Yosemite
“But no temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life.”
John Muir
(Above) Yosemite’s famous “Tunnel View”- El Capitan is on the left, Half Dome in the middle, and Bridalveil Fall on the right.
Rich and I had not been to Yosemite in close to thirty years and so we decided it was high time that we get back there for a visit. We were not disappointed in finding that it was as majestic as we remembered it- the scale and grandeur, the beautiful meadows, the lush pine forests, the roaring waterfalls and gigantic granite cliff faces left us awestruck! Early to mid May is a fantastic time to visit Yosemite, because the water flow is at its peak, the weather is not too cold and the crowds are not too crazy, since high season starts later in May.
We entered the park from the South Entrance since we were RV camping just 5 miles in from the entrance, at Wawona Campground. Also just inside the entrance is the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, so that was our first stop. We hiked about six miles and saw deer and awe-inspiring giant sequoia trees, the most massive (not the tallest) tree species in the world.
(Left) This tree was tunneled in 1895 (for tourism reasons). If you look closely, you can see evidence of it healing itself- bark growing inward in an attempt to close over its wound. (Right) To give an idea of the enormity of these trees, here is Rich standing next to the roots of a downed giant.
Below is what is known as “The Grizzly Giant”. Standing at a solid 209 feet, it is 28 ft in diameter and it weighs roughly 2 million pounds. Based on its diameter in comparison with other trees, researchers estimate that it could be around 2500 years old. The largest branch (the 90 degree on the right) is more than 6 feet in diameter! Notice the people at the bottom of the photo for scale; the family was having their holiday card photo taken in that spot.
After a long drive (6 & 1/2 hours) and a good hike, we cooked a taco dinner early and retired in our RV with the windows wide open to the sounds of the Merced River rushing right next to our campsite.
On our second day in Yosemite, we did a hike that was recommended by our good friends John & Danielle. Here’s Rich to describe the incredible hike up the Mist Trail:
With another strong year of snowfall in the Sierra, the falls were robust, and could often be heard before being within sight. The ascent to Vernal Fall was rapid and the busiest (traffic-wise) hike of our return visit to Yosemite- for the first time since Tara turned one, when we last visited along with our dear friends the Tygrets. As we ascended into the “mist” (more like a deluge), water was flowing down the granite steps over our hiking boots. It was quite a sight to see the roaring falls up close, with a double rainbow spewing through the mist. Before long we were drying out in the sun on boulders above the fall. Unfortunately the elevator back to the valley floor was under repair, so we continued up towards Nevada Fall, returning to the valley floor via the John Muir Trail which was beautiful in its own right.
On Day 3, we stayed out of the busy valley since it was still the weekend and instead rode our bikes on Glacier Point Road, which remains closed for the winter (until late May). It was a steady uphill climb the whole way out and we did not make it to Glacier Point itself, because we would have had to go ten more miles and we only had our “clunker” bikes with us. Those clunker bikes were perfect for getting us around the valley though! We climbed well into the snow and picnicked on our packed lunches on a rock overlooking the stunning valley. It was quite fun to have the whole road to ourselves and the ride back was a joyful little-to-no-effort downhill cruise!
(Right) Our lunch view- on a sign nearby, it said that on a clear day you can see across the Central Valley to the coast range above Santa Cruz- over 190 miles!
The ride wiped us out enough to want to just return to our campsite, make our dinner and chill by the fire with s’mores (thanks Jana & Pete for the supplies!) We were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis, but never did. We were, however, able to do some fantastic stargazing due to Yosemite’s dark night sky.
On day 4 we went back into the valley. After a hardy RV breakfast, we went for a strenuous hike up to Yosemite Falls. On the way up we were afforded sweeping views of the Valley and the majestic Half Dome rock formation.
As you ascend on the trail, you start to hear the waterfall. The closer you get, the louder it gets of course, and then suddenly you are close enough to hear the roar of the massive volume of water flowing down. Yosemite Fall is the tallest fall in all of North America and is made up of three separate drops- Upper Yosemite Fall (1,430 feet), Middle Cascades (675 feet) and Lower Yosemite Fall (320 feet). On this hike we were getting up close and personal with Upper. It’s a seasonal waterfall and we were seeing it at its peak of shedding snowpack.
Also on this hike we had the good fortune to see a mama brown bear and her cub. First time for me! Luckily I had hiked with my Canon SLR camera and one of my longer lenses on this trail and so I got some decent shots. Videos are courtesy of Rich.
We followed our waterfall hike with a visit to Pizza Deck in Curry Village and then a bike trek in the rain to Mirror Lake. At Mirror Lake, we ended up being the only ones there (!) when we were graced with the stunning reflection view of the rock formations in the oh-so-still lake.
As we were getting ready to mount our bikes and take leave of Mirror Lake, Rich happen to notice that one of the rocks in the Half Dome formation had a distinctive gold color to it. We remarked to each other that we didn’t notice that gold patch when we first looked up at the rock. Then, as we stayed astride our bikes and kept looking up, we saw that we were witnessing a stunning transformation- the rays of the setting sun hitting the massive rock. It gave it an entire different look! Needless to say, we got off our bikes and stayed a bit longer to bask in the glory.
We ended our evening before retiring to our RV campsite with a visit to the meadow to see this gorgeous reflection view of the waterfall after a rain.
On our last morning in Yosemite, before heading out on our drive, we decided to pull over to the meadow with a great view of El Capitan. We made some coffee in the RV and took our coffees, camp chairs and my long lens camera to see if we could spot any climbers on El Cap. At first, we didn’t see any, but then the climbers were pointed out to us by an observing climber who was there to support his team that was up on the rock. He spent a good hour with us explaining the ins and out of climbing and even retrieving his gear bag from his van so he could show us the various rigs they use. It was fascinating!
To top off our morning of learning about mountain climbing, we stopped in the town of Mariposa at the Yosemite Climbing Museum (after a stunning drive right along the Merced River for 30 miles). There, we chatted with the docent and perused their amazing collection of vintage climbing photos, tools and gear. When we got home, we watched a movie that the docent recommended called “Valley Uprising,” an extensive documentary on the evolution of the Yosemite climbing community, which we highly recommend to whomever might be interested in the subject of mountain climbing. If you got this far in the blog, send me a message that says CLIMB! I’ll be writing to you soon, from our next destination TBD.
