June 9 -- Grant Grove

Jarrett and I both slept well last night. Perhaps both the physical exertion on the hike -- as well as the bottle of wine we split between us around the campfire -- helped in that regard. We were to bed fairly early and up early this morning (whereas it seems Elsa is going to bed later most nights and getting up around her usual time, if not earlier), which I think will likely be the trend for this vacation.

We made some yogurt parfaits for breakfast and then hit the trail -- this time the Don Cecil Trail. The hike was approximately four miles, and we gained roughly 1000 feet in elevation. We were blessed with the view of a lovely waterfall about a mile in, which was a nice break from the steep hike. I do not think the older park ranger, who suggested this hike to us yesterday, has hiked this particular trail in awhile because he claimed this would be a fairly moderate hike -- and this was after he found out we did the Hotel Creek Trail and even said, "Oh, you made it!" The trail today seemed more steep per step. I personally think whoever Don Cecil is (or was) is a punisher. The trail actually went on from where we stopped, as planned, at an overlook, and it apparently just gets more brutal. Perhaps our muscles were a bit fatigued from the previous day or, again, perhaps the wine had something to do with it, but we felt pretty rough. The views were not as rewarding today either, but I am still glad we did the hike -- if for nothing else, just to continue to break our muscles into these mountains.







Betty pulled through today and got us back out of the canyon just fine, as did our fabulous Captain Jarrett at the helm. The vistas were again incredible, and this time we pulled over a few times to snap some photos. We also pulled over by Kings River so I could capture its rage on video. Feeling its spray from the side of the road was exhilarating.




We arrived in Grant Grove this afternoon, and chose a great campsite in Crystal Springs Campground. We drove through the Azalea Campground first, and almost stayed there, but we are glad we decided to check this place out. Whereas Azalea was fairly populated, Crystal Springs is nearly deserted. And the campsites here are more spacious and the surroundings are much more beautiful. There was also only one bath house at the other campground, whereas there are more per capita over here, and the one we are close to is nice and seemingly relatively new. So go figure. We lucked out again.

Elsa is again down for the count without complaint. As I was putting her down, Jarrett saw a herd of deer come through very close to our site. Let us just hope that means bears are not near, as there have been some sightings in the Grant Grove area. We are taking all precautions, though, and again have things stashed away in the bear box. We are obviously at a much higher elevation tonight, and so it is already much cooler and the sun has not yet completely set. There a still patches of snow on the ground in this area, though not right around where we are staying. Nonetheless, we are expecting a cold one tonight.