a hot August day I will probably be thinking differently.  And I also saw this recently, had a few second thoughts, and am now back to square one.  Perhaps more water isn't a bad idea after all.

My computer has officially decided to kick the can, which is a sad day for me.  It sort of feels like I'm moving, and all my boxes have been packed in my external hard drive.  I've temporarily commandeered Tony's computer, but now we're on a sharing system, and he doesn't have a lot of programs I use.  Have I told you that we've moved five times in the past year and a half?  And now it's like I'm moving again... I feel like a vagabond.  Can't wait to move into a more permanent digital space.

Before the rain came pouring in we had a chance to hike to the back of the Hollywood sign.  The crowd we met was very atypical from your average hikers.  We saw a few tourists (maps in hand), a guy holding a coffee cup (a hot, dehydrating drink isn't the best thing to bring), a girl reading a book (while hiking), people in flip flops, and a lot of late risers.  Griffith park is a nice little oasis in Los Angeles.  We could see our goal up ahead, and all around, well, was a bit of LA smog.  No UV filter in the world can quite cut through that haze.





I admit, whenever I have the camera we take weird couple shots.  Hope Tony doesn't hate me after such a close-up in this post. :)



We also saw quite a few horses on the trail (an understatement if you check out the images below).  It made me itch for my half chaps and riding boots, which have been gathering dust for quite a few years now.  I miss riding, though I don't miss the dorky helmet quite as much.



The line of horses look kind of like ants on a ridge.



We reached our hiking destination only to be rejected by a fence.  The Hollywood sign was about 20 feet away, and while most people could sort of peek over, I'm kind of a shortie.  The guys in this shot are actually kind of tall, because if you look at the height of the fence when it gets closer to me, you can see how short I am.  Or rather, how tall the fence is. Argh.




I had to stand on my toes and balance my camera precariously on the fence to get the last two shots.





And the end of the hike... my reward, a Yuppie Joe omelet from Mel's.  Yum.