Standing against the backdrop of the majestic California Sierras, Yosemite Gateway Chalet is a spectacular home base for local adventures in June Lake, Yosemite National Park and Mammoth country. It’s a helluva joint. But then, so is my left hip!

After spending each day following in the footsteps of John Muir, exploring the winding trails of Yosemite and the hidden, but breathtaking beauty of the woods around the Chalet, my hip was aching something fierce. For every photograph I’d taken to capture the fading summer, for every next step I’d taken around the next corner in a trail, there seemingly was a matching throb emanating from the top of my leg!

By the end of the day, it was putting a real damper on my enjoyment of the amazing fall in June Lake—where trees turn scarlet, and the sunsets keep pace with their electric orange and purple.

It was like a metronome…. Click went my lens. Whump went my hip…. For every snapshot, an echo of pain, my hip getting stiffer and stiffer as the day went on.

On the other hand… hydrotherapy!

The outdoor hot tub at Yosemite Gateway Chalet is a thing of beauty! Slipping into the rejuvenating heat (with a fine single malt in-hand!) was like turning the mileage back on my tired body! Ten minutes of heat was like a quart of fresh oil!

Maybe a throbbing hip is a small price to pay for feeling so rich with the beauty of this place, and so wealthy at being able to experience fall in the Sierras, with my wife and our friends.

After sitting in the tub watching the sun drop down behind the mountains once more, I knew I’d be ready to wake up and do it all over again in the morning!