TCT #39 -- "Campfire Stories"

Dave and Ilyssa Kyu saw a need and filled it.  They were new to camping and didn't have a repertoire of stories to tell around the camp fire.  Wanting more than ghost stories and fairy tales, they started looking for tales and accounts that captured the flavor of the area they were visiting.  As researchers, they knew they had to narrow their scope.  They settled on 41 stories, poems, songs, and excerpts from and about six national parks.  Stash this book in your gear and bring it along for evening entertainment on your next camping trip.  Or use it for reference for ideas on where to spend your next vacation.  Or keep it at hand for when you need a dose of lyrical literature -- there are pieces by Terry Tempest Williams and John Muir, always inspiring!

I interviewed Dave and Ilyssa at the end of December, and the conversation is the bulk of this month's radio show.  They revealed that there will be a "Campfire Stories, Volume II," and that they're seeking submissions.  You, talented Trail Head, might find your scribblings included, if you dare!

Setting out on the Merced Grove trail

This month's recommended outings:  Go snowshoeing!  Yosemite National Park's Crane Flat Winter Trails offer a variety of outings from easy snow play to snowshoeing and cross country skiing tracks with a wide range of challenge from "easiest" to "most difficult."  On Super Bowl Sunday we went snowshoeing at the Merced Grove (Giant Sequoias -- 3 miles round trip with a 500' elevation change, "most difficult") and Rockefeller Grove (Rim Fire Burn Area -- 4.5 miles round trip, "easiest").  For an easy outing, take either or both trails to the point where the grade starts; for a medium trip, do the full Rockefeller Grove trail; for a challenging trek, do both trails.  Don't forget -- Yosemite's daily reservation system started up again on 2/8/21; be sure to have your daily reservation before heading to the park!

Ann, Rick, & Jeanette

Robert & Gary at the
Merced Grove of Giant Sequoias

 

Sheri, Gary & Robert on the
Rockefeller Grove trail

The Three Chimneys from a viewpoint
just off the Rockefeller Grove trail

Listen to February 2021's Tuolumne County Trailhead radio show, TCT #39 -- Campfire Stories, here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CgioLGYZKHK9iviBEpRLsC9sAVfeNYF4/view?usp=sharing

Here's a link to Dave & Ilyssa's "Campfire Stories" website:  https://www.campfirestoriesbook.com/  Details about writing submissions are under the "On The Road" menu heading.

Here's a link to Yosemite National Park's "Crane Flat Winter Trails" brochure:  https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/cflat-winter.pdf