Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category.
5 June 2009, 4:09 pm
I started writing about hiking Half Dome before I left, but didn’t get around to posting it. Here’s what I’d written:
One of the highlights of my 1996 trip to Yosemite was hiking to the top of Half Dome. I wasn’t planning on doing it again this time, until I saw these pictures of one family’s trip at around this time last year. I’ve been tempted now, so I think I should give it a try.
A few things have changed in 13 years; I’m probably not as fit, and I definitely weigh more, both of which will obviously make the hike harder.
Continue reading ‘Day 8: Half Dome’ »
4 June 2009, 6:40 am
May Lake and Mt Hoffman
I’m sitting here at May Lake, listening to the thunder nearby and hoping the rain stays away (not the least so it doesn’t get my iPhone (on which I’m typing this) wet). The road to the trailhead was closed, I started late, and hiking has been slowed by banks of snow to cross, so I’ve decided against attempting Mt Hoffman, which had been the plan.
The lake itself is just thawing, and while it’s overcast, it’s still a very pretty sight.
Continue reading ‘Day 7: 395 and Tioga Road’ »
3 June 2009, 4:13 pm
We’d like to apologise to all passengers for the delay in this blog reaching the next post. This is due to a network outage currently being experienced by the author. We expect the delay to last another 24 hours at most. Braindump apologises for the inconvenience.
(Yes, there is internet access in Yosemite, but only in the Yosemite Lodge lobby and the Ahwanee Hotel, both of which are a couple of miles from where I’m staying.)
Update (2009-06-04): Sorry, it took an extra day; the wireless at Grant Grove Village was on the fritz last night.
1 June 2009, 2:21 pm
(Now that I have your attention…)
Scotty's Castle
Having seen my quota of sights in the southern part of Death Valley yesterday, today I headed north in the morning. The road north runs over a series of alluvial fans, and as a result, seems more like a rollercoaster than a road in places.
Continue reading ‘Day 6: Brush with Death (Valley)’ »
31 May 2009, 3:35 pm
Most people think casinos and extravagent shows when they think of Las Vegas; however, I see it as a great place to begin a road trip. Three years ago I headed north to Utah (okay, via the Strip, where all the big casinos are), and returned via Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. This time I’m skipping the Strip and heading straight to Death Valley.
Continue reading ‘Day 5: Vegas to Valley’ »
29 May 2009, 2:33 pm
How do you translate the Beatles’ lyrics “you say goodbye, and I say hello” into Hawaiian? Just curious.
Anyway, today was my last mad dash on the Big Island before heading back to Oahu (airport only), and then the mainland.
Continue reading ‘Day 4: you say aloha, and I say aloha’ »
27 May 2009, 6:42 pm
As you may know, I’m a bit of a gadget person. (There may be subtle understatement in the preceding sentence.) One new gadget I’ve got for this trip is a GPS datalogger; that’s a device that logs your location (and other information such as velocity and whether it’s time to change your socks) obtained from the GPS system every few seconds, saving it to its internal storage. Then, after your day’s hike or drive or whatever, you can load that track of locations onto your computer, and do clever things like adding location information to all the photos you took during the day.
Continue reading ‘Day 1 part 2’ »
26 May 2009, 11:47 am
The last few days just sped past, and I didn’t get time to write any more posts; I’m typing this (on my iPhone, using the very neat WordPress app) just before my flight descends into Sydney.
Continue reading ‘Day 1 part 1’ »
24 May 2009, 10:26 am
My first trip to Yosemite was in 1984 with my family, of which I have only a few memories. My second trip was by myself in 1996, and I’ve just found my travel diary from that trip. Here are some edited excerpts.
Tim on top of Half Dome in 1996
Continue reading ‘Yosemite in September 1996’ »
23 May 2009, 11:50 pm
With three days to go, I’ve now:
- booked my last two nights’ accommodation
- worked out all the different carry-on and checked baggage allowances for my flights (Qantas domestic, Jetstar Starclass, Hawaiian Interisland, Hawaiian to the mainland, and Qantas international Premium Economy), so I know how much I can take, and how much I can buy there
- bought some more socks.
Continue reading ‘T minus 3 days’ »
