Today was the day we had been hearing about the whole trip. The hike up the hill to Vogelsang. It’s about 3000 vertical feet over a couple of miles. There are lots of switch backs ending in a great view overlooking Vogelsang Lake and it’s over 10,000 feet up as well.Â
The weather at Merced was nice, sunny and warm; perfect for a little stroll through the forest. The first few miles were not bad at all. We passed a cool ranger station and thought, “What a great way to spend the summer.” We hiked through some pretty meadows, crossed some streams and again checked out all the wild flowers and trees we had been learning about all week. Things like, Swamp Onion, Monkey Flower, Lupin, Elephant head as well as all the pines and firs.
Then we got to the hill. It was as promised, but the boys were up to the challenge and they all took the climb in stride. We took a few breaks, but before we knew it, we were all at the top. The weather at the pass was much different than below. It was cold and the wind was blowing quite hard. Undeterred by the change in weather, the boys headed off to play in a patch of snow. After a few minutes doing that we headed off to the High Sierra Camp. Once there Mr. Ringle treated us all to a treat. Most got candy bars, but a few actually picked the fruit.
The backpacker facilities were broken. Torn apart by Marmots a few years before, so we got to use the fancy ones at the camp. They keep it smelling good by throwing wood shavings in after each use. It really works…..sort of. We walked to our camp site, set up and had dinner. Many of the boys played cards in their tent, because it was too windy to play outside. After that they went for a swim at a nearby lake. It was very cold. Josh enjoyed it so much he decided to again the next day.Â
Fires are not allowed there, so we had a virtual camp fire before the sun went down. We then hit the sack early. Everyone seemed tired in the best sort of way.