A Day in Yosemite (is not enough!) Part I

Monday, October 24, we put on our woolies, stopped and had breakfast at Nicely's in Lee Vining and got an early start for Highway 120 and Tioga Pass into Yosemite. We hadn't gotten very far onto 120 when we were stopped by a CalTrans worker who told us that the Pass was closed until the snow that had accumulated overnight could be cleared; he predicted a couple hours wait. Well, undeterred, we decided to pull down a side road pointing to Big Bend Campground, part of the Inyo National Forest, 12 miles from the Park entrance. Had a walkabout a mile or so down that road and took a few photos, setting a precedent of clicking at every turn!

East side of Highway 120 starting up. The road was wet and it appeared to be snowing in the peaks ahead. This is just before we came up on the CalTrans crew.

(Just an aside, this is photo #99 - that I edited - for our trip to this point! No wonder this trip is turning into chapters!)

Although it was chilly and the wind was up a bit, we got out and pointed our phone cameras every which way to take in the colorful beauty all around. We spent about an half hour down on this road clicking and foraging and gaping.

Looking west; possibly Tioga Peak.

Looking autumnal (hair blowing up).

The quaking aspen and cottonwood still had gorgeous yellow leaves clinging, making for a wonderful foreground to the dark evergreen and snow-capped peaks in the distance.

Looking southwest; possibly Mount Dana

The Ponderosa pines are loaded this year, evidence of a good water year.

Clare retrieving souvenirs.

Just one more photo from the Big Bend Campground road.

It was beginning to clear to the west.

We drove back up to the highway and saw that the CalTrans trucks were gone and the traffic cones set to the side of the road; we made the assumption that it was clear over the Pass and started up. I had a hard time keeping quiet and not making Clare stop the car for a photo opportunity every five minutes . . . here are a few shots taken from the window.

Again, possibly Tioga Peak (the snow-covered peak).

The wind drifting the snow on these high, rocky peaks. 

Sheer granite cliff right off the roadside.

We did stop at a turnout near Ellery Lake, a manmade lake just a little ways from the Yosemite Park Entrance in the Inyo National Forest. 

Ellery Lake looking east; possibly back side of Tioga Peak.

We had started our journey at 8:30 a.m. and reached the Tioga Pass Entrance (east side of Yosemite National Park) at about 9:30. With our Senior Pass (there are benefits to being blue-hairs!), we collected our map and Yosemite Guide, October 5, 2016 to December 6, 2016 edition and passed through to the greatness that makes this this most-visited park in the United States.

The roadway as it looked just west of the entrance.

It took about an hour and a half to go over the Pass, with just a couple stops for photos, before reaching the junction of Tioga Road with Big Oak Flat Road which would take us into Yosemite Valley. One stop we made was in Tuolumne Meadows, a beautiful open valley where the Tuolumne River and its tributaries meander through; it is ringed all 'round by amazing peaks such as Lembert Dome, Mammoth Peak, Unicorn Peak, Cathedral Peak, Fairview and Medicroft Domes, and Pothole Dome. It is difficult to know which peaks/domes we saw as we turned 360 degrees; it was all spectacular.

Possibly Lembert Dome.

The Meadows.

Rango getting a drink from one of the tributaries.

A fabulous place to contemplate.

Possibly Ragged Peak way in the background.

The amazing immensity of it all.

We would stop at Tenaya Lake on the way back. We stopped at Olmstead Point (named after landscape architects Frederick Law Olmstead and Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr. - a very interesting story) and I was able to capture a couple photos of the north side of Half Dome and Cloud's Rest. The wind made it a struggle to hold the phone still and so we decided that, if on the way back it was less windy, we'd stop there again.

Zoomed in to show Half Dome.

Half Dome in the center and Cloud's Rest to the left.

The trailhead at Olmstead Point is at 8,300 feet elevation, down from the 9,945 foot elevation at the Tioga Pass Entrance. All along the rest of the Tioga Road were roadside falls, towering pines, granite cliffs, and glimpses of Snow Creek, Yosemite Creek, Siesta Lake, and the South Fork of the Tuolumne River. Once we got to the junction of Big Oak Flat Road into Yosemite Valley, the temperature had increased to a pleasant 50-ish degrees, the skies were clearing to a bright sapphire blue, and the winds had calmed. The elevation at the junction, Crane Flat, is 6,200 feet, which explains why more moderate conditions were present. Down at this elevation, the quaking aspen and dogwood were in full autumn color and now we began seeing groves of the magnificent Sequoia redwood trees too. 

We traversed Yosemite Valley for about two hours stopping many times up to the visitor center and back. This part of our day, I think, deserves yet another post in order to do it justice! 

Stay tuned . . .