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Yosemite Mountain Madness! - Day 1
My first weekend at Yosemite National Park is one I will never forget! 2 days, 2 incredible stories! Day 1: Missing the Moonbow
My first weekend at Yosemite National Park is one I will never forget! 2 days, 2 incredible stories!
Day 1: Missing the Moonbow
The next 2 videos feature my side of the story and Jay's side. You can watch these and bypass reading the lengthy blog post, AND/OR read the full blog post which contains more details, pics and videos. Your call.
Either way, you should scroll down and see the pics, as they are pertinent to the story.
Jay Muniz and I headed out from Oakland later than we wanted to on Saturday, ~12:30pm. It takes ~4 hours to get to Yosemite and we only had Saturday and Sunday to explore the parks---so I was a bit bummed about the late start.
But, at least our snack bag game was solid!
It’s peak season in Yosemite, because the snowfall is meltin’ and the waterfalls are flowin’!
The closest hotel we could find was over an hour away in Mariposa. As we got about ~1 hour outside of the parks, there were electronic signs saying: “YOSEMITE VALLEY PARKING LOTS FULL. EXPECT 3 HOUR DELAYS.”
Ugh...not cool.
The signs did not deter! We wouldn’t be arriving until ~5ish, so maybe some people will have left by then? In the meantime, the scenery was sweet and our snack bags are doin’ their jobs.
We got to the national park gate and there wasn’t a line of cars which felt like a positive sign. And, the nice park employee (who vaaaaguely resembled my sis) informed us that the 3 hour delay was over.
We still encountered some traffic, but the scenery just outside Yosemite Valley is really sweet!
Once we finally parked and walked around, the time was ~6 and the sun was going down. We were in awe.
Jay is super afraid of wild animals, (as well he should be) and we talked a lot about bear survival skills on the ride there. So, it was hilarious seeing him geek out over this deer who strolled right past us!
We continued to explore the valley and I was snapping pics of Yosemite Falls, with a small pond and some nice reflections.
Two men approached. “That’s a great photography spot, are you guys staying for the moonbow later?”
Has anyone ever heard of a moonbow? Not me.
“A moonbow” he explained, “is a rare phenomenon when a ~full moon is in the exact angle and illuminates a rainbow in the mist of a waterfall. And, this just so happens to be one of the best and only nights of the year for it.”
Apparently, the moonbow was starting at 11:30 pm and all these photographers camp out hours beforehand to get a good spot to snap the bow.
We had 3 hours to kill, but Jay and I decided to dig in and go for it. What are the chances we came on this particular day!? Can you say 'serendipity?'
The weather was going to be in the 30s, and we had warm clothes, but we needed to replenish our snack bags. I dropped Jay off at the Yosemite Village Store to get supplies and we agreed to meet where we saw the deer crossing.
I set up my tripod right next to the pro photographers, who had multiple cameras and were well prepared for the night. Got my shot lined up!
After a while, I was thinking it would be smart to put my snacks back in the car, so as not to attract any new bear friends. I ran to my car and I realized....
Whoa...it is PITCH BLACK.
And, where is Jay!?
I started to get worried. The Village Store was only a 10 minute walk and Jay had been gone for 45 minutes to an hour. I get no cell service in Yosemite Valley, so we can't communicate. His phone battery was almost dead and he doesn't have a flashlight…
So, I hopped in my car quick and drove to the Village Store. No sign of Jay. And, now that it was so dark, the route from the Store to our meeting point was indeed confusing!
Panic started to set in. I tried to stay calm, as I packed up my camera gear and got ready to search. I told the photographers “If a tall Puerto Rican guy named Jay comes around looking for his friend, keep him here!”
For the next 2 hours, I drove back and forth from the Village Store, to the meeting point, around the Valley, searching, trying to stay calm...asking people "if they saw any tall Puerto Ricans", telling them to detain him if they do.
I wasn’t worried that he was going to die in the woods, although it was going to be ~30 degrees that night. I was a little worried that somehow the sick and twisted universe was going to introduce him to a family of bears!
My mind was playing tricks on me.
I went through a range of emotions. I was momentarily mad that I would be missing the moonbow! Then, I realized how selfish that line of thinking was, when my friend was lost out in the cold, dark wilderness with no light!
He had warm clothes and snacks. But, how we were going to find each other, with no cell service, and given that our hotel was over an hour away and it was pitch black!?!?!
