Yosemite National Park

August 15th-17th

"It is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter",  John Muir said  of Yosemite.  We would agree.  Yosemite was as amazing and awe-inspiring on this, our second visit, as it was the very first time we were here.  Its granite cliffs, waterfalls, and beautiful meadows are spectacular.  Our experience here would be a little different this time, as we had very happily accepted an invitation from Kate and Tim to spend a couple of days with them in their camper inside the park.

We arrived mid-afternoon from Merced, about an hour after Tim and Kate arrived, so they had camp all set up.  The drive up was interesting- twisty, windy roads, up and down mountains, a little nerve-racking in places.  This was another good reminder of how isolated many of these parks are, and how difficult it can be to get to them.

The campsite was a challenge- not a level spot to be seen, so they had to jack up the front of the RV to try to level it, not fully successfully.  There was quite a list, with the front of the vehicle downhill from the rear.  We got settled in, then decided to go to another campground to see if there was any availability.  It was very near to Glacier Point, so following a visit to the campground (unsuccessful), we drove on up.

Dale describes Glacier Point as the closest to heaven you can be on earth.  The view is of the Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, with the Sierra Nevada's spreading out before you.  The sun was getting low on the horizon, so the shadows and colors were wonderful.  You could see the Nevada and Vernal Falls flowing pretty well, surprising given the drought.  The valley was created by glaciers, which rose up higher than glacier point, thousands of feet deep.  You can still see the scrapes and scratches created by rocks being dragged by the glacier over the granite walls.   We spent an hour or so taking photos and enjoying the view before heading down to camp, stopping briefly in the valley on the way to take some shots of El Capitan.  This park is huge- about the size of Rhode Island- so getting from point A to point B can take some time.  We arrived back at camp at dark, enjoyed a great pork dinner on the grill, followed by that camper staple, Somoas (no idea how to spell that, but they were good!)

Next morning, after enjoying blueberry pancakes, we headed up Tioga Rd. Again, our purpose was two-fold- Dale and I had never been to this northern section of the park known as Tuolomne Meadows, so we wanted to visit that area.  There was another campground nearby, so again checked to see if they could move.  Unfortunately, nothing for several days.  We decided to go to the Visitor Center next, checking out some short hikes in the vicinity, and chose a hike up Lembert Dome, about 3 miles round trip.  While in the Center, I realized that this park also  has white bark pine trees and wondered if they also had Clark's Nutcrackers ( see Crater Lake).  We spoke to a ranger named Eric Smith who was VERY knowledgeable on this subject.  In fact, he had given a ranger talk on that very topic the night before.  It was wonderful to talk to him, he was so excited and obviously loved talking about it.  I think he was thrilled to have someone ask him.  Bottom line- yes, this park also has Clark's Nutcrackers.  Every white bark pine in Yosemite has been carefully planted by the nutcracker!  Fortunately, they are not having quite as much problem with the trees dying as they are at Crater Lake.

The hike up Lembert Dome was pretty challenging the first 3/4 mile, then got a little easier.  By the time we reached the dome- a wide-open, granite outcropping shaped as a dome- we could hear thunder in the distance and the wind was picking up.  Folks coming down said they had seen lightning in the distance.  We took a quick run up to the flat area to see the view, while Tim attempted to climb up the curved part of the dome.  Scary!  Coming back down the trail, we all donned yellow ponchos as the rain started to come down.  Not hard, just enough to get you wet.  Suddenly, we noticed the rain was making more noise- very first time we had ever hiked in hail!  The hail was quite small, thank goodness, as even the little ones hurt if they hit bare skin, and it went on for 15 minutes or so.  By the time we reached the car, it was just raining lightly.

We started the drive back to the camp, stopping at several areas to enjoy the views.  It was getting later and, with the dark clouds and mixed sunlight, the light on the cliffs in some areas was spectacular.  The lighting really emphasized the marks of the old glacier on the granite walls.  We stopped at one point to watch three rock-climbers coming down a steep cliff.   Better them than me!  Tenaya Lake was another good stopping point.  The lake is an alpine lake, much loved by visitors, and is just beautiful.  As always, there is conflict between using the lake and preserving it-a delicate balance that the park is trying to address.   Tim and Kate hope to canoe there.

Cathedral Dome

El Capitan at Sunset

El Capitan, Half Dome in the background

Glacial Scars

Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels

Green Live Oak, Golden Grass

Half Dome from Glacier Point

Light on Granite

Mule Train- packing for hikers

Nevada and Vernal Falls

Rock-climber on Cathedral

Sierra Nevada's

Stellar's Jay (slightly blurry)- pretty, but known as a pest

Light on Cliffs

Sunset at Tuolomne Meadow

Kate and Tim at Glacier Point

Lembert Dome

Unlikely survivor

View from Lembert Dome

Tenaya Lake

Weather coming- Lembert Dome

We arrived back at camp in time to enjoy the evening sunlight and Tim's great chicken on the grill.  Bedtime came early that night.  Friday morning, Dale and I got ready to drive south.  Tim was still scrambling to find another campsite, as the front of the RV had settled further down, and they were having trouble keeping the refrigerator running.  We got out of their way, and headed south to Bakersfield, on route to Joshua Tree National Park.