Today, we woke up calmly, had plenty of time and might even get bored, that's for sure! We'd like to do Kings Canyon, but a major road is closed, so we can't get there. We need a backup plan, and we don't have one. So we improvise, and we'll just stick around Kings Canyon.
After getting up and having breakfast, we set off for Hume Lake. It's a lake, but also a youth activity camp. On one side of the lake is a dam, giving rise to a river on the other. We circumnavigate the lake in just over an hour, and decide to settle in for lunch.
After lunch, we get back in the car, not really knowing where to go. From time to time, we stop along the way when we spot interesting viewpoints. At one point, we find a short hike to take. It passes through a forest of cut sequoias. It's interesting because it gives us another perspective on these sequoias. I have fun climbing on the tops of these dead trees, and it's really not that easy, given that the tops can sometimes measure 6-7 meters high and 5 meters in diameter.
This hike passes through fairly open spaces where the grass is perfectly green, so much so that you'd almost think it was fake in photographs. The only thing missing is a bear, but you'd be better off not coming across one!
After this hike, we head back to our accommodation, as there's not much more to do. We're resting because tomorrow will be a bit more tiring with the hikes in Yosemite National Park, which aren't very long but have a lot of elevation changes.
However, even though the others are resting, I decide to go for a run. Two of us go after all, so I'm not alone. I plan a short 10km route, and off we go. The first 6 kms are hell, it's all uphill (350 meters of elevation over those 6kms). Then I notice on my watch that it's showing me a path on the map that isn't there in real life. So we deviate from the route, assuming that we're on the right path and that my watch is wrong.
As we continue on our way, we see a bear, either black or brown - we weren't paying attention at the time - run across the path a few metres ahead of us. It's really scary at the time, and gives us an adrenaline rush that leaves us exhausted. On the one hand, that, but also the fear of running into others. We back off a bit, pick up a wood stick each just in case, and decide to continue on this path even if there are potentially bears, as we can't turn back after descending some 200 meters over 3kms.
In the end, we get lost, we don't have a network or GPS, we don't cross any roads, we even have to pass through pastures surrounded by barbels, and we return 2 hours after setting off, with 18kms on the clock instead of the 10 initially planned...
After that, it's time to rest for good.