Recent developments—namely, my computer refusing to accept either keyboard or touchpad input, have kept me from updating for quite a while. Granted, I didn't go as hardcore as Roger and remotely change the permissions to my ftp account, but it is sort of a pain and a time-sucker. The latter is a pretty precious commodity these days, and the problem is only compounded by this Intro to Wilderness Skills class. In a spectacular way, of course.

We left this past Friday night for the four-hour drive to Yosemite and camped a bit off the edge of the road for the night, then woke up bright and early and freezing in the morning to drive the last thirty or so miles to the end of the road. Well, it wasn't technically the end, but it was as far as was plowed during the wintertime. Beyond the impromptu parking area, three feet of packed through slightly icy snow beckoned. Without much of an itinerary than to ski out, camp overnight, and ski back, we set out at a steady pace for the first few miles, accelerating along the way as more and more of us got increasingly comfortable with cross-country skis. Even after what pretty much amounts to two whole days' worth of skiing, I'm still not very good. I was constantly using my poles to keep me from sliding backwards on those slightly icy uphills. But it was so much fun, and the rush of a sweet downhill was exponentiated by the fact that I earned that downhill, dammit!

After a little more than three miles along Glacier Point road, we spied a huge meadow in which to camp. We skiied in, set up the tents, dug a nifty shelf along a bank to serve as combination snow kitchen/seating area that night, and then skiied out some more onto a side trail and back. We were in camp a good hour before sunset, but it took forever to make dinner. That entailed priming and lighting the stoves and waiting for the snow to melt and boil so that we could cook the beans and rice for burritoes. And waiting and waiting and waiting. When it's about fifteen degrees Farenheit and your socks are wet from having skiied all day and your boots aren't insulated and you're standing outdoors without moving for about an hour, you get kinda cold. I was kinda cold. We were kinda cold, and going slightly insane from the cold. Well, not really, but we played lots of insane and raucous games to try to stay moving and warm.

That dinner was good. Having taken a lesson from the warm but, admittedly, awfully bland burritoes of Assateague, the other "food dude" (AlliO) and I got not only spiced refried beans, but two packets of salsa mix, bell peppers, onions, and garlic to mix in. Yummy. Whole Foods, I think, is my new favorite store for its bulk goods section (dry soup mixes galore) and its location (five minutes down Embarcadero). Yay!

Back to fiddling with computer. Someday I'll fill y'all in on the Branner hilarity that has happened in the interim.