Skiergirl: Yosemite to Bishop

Up early and out again this morning. I stopped for coffee at the Crane Flats store and saw some very very hot Yosemite firemen. That's all, there's no story there, they were just damn hot.

From there I made my way up the Tioga road to Tioga Pass. This area is lesser known and visited than the Yosemite Valley, but is just as impressive. Along the road I stopped at Olmstead Point, Tenaya Lake, Tuolomne Meadows and Tioga Pass. I saw climbers on shear granite faces, marmots, stunning lakes, beautiful subalpine meadows, huge mountains and deep valleys. The Tioga Pass is the highest auto pass in California, at an elevation of 9,945 ft!

As I left the park I was arriving at one of the other destinations of my trip that I was really looking forward to, Mono Lake. It is a large lake that has no outlet, so as the water has evaporated over the years the salinity and alkalinity have risen to crazy levels. It is 2.5 times more saline than the Pacific, and 10 times more alkali. Although you'd think this would be unable to support life, but you'd be thinking wrong. In fact, it is a perfect environment for brine shrimp and, in turn, alkali flies and thousands of birds. This area is a birder's paradise apparently. I am not a birder, so I wouldn't know.

The main draw of the lake, though, is the tufa formations. The entire area is very volcanically active, with hot springs just below the surface. Where the springs are under water, they are active. When the fresh hot spring water mixes with the alkaline lake water, they form limestone. The limestone builds up into these big globular formations. Back in 1941 the city of LA started diverting water from Mono Lake to their city. Over decades the water level in the lake has dropped dramatically, exposing the tufa formations. They are quite cool to see, especially for a geeky geologist.

Fortunately, the Mono Lake Committee has effectively fought against diverting the water, and the lake level is starting to rise. The goal is to bring the water up to the level it was in 1963, which should be achieved before 2015. Luckily, this level will still leave some of the tufa formations exposed. A must-see if you're ever in the area. Sorry about all the cheesy facts, I took a guided tour.

The goal of the day was to make it to Death Valley. Well, that goal was not reached, and probably will never be. It's too freakin' hot! I am having a hard time with the heat outside of the hottest place in North America, there's no way I'm heading in there. I started losing it this afternoon, as equipment failure, loneliness, heat and fatigue were starting to take over. I decided to stop early for the day, find a campsite and unwind. I am now in a cute little cafe in Bishop, California. They have promised me I can use their internet and comfy chairs until 10 pm, and I think I will take them up on it. I am faced with making a major decision as to where my trip will go from here. It is really hot inland, and I'm not looking forward to it. I really want to head for the coast, do some surfing and relax. But, this would probably be at the expense of some of the other places I really wanted to see. What to do, what to do... Stay tuned for the results of the pondering.