So, two weeks ago all six of us went backpacking...Yosemite, of course. First we spent a day in the valley with our good friends the Moores, and got treated to a crashing thunderstorm. Nothing like flashes of lightning and thunder echoing through the valley to make you feel your size! Then the next afternoon we drove up to Tuolumne Meadows and hiked up Lyell Canyon. Spent a few days there, then hiked up to Vogelsang for a couple more days. It was great...except for the thunder/lightning/rain/hailstorm that first day...starting in mid-afternoon when we still had a couple miles to hike! You'd think, having been rained on at/near Vogelsang more than once before, that we would have had sufficient rain protection. Nope. Jackets leaked, water seeped into backpacks, and while I trudged drippingly along for those last couple miles, I entertained rueful thoughts about a certain extra throwaway poncho at home. Of course the only one I'd brought was carefully wrapped over my pack, protecting my rather expensive camera and my little Martin Backpacker guitar (getting quite the initiation here on its maiden voyage!). 
(Photo by Chris -- Kelsey's camera was reposing snugly [and smugly] in her pack.) Well, we finished those couple miles, set up tents and crawled into our sleeping bags to try to get warm. My hands were so cold I couldn't grab anything -- which made setting up Chris' and my tent a bit hard! Around 7pm the rain stopped. We had dinner, built a fire and for the next couple hours we stood around that wonderful heat source, drying things out. I've rarely been this grateful for a fire. It was absolutely wonderful to go to bed with a dry sleeping bag and enough dry clothes for a comfortable night! The rest of the trip was beautiful. It was great to see the old familiar peaks and lakes in the Vogelsang area, not to mention the beautiful blue sky overhead! Atop Tuolumne Pass, between Lyell Canyon and Vogelsang 
The second day our campsite looked like an amazing gear expo, with all our stuff hung out to dry, from from socks to sleeping bags. Praise God for the sunshine that morning! 
One of my "poster sites"...haven't photographed it in a couple years. 
Dad and Mom 
Cascade between two lakes 
Now, I tried to keep the camera equipment to the bare minimum this trip, so the only filter I had was a circular polarizer. In the bright sun this made blurring the water a bit difficult. So I tried my sunglasses. Not very effective, but kinda humorous... 
Molly  
The girls wading in Townsley Lake (which was warmer than normal...but still pretty nippy...at 10,000+ feet lakes don't warm up that much!). 
You can think up your own caption. (It's Chris.) 
Bonding time with Sophie. 
Like I said, I pared down my equipment, and the only lens I brought was a super-wide -- so this shot was not easy! 
And a path photo to finish...hiking through the plateau near Evelyn Lake. 
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Sugar Bowl is a very special place to us!
