Yosemite Valley 5-5-15

I was there yesterday.... i went through the Hwy 120 entrance. they are doing construction at the first tunnel. signal lights were there, not sure if they were automatic, or if someone manually did it, but what ever the case, i sat in line for at least 20 mins!! (and there were about 25 cars ahead of me).

it was worth the wait though... it was a perfect day! sunny, mostly blue skies, and the waterfalls were pretty dang good considering the drought. if you want to see them, ya bedder git up there quick, who knows how long it will last.

The Merced River inside the valley surprisingly had more water in it than i expected.

i like to go to Cathedral picnic area and go for a dip in the river there (which i did). freezing cold, but man did it feel good! lol unless there is snow on the ground, i get in... stayed in up to my neck for about 7-8 mins... felt sooooo good. if you have tired or sore muscles the cold just takes it away.

everything was pretty green... i took a few photos.

the 1st one is Valley View, the 2nd one is Upper Yosemite Fall (the clouds at the time were super white, looked almost fake), and the 3rd one is Lower Yosemite Fall (the one with the man in it).

http://forresthickman.com/May4-2015.html

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forrestranger
i like to go to Cathedral picnic area and go for a dip in the river there (which i did). freezing cold, but man did it feel good! lol unless there is snow on the ground, i get in... stayed in up to my neck for about 7-8 mins... felt sooooo good. if you have tired or sore muscles the cold just takes it away

I've met very few who like to do this!!! Good on you!!! I agree the cold water works wonders! I have figured out how far I can take full body soaks/swims based on what activity I expect to do after soaking. Sadly on backpacking trips at the end of a day, not as much as I'd like because I have to be able to warm back up again without too much effort.

For foot only treatment I want the water as cold as possible. Liquid ice is awesome.

On car camping trips, midday soaks on hot days... I'll stay in a long time until I'm pretty darned shivery. I try to keep treading water to keep my core warm as long as possible. When my skin starts to feel like it's on fire, I know I've pushed as far as I should take it. Then I walk to warm up again, but the body feels sooo good!!

Note: I only get this cold in very controlled circumstances, with lots of warm up options.

Last Saturday looked out at Wapama Falls in the distance and was also surprised at the respectable amount of water coming down. Suspect it is from thunderstorm runoff as crest areas have been rather active over the last couple weeks and without a snowpack form rain to soak into, it quickly drains into streams. There was even water draining off the slabs just east of the Mather entrance station with signs of stronger water flow this last week.

I too am one to get into cold water most days while backpacking and for years have explained at length on web boards how to do so. Also Saturday about 5pm drove down to the Tuolumne River crossing on the Cherry Valley Road where yes I too got into the river to feel refreshed after a day rambling about Rim Fire areas photographing wildflowers. See lower down on this feature page:

http://www.davidsenesac.com/Spring_2015/spring_2015-5.html

The trick to getting in cold water is NOT to stay in

"7-8 mins... felt sooooo good."

but rather 7 to 8 SECONDS. (:

Yes it only takes a momentary full dunking emersing dip to wash off most of what anyone wants to get rid of. Forget the 10 minute shower with soap and all as one will be quite satisfied with a quickee. Well it is cold of course. Ever walk into the Pacific Ocean in Northern California? Yep that usually low 50F degree water in summertime? Well what usually happens is at first step in to shin height although the cold is quite noticeable, it isn't until it reaches down into those leg and foot bones then compresses blood and fluids within, that one gets the real effect making one suddenly feel like toppling over. Thus the trick is to jump in and out so quickly that the cold doesn't reach bones or core torso areas so that upon leaping out, one's now chilly surface areas conduct the remaining inner heat back out to surface. Like as the old saying goes, don't become "chilled to the bone".

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http://www.davidsenesac.com



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/2015 10:44PM by DavidSenesac.

I'm just the opposite in my approach to cold water, it seems.

I wait for my feet to adjust, then continue walking in and let myself adjust a few more minutes at waist level. Then I go under. And by then hopefully deep enough to tread water. Do that for 20-30 minutes. Again, if I know I have time/conditions to warm back up.

Minimum soak is generally 10 minutes. If I can't tread water and have to lie down or sit in flowing water (wedged in safely), max time is around 10 minutes too. Torso can do 5-10 without treading... Depending on how cold. If warm, can go longer.

Last weekend, I had to accelerate my soak because it was late... Sigh... So once the feet were happy, I dove in. Only a few minutes treading... Sigh... But we'd had a good day..and David is right, even such a short soak is refreshing!

(I grew up playing in ocean in Santa Cruz area. And Lake Tahoe/Fallen Leaf Lake. Cold water seems normal!)

i thought i could take just about any cold water, i've been in the Merced when it was super cold, been in Tahoe when it was super cold, so i thought i was pretty much a stud when it came to getting into cold water... but... one time i went to Utah to Strawberry Lake with some family. my son in law had a boat and he was taking us for a ride to see everything. it was a hot summer day... i was so hot, that me and his 22 yr old brother decided it was time to cool off. my son in law warned us that it was colder than cold... i reminded him that i've been in cold waters before, he said "yeah, but nothing like this"... i didn't believe him for nothing.... so me and his brother dove off the boat at the same exact time.. we came up SCREAMING like little girls! lolol it was sooooooo cold, my muscles immediately started to cramp up... his brother had way less fat on his body than me, so he was in worse condition.. he was actually afraid of not making it to the boat... i helped him, then got out myself... we were both shocked at how cold it was! i have never experienced that before... it looked like a nice / typically / go water skiing kind of a lake. lol live and learn.

My thinking is that the temperature gradient really hurt you on that one...

I've soaked my feet and legs in water that still had ice (lots) over and IN it. Fresh melt. That's why I take it slow on getting in, so my body adjusts to the temperature.

Hell I've taken a number of ice baths at home where I soak to the waist in ice water. 20+ pounds of ice in cold water. Ice never melts away completely. But I take my time getting in. Feet first for a minute or two, then sit. It hurts. I make noise, sure.

I want to throw up. Sure. But that usually passes after the first two minutes. Usually. Outdoors in lakes/rivers, breathing can become difficult the higher the water goes on my torso. I don't go under until I feel I've controlled the breathing.

I've cramped up diving into cold water in the past. That's why I don't dive into cold water. I, personally, can handle really cold if I ease my way in...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2015 06:04PM by JustKeepWalking.