Pana planned a wonderful trip to Yosemite. It was my first time to Yosemite that I can remember, and it was my first time doing “real” camping for anything longer than one night. I was a little bit worried, as my bedtime ritual involves lots of running water–I don’t think I can remember the last time I went to bed without showering. However, HB and Pana got me an air mattress for my tent (best idea ever), and every morning we got up and took a swim in the lake. I’ve discovered that four days without soap and a dip in a glacier run-off lake every morning does wonders for your hair. It’s been a long time since my hair felt so soft and was so manageable. I guess all these hair conditioners and detanglers are required only because the water in some cities is so hard it damages hair. I also developed a new appreciation for toilet paper. I fortunately brought my own roll on the trip, and I was very glad because the TP provided at the campsite toilets was terrible and it ran out all the time. Pana also introduced me to the concept of efficient but excellent cooking while camping. I have seen gourmet camp cooking that was just impractical, and I have done the spaghetti-o’s over an open flame thing as well. Pana somehow managed to produce delicious comfort food on the campsite while requiring almost no preparation and creating few dirty dishes. I took notes and learned.
At any rate, Yosemite itself was beautiful, and very rugged. I enjoyed the waterfalls, which apparently were very active due to the warm weather and the recent heavy snows. We also saw some wildlife and did a bit of hiking, and every night we settled around the campfire and chilled out. I also made some new friends and learned a little Estonian culture (and two phrases: “abme menya” and “vestas menya”. Don’t ask me what they mean). It was great hanging out with everyone!
Rebecca
After reading that, I swear the world has gone insane!