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Trip to Yosemite
BlogLast weeekend Lauren and a few other friends went up to Yosemite to do some late winter camping. In our three days there we saw rain, big fluffy snowflakes, and spent a bit of time hiding out in our tent-cabin. It was a great, albeit chilly and, at times, wet experience. But for vistas like this, it’s definitely worth going.
Emil, a friend of Lauren’s friend Brian, had found a program that would allow you to rent a “tent cabin in Curry Village” ahead of the Spring thaw. The tents are basic wooden structures with canvas “walls” and a small heater inside. It’s a good solution for car campers who want the winter experience but who may not have the nerve for winter camping.
It sounded like an amazing – although frosty – proposition and Yosemite is an incredibly beautiful place. So we all headed out on Friday the 16th to take the path to Yosemite. Arriving a little past four and enduring on and off rain throughout the trip, a dry Yosemite was a welcome sight. While the weather was holding out on us as we arrived, the pictures show that something serious was coming. The feeling I had in these was unsettled.
Toward dark we headed into Curry Village and got set up in our cabin. Within an hour or so we had opened up some snacks, had some delicious bourbon and headed to the local mess hall for some dinner. Upon our return it started pouring and we played some Uno to while away the evening. I remember when I noticed that suddenly, I wasn’t hearing the rain anymore. We opened up the front door and saw about an inch of snow had fallen. After we turned in we found that another half-foot of snow fell while we slept and that we were in for a cold and rainy / snowy day.
Pic of our tent-cabin and surroundings
This prediction was accurate. I wound up wearing my snowboarding gear with a rainshell throughout the day. That night after some much-needed downtime in the cabin to warm back up we headed to the Yosemite lodge for some St. Patrick’s drinks.
Our last day, Sunday, was spectacular as the sun came out, the temperatures remained cold and we were able to take some stunning photos before descending from the mountain. The trip back was slow going thanks to a few snowstorms and a few icy patches, but Brian braved them all and got us back home safe and sound in the Audi.