Tuesday, September 7, 2010
El Capitan
El Capitan is one of the summits in Yosemite Valley with a peak at 2307m. it’s one of the largest granite monoliths in the world.
Apparently this big block of granite is one of the key challenges on this planet for climbers. We can barely hike when the slope is steep, so climbing...
Yosemite is a bear country
As such some precautions have to be applied.
Keep bears wild by keeping your food from them, day and night. Keep food within arm’s reach, or in a food locker, bear resistant canister, or hard-sided hotel room. No food in cars after dark.
A bear-proof food locker
Doubtful? Add number cars that bears broke in and watch this video and I can tell you, you will store your food out of your car. Some say more than 1000 cars were broken into in the past 10 years.
Speeding cars hit about 15 bears each year so slow down!
PS: unfortunately we did not see or encounter any bear. Maybe next time.
A bear-proof food lockerDoubtful? Add number cars that bears broke in and watch this video and I can tell you, you will store your food out of your car. Some say more than 1000 cars were broken into in the past 10 years.
PS: unfortunately we did not see or encounter any bear. Maybe next time.
Yosemite - A few things you should keep in mind
Keep wildlife wild
Respect animals at a distance. Never feed or approach them. Animals that get human food may lose their fear of people and become dangerous.
--- This is extremely difficult to do with squirrels. Those guys spot you right away when you get food out of the bag and not only follow you but really become pushy. Like Janet said: "squirrels are like rats, just cuter"
Just to prove the point (and I ate the cookie!)
Squirrels are really insisting each time they see you getting any food. They clearly don’t fear people anymore and figured out that we have food.
Mountains lions live here. As in the Grand Canyon one could potentially encounter a mountain lion. Should this happen remember one thing: shout, wave, throw stones. The idea is to make you look as big as possible. Attacks are rare, but if you are attacked, fight back. Should be a pretty straightforward reaction.
Rivers and waterfalls are beautiful but treacherous. Be alert for undercut banks and slippery rocks. Something definitely to keep in mind should you consider walking off trails and for example, cross a river.
Just a few recommendations from the National Park to preserve the wilderness of Yosemite.
Respect animals at a distance. Never feed or approach them. Animals that get human food may lose their fear of people and become dangerous.
--- This is extremely difficult to do with squirrels. Those guys spot you right away when you get food out of the bag and not only follow you but really become pushy. Like Janet said: "squirrels are like rats, just cuter"
Just to prove the point (and I ate the cookie!)Squirrels are really insisting each time they see you getting any food. They clearly don’t fear people anymore and figured out that we have food.
Mountains lions live here. As in the Grand Canyon one could potentially encounter a mountain lion. Should this happen remember one thing: shout, wave, throw stones. The idea is to make you look as big as possible. Attacks are rare, but if you are attacked, fight back. Should be a pretty straightforward reaction.
Rivers and waterfalls are beautiful but treacherous. Be alert for undercut banks and slippery rocks. Something definitely to keep in mind should you consider walking off trails and for example, cross a river.
Just a few recommendations from the National Park to preserve the wilderness of Yosemite.
Yosemite - Tunnel view and Bridalveil Fall
This morning we left San Jose for Yosemite, the 3rd National Park of this so far incredible trip.
Once again a long and boring drive to get there, although the last part when you climb through the mountains is quite entertaining as you take one curve after the other.
We chose to start with the Tunnel view to get an overview of the Yosemite Valley. WOW! Not as big as the Grand Canyon but certainly as impressive. In front of our eyes was El Capitan, the Half Dome and the Bridalveil Fall.
Yosemite Valley - Breathtaking!
El Capitan (at the front) and Horsetail Fall (at the back) (and Half Dome on the far right)
Half Dome (that's the Dome that looks like it's missing a significant part completely at the back), Cathedral rock (big piece at the front) and Bridalveil fall (black area towards the bottom of the rock part)
On the way down to the Yosemite Village from the Tunnel view we stopped at the Bridalveil fall to have a closer look. The water falls from 189m high. Given it's fall there is little water. During Spring when snow is melting it's another story (maybe we should plan another visit in Spring).
Really beautiful and when you look carefully at the water falling you can see the veil forming.
Different variants of the veil, thanks to the wind.
Once again a long and boring drive to get there, although the last part when you climb through the mountains is quite entertaining as you take one curve after the other.
