Day 0 After a day of recovery from our Sequoia trip, my daughter and I drove up to Yosemite with permits in hand for day use and backpacking. Once acquiring the proper tag for the van, our plan was to drive into Yosemite Valley this first day just to see it...our backpack was for the southern part of the park starting out of Chilnualna Falls trailhead. Although we thought the valley was rather crowded, apparently it was much less so because of the Covid restrictions that were in place. We always had a place to park if we wanted to stop and take in the views, and some of the trails were actually kinda empty. Unfortunately, there were still plenty of UMJs (Unmasked Mouth Juicers) but we managed to keep appropriate distance most of the time. We went up the Mist trail to Vernal Falls, and although crowded by our standards we had plenty of alone time on this trail late afternoon, as there seemed to be a mass exodus starting about 4 PM. Once back on the trail paralleling the river there were far less people. As we drove back out of the valley we stopped a few times to take photos in the late afternoon light. We exited the park and stayed at a campground right outside the south entrance.

Day 1 This required careful planning food wise, as it is not legal to leave any food in your vehicle, or any scented items like toothpaste. We had planned our food, both dry and refrigerated, to be mostly gone by then and stored everything (including coffee pods) in the bear lockers at the trailhead. Bears have been known to cleverly break into vehicles, walking atop RVs and trying to get in the MaxxAir vents, etc, hence the restrictions....only in California! All buttoned up tight, we started our backpack on the Chilnualna Falls trail.

We scaled back our ambitious original loop due to my daughter's sketchy swollen ankle from the previous trip, capping our days to less than 15 miles. As we climbed ever higher we came across a wonderful granite pool, where we stopped to soak our feet and take in the views. From this point on, over the course of 4 days, we would run into a total of 4 people. My daughter had purposefully avoided planning anything out of the valley (no permits were available anyway) thinking that the less visited southern part of the park would be better. This first day we would spend walking through the Sierra woods, thinking some high alpine lakes (over 8000') on the trail would be like hiking in the Enchantments (or Sequoia). We were surprised to find marshy and wooded lakes at this altitude and became worried that our stopping point might not be so great in this environment. However, after an entire day of forest hiking, we popped up a little higher to the wondrous Royal Arch Lake in time for the evening light show. There were a couple of campers on the other side of the lake (we found out two days later they were there for 4 days fishing). Otherwise, no backpackers, and we essentially had the lake to ourselves, with plenty of time for Cassie to set up her hammock, make dinner and simply relax.

*The pool below Chilnualna Falls, Yosemite NP*

Day 2 This day we weren't sure where to stay or how far to go, as the ankle was always suspicious. We headed towards Merced Pass and decided later on for Lower Ottoway Lake. Again, all day was spent in the forest, but as we climbed towards the lake we could see it would be open with views of surrounding peaks. I forged ahead of my daughter on the climb to make sure I didn't miss the evening light on the lake, and arrived with perfect timing. I dropped the pack and scurried to and fro, capturing different angles of this magnificent lake. Unbeknownst to me, my daughter had a sudden food crash after I was out of earshot, and of course I was carrying all the food. She was not happy, to say the least. I know, I've been there, where I've had to stop on trail and "EAT NOW!" She survived the rest of the climb, and when she arrived I had taken my photos and proceeded to make dinner. And yes, this magnificent lake, nestled in the surrounding peaks that reflected different colors in the slanted evening light, WAS DESERTED. We had the lake to ourselves with a perfect bivy spot once again...in the middle of August in Yosemite…..on a weekend.

*Trail below Lower Ottoway Lake, Yosemite NP*

Day 3 Another glorious night with the waning moonlight had us awaken with no alarm. We lounged until 9 and finally started our journey back the way we came, as our scaled back plans excluded the loop previously planned. Once again we hiked all day in the forest, taking appropriate breaks and enjoying the mostly cool air above 8000'. And once again we stayed at Royal Arch Lake with no other backpackers. A gentleman from the other party did stop by to take photos and chat, so we learned he had been coming here since the 70's and was the same group we had seen two days prior. More photos of the lake, more lounging, more cheesecake.

*Sunset from Royal Arch Lake, Yosemite NP*

Day 4 Now it was mostly a downhill hike back to the van, and we stopped at the same places to soak our feet. As expected, as we passed the falls we started seeing some day hikers close to the trailhead, but still not so many. When we arrived at our van (thankfully showing no bear paw prints on the doors or windows), we collected our food from the locker and headed out a different entrance from the valley to spend two days at a quaint RV park, nestled in the trees with strung lights and full hook up service. We cleaned up, did laundry and generally relaxed before heading further north to Lassen NP.

*A singular bloom across Royal Arch Lake, Yosemite NP*