We got to Yosemite National Park early in the morning to get in line for a campsite. It wasn’t the best planning that we ended up at one of the most visited parks on the weekend. After a game of cribbage in the car, we ended up with a beautiful and very private site at the Crane Flat Campground.
Looking at the map, we headed north to the Hetch-Hetchy Reservoir. This was the controversial lake created in the early twentieth century to provide water for San Francisco.
We enjoyed the granite cliffs as we hiked towards Wapama Falls. The trail was deserted and the scenery was stunning. John Muir said that the scenery there rivaled the beauty of Yosemite Valley itself!
After a picnic, we headed south, through the construction and into Wawona to board the shuttle into the Mariposa Grove. We hiked through the giant trees, and snapped pictures along the way. The trees were still impressive, even after being at Sequoia National Park.
Heading north, we took the spur to Glacier Point for a sixteen-mile windy road that ended with a panoramic view of Yosemite Valley. The area has been a popular tourist destination since the parks’ creation and was even the area in which Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir camped together.
Our next stop of the evening was at another overlook of the valley, just after the tunnel.
Our last stop was at Bridalveil Fall for a quick hike. Tired, we snapped a few pictures and headed back to our campsite. It didn’t take us long to fall asleep.
Day 2: Yosemite Valley
We decided to try to see some of the valley first thing in the morning, before the crowds descended. We arrived around 7:30 and had no problem finding a parking spot. That wouldn’t be the case for most of the drivers arriving later in the day.
Our first hike was to Vernal Falls. It was a steep trail, that only got steeper as we got closer to the falls. The mist from the falling water was refreshing when we got close; it also created a distinct and clear rainbow at the base. When we reached the top, we took a break and ate some trail mix while chasing corpulent squirrels away...
We followed the path a bit further towards Emerald Pool and a bridge that viewed Nevada Falls. Not wanting to ascend another thousand feet in elevation, we fought traffic on the way back down the trail.
After lunch at the Taqueria, we walked to Mirror Lake, which has receded to only a few pools at this point in the year. However, the view looking directly up at half-dome was impressive!
Since we were both hot in the mid-afternoon sun, we took the shuttle to the visitor center and watched the movie: “The Spirit of Yosemite.” The film was well done, but they amplified the sound of the rushing spring waterfalls so much that most of the audience was deaf and had to read the subtitles. Luckily, we had the foresight to plug our ears.
We followed the path from the Visitor Center to lower Yosemite Falls. The falls came from half-way down the huge granite wall. There were crowds wading and swimming in the pools below.
Our last stop in the valley was dinner (pasta) and we headed back to our great campsite for the night.
Day 3: Tuolumne Meadows & Tioga Pass:
We awoke early and cold on our last morning at Yosemite. We made some oatmeal for breakfast and headed towards the eastern entrance of the park. This road took us through much of Yosemite's beautiful high-country. We stopped at many of the overlooks along the road:
One of our last views was of Tuolmne Meadows, which seems like a backpacker destination based on the number of parked cars along the road. We stopped just in time to watch a deer and two fawns trot across the meadow.
Tioga pass led us through a view of polished granite and glacial debris as we headed out of the park.
Our next stop is Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California.
No comments:
Post a Comment