Day Four - Bishop

Day Four - May 15th - Water, Water, Water and Bishop

Yes we jumped into the glacial Tenaya lake 

Hello my brilliant compadres! If you’re just joining in on the adventure then welcome! If you’re a loyalist then I hope you realise how exciting it is to finally have reached Bishop.

Bishop is a straight drive down the Tioga Pass from our campsite in Yosemite. You actually drive through the parkland and high into the mountains when you take the Tioga Pass. As you rise along the track, you ears pop and that odd feeling in your head accentuates the sudden sense of space and distance between yourself and the natural world around you. Maggie was pretty much bouncing in her seat with excitement as she described the lakes we were going to pass and the Hot Springs that would meet us at the end.

Driving the roads that coil about the mountainsides, we could see snow banks against the spring greens and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to be astonished by the fact that it could be so cold when yesterday we were just hiking in shorts and t-shirts. In fact from what I can tell most of us are still wearing just shorts and tshirts.

So on the road the jokes have begun, I guess we’re settling into a rhythm! Essentially, our aussie (John) is a bit of a pun master (they call him the mushroom because he’s a fun-gi) and he saw opportunity in the name of Hugh. Hugh let the dogs out. Hugh’s been framed. Hughmongous etc etc. There’s also the hilarity of Robert’s continued search for a comb. We’ll have to buy him one somewhere. The characters of this trip are certainly coming to life and I’m glad we’ve skipped over the awkwardness that could ensue. The boys are, of course, already cracking comments about their ‘frustration’ and Angela’s vehemently trying to resist becoming ‘Ange’. Plus we’re learning a bit more about each other. Adam works in insurance but he used to do security at Gatwick. Robert’s a 22 year old creative writing student from Leicester and physically cannot talk loudly. Tom’s waiting for the penny to drop before he makes any plans to settle into a job but is really incredibly passionate about information (by that I mean he likes to know ‘why’ or ‘what’ about things). Liam’s actually not the mild-mannered chap he initially appeared but a little bit of a lad. I’ll add them to a character list soon.

Anyway, we reached the first lake we came to was Tenaya. With snow drifts on its banks the boys all wimped about of jumping in leaving Maggie and I to do the honours. Diving into the freezing water from a flat rock, we shrieked in the water then almost flew out. It was icy. Unbelievably frozen and cold – if anything lives in there it’s a determined sob. Yet the tingling alive energy that overwhelmed us afterwards was incredible. We were fully awake and vibrant and couldn’t stop giggling even as we shivered in the nippy breeze. Of  course, after sitting in our damp clothes in the bus we were slightly less exuberant but we had Mono Lake to look forward to.

Mono Lake is a huge salt lake that’s supposedly really good for your skin and hair. Telling us about it, Maggie was telling us about how you cannot sink in the water because it’s so intensely salty and when you come out of the water your skin turns a strange shade of white for the same reason. The lake has an interesting background – when Vegas was being built, they siphoned off a lot of the water so it rapidly began to diminish. Now, they’re trying to restore the lake to nearly its old levels but it still has aways to go. When we arrived, everyone was ready to run in, only it was still pretty rocky and cold so we more like staggered in, floundered and then sprinted out. Liam managed to make a brilliant video with my own aborted entry attempt. Tom and Adam rumbled in the water before they fled – only Jon was really brave enough to go all the way in.

Now, with all of us quivering in the cold we trekked the last little bit to Bishop. After sausages and buns and ice cream for dinner, it was time for the Keogh Hot Springs – the definite highlight of the day!! Dark, perfectly warm, reed-rounded water, a frog muttering nearby, the stars dazzling overhead. It was wonderful. We ‘re pddling, sinking into the water, not sure what to make of the brush and push of small fish against our bodies when there’s mention of eels and leeches and snakes and something slithered across the backs of our legs. Screaming, Angela and I clutch at each other only... what’s this? Paul has snapped off a five foot branch and is strategically stroking the ankles and calves of his victims. He got us good.

As I finish this off, we're curled up around the campfire, planning on sleeping outside so we can stargaze. I’m in as many layers as I can possibly wear because my sleepingbag has turned out to be a pathetic light thing that’s suitable for 55F and no lower. It’s ok though because we’re all in a bundle and the smoke smell is lovely wafting across us with a memory of heat. 

Je serai poète et toi poésie, 
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