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| Tuolumne Meadows |
While there are many amazing places to visit in the Yosemite National Park, we were constrained by time and human weakness to choose only a few, and those that didn't require a long hike.
There are two waterfalls in the Yosemite Valley that Mark really wanted to get up close to: Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. Granted, they are more spectacular in the spring and early summer than they are at the end of a dry year. Nonetheless, Mark really wanted to make the hike. "It's a short hike," he said. So back to Yosemite Valley we went for our short hike to Vernal and Nevada Falls. It was a half mile walk from the parking lot to the trail head. Later we realized we could have taken a free shuttle, but hindsight is...well, more or less worthless most of the time. The sign said 0.8 miles to the Vernal Falls Bridge, which is at the bottom of Vernal Falls. "We can walk 8/10 of a mile," we said, and off we went. We were treated right away to the sight of a few deer in our path. Then came the up-up-up climb. "Take water," the sign said. "Who needs water for an 8/10 of a mile hike?...in 70 degree weather," we scoffed. And not much would persuade either one of us to walk a half mile back to the car to fetch our water. So on we went.
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| One of our many rests on the trail |
Here's some more hindsight: if I had known that we were, in essence, about to climb 8/10 of a mile of stairs, I would have found a nice seat in the shade and encouraged Mark to enjoy himself while I waited for his hopeful return. But, on we went. In no time at all, my heart rate monitor watch was registering above 110 beats per minute (my normal pulse is between 50 and 60), and there it stayed all the way to the top. We found ourselves sitting down on a stone to rest about every hundred feet or so toward the end, and more than once I considered asking total strangers for a sip of their water. Finally, after about an hour, we came to the bridge, which is a little over half way to the top of Vernal Falls. Nevada Falls is a further two or three miles...up.
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| Can you see the waterfall??? |
Needless to say, the Bridge is as far as we got. We could see the tiny little water fall away in the distance. But, hey, we got in a good cardio walk, so it wasn't a total waste, right? And there was a water fountain.
The sad truth is, most of the beauty of Yosemite is available only to the hiker who is willing to walk and camp for days in the wilderness. I, for one, am thankful for the roads and the automobiles that make it possible for old, out-of-shape city folk (and the disabled) to see at least some of the splendors of places like Yosemite.
Our next day trip was to Tuolomne Meadows (pronounced "too-all-o-mee"). The road to Tuolomne is a slow climb that reaches over 8,000 feet at the Meadow. Along the way is a spot called Olmstead Point. Here you can see giant slabs of granite and boulders scattered across the landscape. Pictures capture only part of what the eye sees and cannot do it justice. I couldn't help wondering how such a place came to be. We continued driving over Tioga Pass, which is a hair short of 10,000 feet, to Tioga Lake, just outside the eastern Park entrance, and then headed back to Tuolomne Meadows for lunch before returning home.
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| Olmstead Point |
We saved Mariposa Grove for last, reasoning that if something happened to cut short our stay, we could see the Sequoias when we get to Hanford, our next stop, if we missed them at Yosemite. But we didn't.
The Mariposa Grove of redwood trees is at the very southern tip of the Park. It was another very long drive. Mark and I managed all our long day-trips by drive-sharing. He drove to and I drove home. This gave us both an equal opportunity for sight-seeing. Some years ago, the Park closed off the Mariposa Grove to individual vehicles and implemented a free shuttle service into the area. So we parked the car and boarded the Sardine Shuttle to see the trees. It's a good thing I wore my hiking shoes, because the only way to see these trees now is by a hiking trail that steers you through the woods in a loop approximately a mile and a half. There was a good uphill climb on this one too, but not nearly as strenuous as the Vernal Falls adventure. We concluded that we probably need to do more hiking to get in shape...and stay in shape...but we probably won't.
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| The "Sardine Shuttle" |
We added Yosemite to our travel plan at the last minute; originally we'd planned to come here next year. It has turned out to be one of our best stops so far in our entire year of travels. We'll likely come back again, but next time it will be in the spring or early summer, when the waterfalls are flowing.
More Pictures...
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| View from Vernal Falls trail |
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| Deer in the Park |
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| Another view from Vernal Falls trail |
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| Going down was easier the climbing up |
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| The high meadows |
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| Tenaya Lake between Olmstead Point and Tuolomne |
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| Another view of Olmstead |
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| "Management Fire" on the way to Tuolumne |
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| The back side of Half Dome, seen from Olmstead Point |
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| Tioga Lake, outside the Park east entrance |
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| Mariposa Grove |
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| Grizzly Giant |
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| Redwood roots |
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| The "Tunnel Tree" |
There are two waterfalls in the Yosemite Valley that Mark really wanted to get up close to: Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. Granted, they are more spectacular in the spring and early summer than they are at the end of a dry year. Nonetheless, Mark really wanted to make the hike. "It's a short hike," he said. So back to Yosemite Valley we went for our short hike to Vernal and Nevada Falls. It was a half mile walk from the parking lot to the trail head. Later we realized we could have taken a free shuttle, but hindsight is...well, more or less worthless most of the time. The sign said 0.8 miles to the Vernal Falls Bridge, which is at the bottom of Vernal Falls. "We can walk 8/10 of a mile," we said, and off we went. We were treated right away to the sight of a few deer in our path. Then came the up-up-up climb. "Take water," the sign said. "Who needs water for an 8/10 of a mile hike?...in 70 degree weather," we scoffed. And not much would persuade either one of us to walk a half mile back to the car to fetch our water. So on we went.
The Mariposa Grove of redwood trees is at the very southern tip of the Park. It was another very long drive. Mark and I managed all our long day-trips by drive-sharing. He drove to and I drove home. This gave us both an equal opportunity for sight-seeing. Some years ago, the Park closed off the Mariposa Grove to individual vehicles and implemented a free shuttle service into the area. So we parked the car and boarded the Sardine Shuttle to see the trees. It's a good thing I wore my hiking shoes, because the only way to see these trees now is by a hiking trail that steers you through the woods in a loop approximately a mile and a half. There was a good uphill climb on this one too, but not nearly as strenuous as the Vernal Falls adventure. We concluded that we probably need to do more hiking to get in shape...and stay in shape...but we probably won't.
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