We chose to start with the Tunnel view to get an overview of the Yosemite Valley. WOW! Not as big as the Grand Canyon but certainly as impressive. In front of our eyes was El Capitan, the Half Dome and the Bridalveil Fall.
Yosemite Valley - Breathtaking!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Whale Watching on Labor Day
Labor Day week-end is one of the rare long week-ends in the US. It's the equivalent of our May 1st. What can you do on the third day of your long week-end? Get up early, obviously 6:30am, drive 1h to Monterey, get on a boat and go whale watching!
After the elephant seals in San Simeon and the sea lions in San Francisco now we're getting serious: whales and dolphins!
We had a good start as already in the harbor seeing some sea lions and even one sea otter.
After lots of sea lions the boat headed toward deeper waters. The Monterey submarine canyon happens to be located close to the shore allowing people to see deep-water species of whales, dolphins and seabirds near the coast. At least that's what they promise.
On the boat you have to look out for 3 things:
- the blow of a whale (best indication there is a whale under) and usually visible from far away
- the footprint of a whale (i.e. an area of water that is still, almost like oil on water)
- whale's poop, no kidding, usually some reddish floating thing (i.e. a whale was really nearby). As any poop, it stinks pretty bad (which means you can also use your nose to locate a whale).
You could also see the back of the whale directly but that requires a bit more luck.
Taking pictures of whales or any other sea creature is a BIG challenge. Not only you are on a boat that does not stand still but on top the creature you are trying to get is moving as well. Consequence, a lot of bits and pieces of whales on the pictures. Not to mention that whales unlike dolphins do not jump (they do but rarely) and all you get to see is their back.
Ladies and Gentlemen, my collection of whales' backs :)
Blue whale
Humpback whale:
We even were fortunate enough to see one whale doing a "jump":
Given the challenge of getting a good picture of a whale (blue or humpback), after some unsuccessful trials, I decided to give up and simply enjoy the show. I'd rather watch the whales and remember them than stressing about getting the right picture and missing the show, which is by the way unbelievable. I still can't believe I saw so many whales in one day (and not in an aquarium).
On the way back we cam across dolphins. Hundreds of themnicely jumping around the boat. Dolphins are fun creatures and they like to play. They jump all around the boat, extremely fast. They are really putting a show for us.
PS1: For the first time in my life (at least that I recall) I got sick on a boat. Strangely when we were going fast and jumping pretty hard on the waves I was fine. When the boat was slowing down of even "stop" just bouncing on the wave it was getting bad. Main reason was the smell of the fuel at the back of the boat. At some point I got a full blast of it and felt my stomach turning around. Next thing I know I was puking overboard. I'm so ashamed (for a Brittany girl). Sad consolation, I was not the only one.
PS2: strangely some people brought their dog with them on the boat. Question: do dogs get sea-sick? no idea but I can tell you that dog didn't look happy after a while.
After the elephant seals in San Simeon and the sea lions in San Francisco now we're getting serious: whales and dolphins!
We had a good start as already in the harbor seeing some sea lions and even one sea otter.
Proud sea lion
Sea Otter (trust me somewhere in the fur)
Many, many, many sea lions
On the boat you have to look out for 3 things:
- the blow of a whale (best indication there is a whale under) and usually visible from far away
You could also see the back of the whale directly but that requires a bit more luck.
Taking pictures of whales or any other sea creature is a BIG challenge. Not only you are on a boat that does not stand still but on top the creature you are trying to get is moving as well. Consequence, a lot of bits and pieces of whales on the pictures. Not to mention that whales unlike dolphins do not jump (they do but rarely) and all you get to see is their back.
Ladies and Gentlemen, my collection of whales' backs :)
Blue whale
On the way back we cam across dolphins. Hundreds of themnicely jumping around the boat. Dolphins are fun creatures and they like to play. They jump all around the boat, extremely fast. They are really putting a show for us.
PS1: For the first time in my life (at least that I recall) I got sick on a boat. Strangely when we were going fast and jumping pretty hard on the waves I was fine. When the boat was slowing down of even "stop" just bouncing on the wave it was getting bad. Main reason was the smell of the fuel at the back of the boat. At some point I got a full blast of it and felt my stomach turning around. Next thing I know I was puking overboard. I'm so ashamed (for a Brittany girl). Sad consolation, I was not the only one.
PS2: strangely some people brought their dog with them on the boat. Question: do dogs get sea-sick? no idea but I can tell you that dog didn't look happy after a while.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
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