is the word 'diary' better than the word 'blog'? probably not.
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Yosemite.
One night in Yosemite I was kept awake, terror-stricken in my squeaky tent-cabin cot-bed, by the sound of a heavy mouth-breathing bear trying to break into the bear-proof box (of food) right outside our tent. The bear was all �[SCRAPE SCRAPE RATTLE SCRAPE] [unh huuuuh unh huuuuuh uh heeeeave]� over and over again for what seemed like an eternity but was probably only ten minutes. I laid there hoping that the bear wouldn�t become incensed and decide to bum-rush the tent. After the bear left I resolved that I would not be walking to the bathroom that night, no matter how urgent nature�s call might be. The bears are vegetarians, sure, and are mostly afraid of human beings, but still, they�re huge wild animals, some of whom are certain that all humans are an endless source of bounteous pic-a-nic baskets. I was sure Caroleen and Heidi were also awake for the Great Failed Bear Box Attempt of the summer of 2008. The next day I learned that they both slept through it, which seemed crazy to me, given that it was RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR TENT, just a few feet from where my head and Heidi�s head were placed. However, as our morning conversation advanced, I learned that I had slept through what both Caroleen and Heidi described as an extended period wherein a pack of coyotes howled and howled and then seemingly group-attacked and killed something that had a feline-sounding scream.
I didn�t see any bears this time. And I didn�t see any marmots or badgers either. Not even any deer or mountain goats. I saw the usual chipmunks and squirrels, and a pika (it�s in the rabbit family but is the size of a chipmunk), plus some cool birds, including a white-breasted nuthatch. Yes, literally. Also, while I was reading a book on a rock and dangling my feet into Elizabeth Lake, some cobalt blue dragon flies rested on my foot.
But mostly our trip was about taking pretty pretty hikes and then coming back to the White Wolf camp and getting mountain drunk. (Our hikes were at roughly 10,000 feet; White Wolf is at roughly 8,000 feet. One gets drunk very easily at that altitude, sometimes even without any booze.) (Indeed, on our first day of hiking, we chose a hike that starts at 10,000 feet and then immediately advances uphill for a mile, and that involved lots of slow-motion walking, stopping for breath, and giggling due to the lack of oxygen.)
And stars! The stars were so amazing. More amazing than ever, because this time we were there during a new moon (aka no moon). The sky was so full of stars that it was as if there was more light than dark in the night sky. It was dazzling. If you've never seen the night sky on a clear night far from any man-made light source, then I think you can't even imagine what I'm describing. However, inside the tent a night in the wilderness with no moon is very very dark indeed. I woke up in the middle of the night one night, opened my eyes, and no matter how long I kept them open, I could not see any objects. It was really disorienting, and I sat up and desperately looked for some sign of light, and when I couldn�t find anything but pitch black, I briefly entertained the possibility that I had somehow gone hysterically blind. But no, that�s just what night is like when there is no source of light anywhere nearby.
2:01 a.m. - August 09, 2008
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