I tried going to the Yosemite Lodge to get wifi, thinking, maybe he texted me (Unlike me, he got a weak signal in the Valley). But, the Lodge couldn’t give me wifi unless I was a hotel guest. BLURG!
I spoke to Park Rangers, Bus Workers, etc. Most of them seemed fairly annoyed, condescendingly telling me to just go back to the meeting spot and wait. Yeaaaaaaa, I don't think you know my friend Jay and his familiarity with the outdoors. Homeboy needs a search party, pronto!
At this point, it had been almost 3 hours. My last resort, was driving back to Mariposa, and seeing if he was at the hotel. Maybe he hitchhiked there? But, that seemed like such a risky prop, as it was an hour away. I didn’t want to abandon him in the Valley if he was wandering.
I drove around the Valley one last time. Almoooost turned onto the road back to the hotel. But, I stopped at our meeting point, and it was just about 11:30. I asked the photographers: “Has the moonbow started yet? Have you seen Puerto Rican Jay?"
Out of the dark, I hear a voice: “Matt? Matt Sherwood?”
I look over, and Jay is sitting down right there, all bundled up.
We looked at each other and I cannot describe the feeling. I wanted to punch him!!! Out of brotherly love and frustration, of course. But, we just mumbled obscenities to each other and gave each other a big ole bear hug. #punintended
We hopped in my car and Jay said, "Hey I got those snacks!" as he pulled out a steak sandwich, and a bunch of other eats, which I couldn’t even stomach because the fear and adrenaline were coursing through my veins and overpowering any normal bodily functions.
After trading several, “You have no idea what I've been through's", we decided to pull out the tripod and go try and catch some moonbow action. It was exactly the right time for the moonbow to start!
After all that madness, we did NOT miss the moonbow! Got some cool snaps and headed back to our hotel, where we couldn’t sleep until the adrenaline sent us crashing back down to Earth.
Want to see what a moonbow looks like?
Welcome to Yosemite National Park! Day 1, done. At least on Day 2, there’s no way we could top this madness, right?
Right...?
Chiling Falls with Mr Baby
MEMORY MONDAY - One of my favorite days on RY was the Chiling Waterfalls in Malaysia. We took buses ~1.5 hours outside of Kuala Lumpur and I was lucky enough to sit in front with our driver: 'Mr Baby'.
MEMORY MONDAY - One of my favorite days on Remote Year was the Chiling Waterfalls day trip in Malaysia. We took buses ~an hour and a half outside of Kuala Lumpur and I was lucky enough to sit in the front seat with our driver: 'Mr. Baby'.
I have no idea what his real name was, because he introduced himself to us as Mr Baby. He said all his friends call him that because he has 10 babies.
Mr. Baby lives in a village outside of Kuala Lumpur near a gorgeous area called Perhentian. He said it was common in their village for men to have ~20-25 children! But, "Mr Baby only 10 children. And, only 1 wife, because Mr. Baby is good man." He was quite proud of the fact that while his religion said that he COULD have 4 wives, he only has 1 wife and loves her very much.
Mr. Baby made my day! He is a solid driver, not shy of steppin' on it. And he doesn't like it when other drivers are slow. "See, this driver is sleeping. Mr. Baby don't like this."
And, he thinks "Indian drivers are the worst". Not sure if he realized Abe was in the back seat, but not sure he really cared anyways. He didn't say it mean spirited, just matter of fact like.
The Chiling Falls are located near Selangor Lake, which is a really beautiful cool blue.
We had to trek through the jungle ~1 hour to get to the falls. It was SWELTERING HOT. I was sweating the second we got out of the air conditioned Mr. Baby-mobile. Welcome to Malaysia!
One thing I've learned on Remote Year---I love the jungle / rainforest. I love the outdoors in general, but the jungle has a bit more vibrance than the typical green forests I'm used to. The sounds of crickets and insects are constant. And, there is just a buzzzzzzzz that you can't describe unless you're in it.
In order to get to the Falls, you have to cross the river 4-5 times. Wading through the river was so fun! The main reason is because it was SO HOT and the river was so refreshingly COOOOOOL.
But also, it added a bit of extreme danger to the trek. I had my good camera with me, and one slip would be fatal (to the camera).
I love adventure!
When we finally got to the falls, I was so excited to see that we could swim in them! It was a great reward for the sweltering trek. The water was so cold and refreshing!
When you get into the water you realize you are swimming with MANY fish, and YES, they do nibble at your feet n legs a bit!
And, we could jump off the rocks!
Some of us were a little afraid of takin' that leap, like Heather. :]
But, I was in it to win it! Here's my plunge with the GoPro in hand.
