Sentinel Rock

Every year the California Vet Med Association holds a three day continuing education (CE) conference in Yosemite.  As a vet, I have to accumulate 36 hours of CE every two years.  The conference is worth 12;  since we go to this every year, that’s 24/36.  (The rest I get either online, through local meetings, etc.)

Regardless, lecture is 8-12 Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  That leaves Friday & Saturday afternoons for hiking.

Merced River, looking back at Half Dome

Friday afternoon we hiked from the Lodge to the base of El Capitan & back.  Pretty, flat, but enough distance to burn some good calories.  The day varied between sunny and overcast even as we did the 3 hour hike.

The next day we did one of my favorite hikes, to Vernal Falls.  You start at Happy Isles, then climb for almost a mile before dipping back down to the bridge.  Vernal Falls is to your right.  One year it’d been warm enough that the Mist Trail, from Vernal to Nevada Falls, was open.  This year (and every other year for the past 10 or so) there was too much snow & ice.  Sometimes we continue as far as we can up the Muir trail, but this year only went a little past the bridge.

We checked out the fen behind the nature center (closed for the season) before catching the bus to Yosemite Village.  A gorgeous raven entertained us at the bus stop.

We explored the Ansel Adams gallery & store, then checked out the gallery at the museum. From there, we walked back to the Lodge, stopped first to at the base of the lower Yosemite Falls.

The lectures? Orthopedics and opthomology.  The knitting during the lectures?  The Zylphia Cowl, due to be released in the next day or two.  A few people, including one other knitting vet whom I inspired to bring her knitting to lecture, admired it.