After a lot of hilly driving it was nice to have about an hour of my four hour trip on a regular highway, until the climb began again.
I had a quick stop into Target at Fresno to buy a suitcase because my duffel bag has split and I really don’t want to risk it tearing on my next flight. Stocked up on some more food and have to remind myself to look left at roundabouts for traffic entering after a very close encounter exciting the shopping precinct.
The land around here is beautiful too, with sweeping views down into the valleys. Once again I had to pull over for a refresher nap as I found my eyes drifting closed around a technical stretch of road.
The campground was easy to find and thankfully the bear locker gets a little shade - I’m spending a fortune on ice as the coolers sit inside those steel boxes in full sun all day.
Couldn’t get out of the car fast enough and I walked down to the market and visitor centre to get my bearings and hop the shuttle to the Giant Trees Museum. There are hundreds of walks that can be done from the centre, winding all around the national park.
I decided to do a walk that would take me across the highway and around a meadow filled with flowers. The educational panels told the story of the park and the sequoia and with the exception of children being loud and either asking a million questions at the top of their voices or whining that they didn’t want to walk any more, it was a very peaceful and world-confirming experience.
And then it happened. A small group had stopped and were looking up the hill. About 40 metres up on the ridge were bears eating berries and foraging in the bush. Cursing myself for leaving my camera at camp, I got the best pics I could with my phone, along with a bit of video footage. There was a smaller, darker black bear, a slightly larger brown black bear and may have been a third but he/she stayed down in the berry bushes, while the other two came out to look at us and keep an eye on us.
My day was complete - I had seen a bear in the wild. Jumped the shuttle again down to Crescent Meadow and walked the loop, got a little lost, a little anxious I would miss the last shuttle back to camp and that the sun was going down and bear activity would increase.
Thankfully spotted a couple of walkers ahead so kept them in sight and followed them back out to the parking lot. Panic attack averted.
Had a glorious shower once back at camp (coin operated $1 for 4 minutes) and tried a drop of local rosé which could not hold a candle to the Spanish wines I was drinking last year. Safe to say the rest of the bottle will be going in the trash.
Camping in bear country brings a lot of challenges - as previously mentioned, there’s the whole scented items being locked up in bear lockers issue. You can’t discard your dishwater or laundry water at camp - it gets walked to a sink at the toilet blocks to be disposed of, you can’t just cast that last mouthful of warm soda into the bush and you have to go to the bathroom to brush your teeth. Minor inconveniences I know but they all add up to things to remember NOT to do as an Aussie camper.
Time for bed now - I’ve planned out tomorrow’s adventures so let’s see what they bring.
After a lot of hilly driving it was nice to have about an hour of my four hour trip on a regular highway, until the climb began again.
I had a quick stop into Target at Fresno to buy a suitcase because my duffel bag has split and I really don’t want to risk it tearing on my next flight. Stocked up on some more food and have to remind myself to look left at roundabouts for traffic entering after a very close encounter exciting the shopping precinct.
The land around here is beautiful too, with sweeping views down into the valleys. Once again I had to pull over for a refresher nap as I found my eyes drifting closed around a technical stretch of road.
The campground was easy to find and thankfully the bear locker gets a little shade - I’m spending a fortune on ice as the coolers sit inside those steel boxes in full sun all day.
Couldn’t get out of the car fast enough and I walked down to the market and visitor centre to get my bearings and hop the shuttle to the Giant Trees Museum. There are hundreds of walks that can be done from the centre, winding all around the national park.
I decided to do a walk that would take me across the highway and around a meadow filled with flowers. The educational panels told the story of the park and the sequoia and with the exception of children being loud and either asking a million questions at the top of their voices or whining that they didn’t want to walk any more, it was a very peaceful and world-confirming experience.
And then it happened. A small group had stopped and were looking up the hill. About 40 metres up on the ridge were bears eating berries and foraging in the bush. Cursing myself for leaving my camera at camp, I got the best pics I could with my phone, along with a bit of video footage. There was a smaller, darker black bear, a slightly larger brown black bear and may have been a third but he/she stayed down in the berry bushes, while the other two came out to look at us and keep an eye on us.
My day was complete - I had seen a bear in the wild. Jumped the shuttle again down to Crescent Meadow and walked the loop, got a little lost, a little anxious I would miss the last shuttle back to camp and that the sun was going down and bear activity would increase.
Thankfully spotted a couple of walkers ahead so kept them in sight and followed them back out to the parking lot. Panic attack averted.
Had a glorious shower once back at camp (coin operated $1 for 4 minutes) and tried a drop of local rosé which could not hold a candle to the Spanish wines I was drinking last year. Safe to say the rest of the bottle will be going in the trash.
Camping in bear country brings a lot of challenges - as previously mentioned, there’s the whole scented items being locked up in bear lockers issue. You can’t discard your dishwater or laundry water at camp - it gets walked to a sink at the toilet blocks to be disposed of, you can’t just cast that last mouthful of warm soda into the bush and you have to go to the bathroom to brush your teeth. Minor inconveniences I know but they all add up to things to remember NOT to do as an Aussie camper.
Time for bed now - I’ve planned out tomorrow’s adventures so let’s see what they bring.
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