Tuolumne Meadows and the Whoa Nellie Deli - Mile 948.4 - 7/14

I woke up with a dream of the Whoa Nellie Deli fresh in my mind. For hundreds if miles I have been hyping up this place for a specific reason. When I was in Big Bear, Ca oh so long ago, a man named Jim gave Spins and I a ride back to the trail in his 8-wheeled search and rescue vehicle. Well Jim told us to promise him two things: one being to call if we need help near Big Bear and two to go to the Whoa Nellie Deli near Tuolumne because the food is awesome for being inside a Mobile Gas station.

We held to our promise and when we got to Tuolumne Meadows we hitched a ride from an Italian couple visiting the states 19 miles east on route 120 to the Mobile Gas station. There was a short order restaurant inside the place and I got the fish tacos which was suggested to me by a wonderful couple I met in Tuolumne Meadows who graciously gave us fruit and string cheese right before we started hitching to the deli. Now the menu was mostly meat and fish dishes but they were all sorts of expensive and rare items like wild buffalo meatloaf and ahi sashimi. The food came with a decent pricetag as well but the novelty of the food in it's location was satisfying enough for me. I got a few extra items from the gas station for my resupply and it a hitch back to the trail immediately.

The Tuolumne Meadows area was in the heart of Yosemite National Park and it was swarmed with touristy types. I didn't have the heart to go down into the valley near Half Dome, I heard it was like Disneyland in the woods. That kind of tourist trap made me shutter on the inside. We passes Lembert Dome when getting back on the PCT and it was a cool sight. Trucking on towards camp was a scenic hike with waterfalls and these massive dome mountain formations of rock that Yosemite is known for. I am really enjoying the scenery in this section so far and the mosquitoes that are supposed to be plaguing me seem to be nonexistent. Arriving at Glen Aulin camp was an interesting experience as well. There were tent/huts for dayhikers , what looked to be park benches everywhere, and hoards of people. Now this is one of the only campsites for miles and my guidebook said it's bear infested so I was excited to see that interaction play out at night. We ran into Typo, Hotwing, ED and the Michigan Wolverine as well as multiple other hikers we know and had an awesome campfire and hung out till late; my favorite way to end the day. No bears that night though, a shame really, I was hoping to see the panic and fear of everyone when the bears came in to knock around some bear canisters. Better luck next time!