We could even swim UNDER the falls! I will say, being inside a waterfall is not very fun. It's like being in a washing machine or a tropical storm. It takes your breath away and feels a little dangerous. But, our fearless leader TRAVIS is the waterfall KING!
Couple groups shots:
And then we had to trek back.
I think these are termites, not ants.
We made it back!
Thankfully, Mr. Baby stopped at Selangor Lake on the way back and let us snap a few shots of the lake, which was stunning.
Jungle + Waterfalls + Adventure + Camaraderie + Mr. Baby = 1 of my favorite days on RY!
Chasing Croatian Waterfalls - Pt 2
Round 2: Krka National Park. Plitvice was pretty, but I had heard good things about Krka. Krka is literally on the way back from Plitvice, right off the E65. So, I set out and took my time getting down there.
Round 2: Krka National Park. Plitvice was pretty, but I had heard good things about Krka. Krka is literally on the way back from Plitvice, right off the E65. So, I set out and took my time getting down there.
I left Plitvice without eating breakfast so it was serendipitous that I spotted a cheese stand at a cute little farm not far from where I was staying!
They were selling several varietals of cheese---I opted for the smoked cow cheese, 20 Kuna worth. (~$2.90 USD. Not bad!)
Started driving, and takin' hunks off the wedge. But, as delicious as it was, I couldn’t eat that much of it. At least it held me over until I could get to a real lunch spot and get some pizza, aka, more cheese.
Driving down, I had one of those emotional road trip moments, where you realize how beautiful the world is, and you just wish everyone could be with you in the moment to experience it. Croatia is a gorgeous country. I hesitate to compare it to one particular US state, because it feels like a combo of many.
I stopped on the side of the road a couple times. The Croatian countryside was lookin’ fine and I wanted to remember it.
Finally, got to Krka National Parks.
Right outside I saw signs for warthog crossing, and I wondered if I’d run into a bunch of Pumbas? No sight of ‘em---or smell of ‘em though.
Got my ticket to Krka and set out on the path. Another wooden trail, icy blue to emerald green crystal clear water and more small waterfalls EVERYWHERE.
Check out this barista-inspired river froth:
Krka is a bit smaller than Plitvice. Actually, it’s a lot smaller. BUT, pound for pound, it might be better because of the finale. The end of the trail is spectacular, and the end of the Plitvice trail felt a little anti-climactic.
Get this---in the summer, you can actually swim in the final falls area! Not in the fall though.
Did you know that I’m super lucky? I was born on 7-11-77, which is naturally lucky. Sometimes, this luck is dumb. Like when I was taking this video and a fish jumped out of the falls! Check out the 0:35 mark of the video to see a special moment.
This is me, proud of the fish I just caught.
In case you missed it, here is a close up:
One thing I learned in Igauzu Falls --- where there are waterfalls, there are rainbows. You just have to find the angles. Found ‘em.
And, be on the lookout, I was taking photos near this cement wall and realized I was hanging out with many insect friends that look like ladybugs but are not. They are "firebugs". Cuties.
It only took me about an hour to get through the Krka trails. They were gorgeous! Better angles than Plitvice. The sun wasn’t always blaring in the background.
If you ever make it to Croatia, and only have one National Park in you, I’d take in Krka. Plitvice is bigger, and has more variety, but Krka is a tighter package. The colors are stunning.
Next up---chasing waterfalls in Malaysia! Sunday is the day!
Chasing Croatian Waterfalls - Pt 1
Croatia is home to some wicked waterfalls in: Plitviče Lakes National Park, and Krka National Park. I set out on a solo adventure and it was very nostalgic. It’s fall in Croatia and the leaves were changing color. The foliage reminded me of the US...a little...
Croatia is home to some wicked waterfalls in: Plitviče Lakes National Park, and Krka National Park. I set out on a solo adventure and it felt very nostalgic! It’s fall in Croatia and the leaves were changing color. The foliage reminded me of fall in the US (a little bit).
The drive up to Plitvice is ~2.5 hours. I was cruising up the freeway doing 140 (km/hr), and the weather was perfect! I was thinking how easy the trip was going and how happy I was to be on the road again.
Until, the freeway suddenly...just...CLOSED.
Apparently, there were severely high winds and it's not safe to drive on E65 in these conditions. The problem was, my SIM Card was broken and I had no way of looking up directions. I DID have an old-school GPS, but it kept re-routing me onto the freeway.
