We woke up a little early to the sound of Dr B. yelling at a bear sniffing at his pack just outside his tent. The only damage was some bear snot on the backpack cover. Yes, they protect against more than just the rain. Dr B. mentioned he was a bit too quick to scare the bear off. It was so close he could have touched it. The hung around the camp sites for an hour or so, causing lots of excitement in the other groups. We got packed up fast and headed out before 8:00.
The hike was nice with lots of wild flowers. We stopped every 20 minutes or so. We had lunch on the river and also soaked our feet. We stopped at Little Devil’s Post-pile, the only volcanic site in Yosemite. While taking pictures a mule train came by. After a few more miles we stopped at Tuolumne Falls. No one got in, but we took some pictures. It was not too long before we got to Glen Aulin.
After getting the camping spots, right near the bear boxes and toilets, we set up, then went down to Glen Aulin Falls and swam for 45 minutes. The water was cold but refreshing. The falls are over 60 feet tall. Some of the boys swam out to them. Others crawled on the rocks and went behind them, then swam our from them. We went back to camp and had dinner.
We also walked out to view the Grand Canyon of the Toulumne River. Some enjoyed the view and at least one ASM made like a Marmot and took a nap.
Another troop came by and wanted to share our fire. They were from No. Cal. We shared songs, skits and riddles. Our boys did a fair number of skits they had not seen before. The other leaders were impressed by our boys. Dr B settled it all down with some reflective thoughts on Yosemite.