We began our hike the first day at the famous Soda Springs before continuing along the mainly flat hike along the Tuolumne River. The weather was perfect and our spirits were high as we enjoyed the views of the river at our side, Cathedral Peak in the distance and walked across smooth, glacier-polished granite slabs. Past the twin bridges, we descended past Tuolumne Falls into the Glen Aulin campground, our home for the night. We learned about setting up a bear-proof campsite and quickly got to work-the wilderness ranger who issued us our backcountry permit had warned us about Megatron, the infamous bear that frequents Glen Aulin. We had mixed feelings about Megatron; while we all wanted to see a bear, we weren't sure we wanted to come face to face with one the rangers had named Megatron. We didn't have to worry that night. We enjoyed dinner, had a few more lessons to complete the day, and got cozy in our sleeping bags perched on the granite slabs. It was a perfect starry night, and we all slept well without any invited visitors.

The next morning we packed up and headed out of Glen Aulin in the direction of May Lake. The second day's hike proved to me much more challenging than the first, with the uphill starting first thing in the morning and not giving up until the very end. But you might not have known it from the smiles, joyful conversation and quick pace of the Tenacious Ten! Near the end of the afternoon they even cruised up a high mountain pass to gain spectacular views of Mt. Conness to the North, Mt. Dana to the east, and even Clouds Rest just south of us. With the help of a couple scouting groups, we found our camping spot at Raisin Lake with enough time to relax and even wash off some of the day's dirt from our dusty ankles. That night we watched a spectacular sunset over the lake before spending the evening talking about everything in front of the campfire.