I drove up to the tollbooth and asked for directions. She rattled off a series of directions in her limited Croatian-English and I barely caught anything except: “You must take the OLD road”.
But how is one to know where the old road is…?
Drove around, back and forth in the middle of the Croatian countryside. And I realized:
1. There are far worse places to get lost than Croatia! I was near some gorgeous lakes, with red and orange trees and big mountains in the background. Croatia is beautiful! I decided to stop and take some pics.
2. It is well past my pizza time. Croatia is near Italy and they are proud of their pizza. I must stop and fill the tank.
Stopping for pizza was helpful, as they tried pointing me in the right direction. But, I still got lost again. Finally stopped at a tollbooth for a second time and asked them to type directions into my phone.
I finally found the old road. Arrived at my AirBnB around 8pm. The trip was supposed to take ~2.5 hours. Instead it took ~7 hours. Oh well, I made it!
Plitvice Lakes National Park is pretty big. It is a series of 16 lakes that are connected by a wooden hiking trail and a series of waterfalls. It’s not the type of thing where you hike for a while to get to the ONE waterfall. There are several different hiking trails with MANY small waterfalls and lakes. I chose the H route, which takes ~4-6 hours to get through. This is the start of the H route---as you can see the lakes are crystal clear!
BTW, Plitvice is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can see why it is protected---it's wondrous.
And, it was a beautiful fall day for a hike.
Unfortunately, I think going in the afternoon was a mistake. It seemed like every awesome waterfall had the sun right behind it, which killed my photography game.
Maybe it would have been better to go in the am? But I had worked until 5am the night before and then woke up around 10ish. (This job is getting in the way of my sightseeing) :] That being said, here are the best of the shots I took:
Plitvice Lakes are gorgeous. It was a breath of fresh air to be in the woods during foliage season, especially after all the urban living the past 8 months. Plitvice is no Iguazu Falls, (the best waterfalls I've ever seen) but it is a beautiful experience!
Next up, in Pt 2 --- Krka National Park! Stay tuned...
Iguazu Falls, aka Paradise
Waterfalls, rainbows and butterflies. EVERYWHERE.
A few weeks back when I was in Buenos Aires, I took a trip to Iguazu Falls, which borders Brazil and Argentina. The trip was nothing short of spectacular. There are anywhere between 150 to 300 waterfalls in Iguazu depending on water levels. It’s paradise.
Waterfalls, rainbows and butterflies. EVERYWHERE. Iguazu Falls.
A few weeks back when I was in Buenos Aires, I took a trip to Iguazu Falls, which borders Brazil and Argentina. The trip was nothing short of spectacular. There are anywhere between 150 to 300 waterfalls in Iguazu depending on water levels. It’s paradise.
Way on the left is Brazil. On the right is the Argentina side which has way more falls.
The first place we went was Devil’s Throat, which features waterfalls over 80 meters high. It was hard to take pics because you got immediately soaked.
Devil's Throat
But, check out these birds at Devil's Throat. Hundreds of birds flocking in and out of the falls.
I’ve never seen so many butterflies in my life (except in an indoor sanctuary). If the weather is hot and humid, they’re everywhere. Check out this one just airing out its wings and putting on a show for me.
Sometimes, the butterflies will land on you if you’re lucky. I was jealous of my friends who had one land on them early in the day. Until, this little lady landed on my shoulder while we were walking to lunch.
No joke, she stayed with me for over an hour -- I even went into 2 lunch spots before deciding on the buffet. Went up 3 times to get food. She stayed on my shoulder.
Finally, when we were eating dessert, she started to crawl on my stomach! Then, she flew away...BUT, sure enough, she came back and landed on my cell phone! I caught the moment on video, below. She stayed there for the remainder of lunch, while I paid for my food, and finally about 2 minutes after I left the restaurant, she flew away. Magical.
It was approximately 90 degrees and ridiculously humid the entire day. It is a sub-tropical climate after all. The highlight of the day, was taking a boat ride INTO THE FALLS. Just like a theme park river rapids ride, everyone gets soaking wet! They literally drove the boat right into the falls, 4 times! It was thrilling and perfectly refreshing after sweating like a beast in the humidity.
Check out this boat, about to drive into the falls!
Iguazu Falls is probably the most beautiful, magical place I’ve ever been to in my life. In addition to the butterflies, we saw monkeys, lizards, spiders, coatis, vultures, toucans, etc. Tropical jungles have the most species of wildlife on Earth.
Here's a video that captures the essence of Iguazu Falls, aka Paradise.