6/26/2005, Saturday - This is hike-out day. We woke up to a light rain and had to quickly gather our stuffs since Grace and I were guilty of not "bomb proofing" our stuffs against the elements. The rain stopped soon enough though, and we were soon off on our short 7 mile hike out. The hike was easy because the terrain was rolling and relatively flat as we were only going around the reservoir. The highlights consisted of glimpses of the towering granites surrounding the reservoir (formally a valley), the relatively calm reservoir water, and the crossing of Wapama and Tueeulala Falls. We had seen both falls from the dam the first day of our trip, with the Wapama falls being the broad while the Tueeulala the tall wispful waterfall. We crossed Wapama by walking across some 5 bridges. Wild drifts of mists and drafts greeted us. We were completely drenched by the time we finished crossing.
The crossing of the Tueeulala was much less intense. A significant amount of water seemed to have dispersed in the air on its s long fall down. What little that reached the ground at the fall's bottom flowed down as a gentle stream, which we simply hiked across, flowing gently into the reservoir.
After hiking out, we drove down to the Valley - which turned out to be a mistake as it turned into a parking lot on the weekend. We managed to find a 30 minute parking space. In the thirty or so minutes during which we went our separate ways, Grace and I checked out the Village Store, got an ice cream, and visited the Art Center - where they were holding an acryllic painting class. Afterwards, we drove up Tioga Rd. through Tuolumne Meadows - where snow still covered large sections. We then drove back halfway to L.A. on the 395.
For dinner, we ate at a Pizza Factory restaurant in Bishop and camped at Portagee Joe Campground by Turtle Creek off Whitney Portal Rd. It started out as a windy night but quieted down around midnight. We had a nice campfire and played a couple of camp games - including the Zen counting game - before turning to sleep.
