After breakfast at camp, we drove into a VERY busy park; but what else would you expect of a holiday weekend? After finding a place to park, we navigated the shuttle system to the trailhead of The 4-Mile Trail. The 4-Mile Trail is actually 4.8 miles long and takes you to the top of Glacier Point. The trail makes its way up the side of mountain, on what Alex and Dave viewed as a gradual “rest day” type of hike… Kevin and Sam may disagree. Before long, Kevin was drenched in sweat and looked like he wanted to die. Despite his “slow” pace, which still involved passing “regular people” on the uphill portion, Kevin’s pace turned to race pace as he hit the flatter ground near the top.
When we reached Glacier Point, we rewarded ourselves with juice bars from the store, and a pretzel with cheese for Kevin. It’s not every day that you halfway through a hike and find a concession stand! We enjoyed our snacks as well as the PB&J sandwiches (while Dave “actively” discouraged wildlife) we had packed before heading over to take some pictures and enjoy the view.
We made our way down the never ending switchbacks to the valley floor. Kevin looked happier, and even told us he was having fun… he doesn’t remember saying this and says he was probably delusional. When we made our way towards the shuttle stop, we found a shaded boulder to sit under as we waited for the bus. Now we saw the extent of Kevin’s pain; the bottoms of his feet were blistered… he said they felt as if they were being burnt by the hot granite on the way down the trail. His little toe also had a large chunk of skin rubbed from the top. No wonder he looked so sad!
We made a quick stop at the Village Store to pick up a few veggies before heading back to our campground. We feasted on delicious chicken quesadillas cooked up by Dave that night before we all headed to bed. Overnight, Alex awoke to hear thrashing a few campsites away. A bear must have wondered into camp and must have been looking for food. Bears are very common in the park, and because of this, each campsite has its own bear box. They are black bears, and more often than not are not aggressive towards people. They have just learned over time that campgrounds are a great place to find food.
