Yosemite!

[Russ Chung]

I’m posting this trip report in the off-topic area because there are no four-wheel drive or off-road trails in Yosemite National Park to report on, but I want to show some of the pictures I took on my recent visit there. The National Park Service’s goal is to restore and preserve Yosemite as close as possible to the conditions that existed when only Native Americans lived in the area about two centuries ago. Approximately 95% of Yosemite National Park is designated wilderness; no motorized vehicles are allowed. Over the past ten or fifteen years, conservationists have even proposed banning automobiles entirely from the park and busing the visitors from parking lots located outside the park (run a Google search on “automobiles in Yosemite” for more info on these proposals).

I made the trip to Yosemite while enroute back to Los Angeles after visiting the S.F. Bay Area for Mothers’ Day. Yosemite is approximately a four-hour drive east of the Bay Area, and about a six-hour drive north of Los Angeles. Spring is a popular time to visit the Yosemite Valley because the waterfalls are at maximum flow. This past winter had below normal snowfall but there was still plenty of water in the waterfalls.

There are four entrances to Yosemite National Park; two from the west (Hwy 120 via Manteca and Hwy 140 via Merced), one from the south (Hwy 41 via Fresno), and during the summer months, one from the east (Hwy 120 via Tioga Pass). I entered the park through the Hwy 120 entrance via Manteca, and here is my first view of the Yosemite Valley from Big Oak Flat Road:

[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050651.jpg[/SIZED]

Some of the famous Yosemite Valley landmarks are Bridalveil Falls:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050653.jpg[/SIZED]

El Capitan (I took the bikini top off my Jeep so I could see the waterfalls and granite monoliths more easily):
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050662.jpg[/SIZED]

Upper Yosemite Falls and the Merced River:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050670.jpg[/SIZED]

Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050680.jpg[/SIZED]

Glacier Point Road:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050759.jpg[/SIZED]

Half Dome, Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls from the Glacier Point Road:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050765.jpg[/SIZED]

Half Dome from Glacier Point:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050793.jpg[/SIZED]

Yosemite Valley from Glacier Point:
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Yosemite Valley from Wawona Road:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050829.jpg[/SIZED]

Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050846.jpg[/SIZED]

[Russ Chung]

Hwy 120 over Tioga Pass is closed during the winter. The opening date varies from year to year depending upon the snowpack. The road was just opened to traffic on May 11, so I decided to leave Yosemite via Tioga Pass and return to Los Angeles via the eastern Sierra. This is the view to the southwest looking down Tenaya Canyon toward Half Dome from Olmstead Point on the Tioga Pass road:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050862.jpg[/SIZED]

This is the view to the northeast toward Tenaya Lake from Olmstead Point:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050883.jpg[/SIZED]

Tenaya Lake is above 8,000 feet elevation. A park ranger said that there was ice on the lake a week ago.
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050889.jpg[/SIZED]

Tuolumne Meadow:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050892.jpg[/SIZED]

Lambert Dome:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050905.jpg[/SIZED]

Tioga Pass (elevation 9,945 feet)
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050923.jpg[/SIZED]

Tioga Lake:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050927.jpg[/SIZED]

Ellery Reservoir:
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Mono Lake:
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050956.jpg[/SIZED]
[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050963.jpg[/SIZED]

The eastern Sierras near Independence, CA:
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[SIZED]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b53/UF92134/Yosemite%202007/P1050969.jpg[/SIZED]

[Russ Chung]

If you are planning a visit to Yosemite, you can find information at the Yosemite National Park Website.

The most critical problem is finding a place to stay. There is the Ahwanee Hotel (very expensive), Yosemite Lodge (expensive), Camp Curry (inexpensive), and four campgrounds (three require advance reservations). The Yosemite website has links to the hotel and campground reservation system. Generally, the lodging facilities in the park are booked months in advance. I was lucky and found a tent cabin at Camp Curry with only one week's advance notice.

I knew that I was going to take the Tioga Pass road, so I brought a 5 gallon gas can and filled up my Jeep in Manteca. I topped off at Wawona after visiting the Mariposa Grove, and I had enough gas to reach Bishop. There is no gas available in the Yosemite Valley.

[Black & Tan TJ]

Wow Russ. I really like the look and feel of high elevation. Even w/o trials it still looks and feels like a trial run. You have the touch.

Tom

[KNCJeeper]

Awesome pics man! I want to go there really bad with my ole lady...she has never seen stuff like that!

Have you guys ever seen the video of that guy that jumps off...i think its the el capitan cliff...but he just uses climbing gear...no parachute, no bungee cords...the dude is freaking crazy!!! ill try and find it

[medicmahem]

There is another way into yosemite that is any easy 4x4 trail it uses fire roads and takes you in through Foresta. The name of it is the Old Coulterville Road.As to 4 wheeling in Yosemite, I have done that. I am a paramedic and used to work on the ambulance on the valley floor. We had a 4x4 ambulance for winter time and this one night we took the ambulance to mirror lake over 3 feet of snow. It was awesome. the night was crystal clear with a full moon.

[swbooking]

Awsome! Ive ALWAYS wanted to go to Yosemite. Thanks for the write up Russ. The picture of Upper Yosemite Falls and the Merced River is sweet!

[steelman]

Great trip report Russ! Went there years ago with my wife (we were married 2 days at the time I believe, so almost 13 years ago). As awesome as the pictures are, one HAS to see the valley in person. :thumbs_up :thumbs_up

[maddmike]

great pics, hope you enjoyed the trip. i've been there before and must say that it is definitely spectacular.

[sarah]

Russ, we're heading there next month! Love the pictures! How long did you stay?

Do you have any recommended "must-see's" for a couple of days in the park? We'll be entering from the south.

[nwoods]

If you've never been to Yosemite, and you are coming from the south, take the road towards Glacier point, but stop at the trail head for Sentinel dome. It's a 1.1 mile flat trail up a GREAT granite dome that has the best view in the park short of Cloud's Rest (which is a VERY hard hike). If your appetite is whetted by Sentinel, walk another mile to the west (same trail) and go to Taft Point, which is pretty cool.

Then drive down to the valley floor and take the leisurely stroll to Yosemite falls. Have dinner at the Mountain View resturant in the Yosemite Lodge (not the Awahanee unless you drive a 24k gold Jeep). The photos inside Yosemite Lodge are breathtaking, and few see them, and the food is good too.

When camping, I always like WhiteWolf along the Tioga road. Great for kids, but mind the bears, there are a lot of 'em.

Last couple of years we would stay the weekend in Mammoth, then enter the park on a Monday and hit the first come first serve campsites, and have never had a problem finding a camp site.

Here a bunch of photos from 2004 with my family. We go every year, but the images are largely the same, just bigger kids and fatter me :-)
http://www.woodsfamily.cc/old/West/2...mite/index.htm


View from Sentinel Dome (note, my 3 year old did the hike, it's very easy)


Note: Clouds Rest is the peak behind Half dome in the photo above

[Russ Chung]

Russ, we're heading there next month! Love the pictures! How long did you stay?

Do you have any recommended "must-see's" for a couple of days in the park? We'll be entering from the south.

I only stayed two days--I arrived Monday afternoon and left Wednesday afternoon. I had planned to stay three days, so I could spend one day in the Yosemite Valley, one day in the south part of the park (Mariposa Grove and Glacier Point) and one day in the north part of the park (Hetch Hetchy and Tioga Pass), but I had to leave early to meet a client, so I basically spent a half day in each area and the other half day getting between them. The Yosemite Valley floor is flat and there are several places to rent bicycles if you don't bring your own. There's no parking at the Visitor Center; you have to park at Yosemite Village and walk about 1/3 mile or take the free shuttle bus (or ride a bicycle). You need to get out of your Jeep or car and hike or bike to some of the more scenic sites. Here is a link to info on hiking in Yosemite. The Yosemite Lodge has wi-fi; the web says that they charge for it, but when I asked for a login and password, the clerk gave them to me for free. The Merced River is pretty cold this time of year but your body becomes numb after a few seconds, so you don't notice it as much. Although there aren't any 4WD trails in the park (at least not open to the public), there are plenty of trails in the Stanislaus and Sierra National Forests just outside the park. You might check out the Old Coulterville Road at the west portal of the park that medicmahem mentioned in his post.

[ScrappyDoo]

Great pics!

[steelman]

If you've never been to Yosemite, and you are coming from the south, take the road towards Glacier point, but stop at the trail head for Sentinel dome. It's a 1.1 mile flat trail up a GREAT granite dome that has the best view in the park short of Cloud's Rest (which is a VERY hard hike). If your appetite is whetted by Sentinel, walk another mile to the west (same trail) and go to Taft Point, which is pretty cool.

Then drive down to the valley floor and take the leisurely stroll to Yosemite falls. Have dinner at the Mountain View resturant in the Yosemite Lodge (not the Awahanee unless you drive a 24k gold Jeep). The photos inside Yosemite Lodge are breathtaking, and few see them, and the food is good too.

When camping, I always like WhiteWolf along the Tioga road. Great for kids, but mind the bears, there are a lot of 'em.

Last couple of years we would stay the weekend in Mammoth, then enter the park on a Monday and hit the first come first serve campsites, and have never had a problem finding a camp site.

Here a bunch of photos from 2004 with my family. We go every year, but the images are largely the same, just bigger kids and fatter me :-)
http://www.woodsfamily.cc/old/West/2...mite/index.htm


View from Sentinel Dome (note, my 3 year old did the hike, it's very easy)


Note: Clouds Rest is the peak behind Half dome in the photo above

You're not related to a Johnathan Wood in San Juan Capistrano, are you? You look like you could be his brother!

[Rubigirl]

I lived and worked in the valley in some of my younger days, I loved it there! brought back lots of good memories. it is so beautiful there all year round! I need to get back there for a visit it's been about 15 years now since my last one. thanks for sharing yours!