Yosemite! Day Two

DAY TWO

I decided to get up early and jet from Crane Flat Campground to Yosemite Valley (half hour drive) to have a hike. I was there by about 8am, so I found parking easily.

It was another beauuuutiful Autumn day, just perfect. Jacket weather in the early morning, quickly giving way to shirt sleeves. Fall is the perfect time to go to Yosemite. Fewer crowds and stunning weather.

I parked across from the Yosemite Falls trailhead and pondered my options. The full 7+ miles and 2700 ft elevation gain? Or three miles there and back to the viewpoint for the falls and "only" 1000 ft gain?

Well duh. I'm plenty out of shape and wanted to also see the Merced grove of sequoias in the afternoon. I'll do a mile and a half up up up. 

It was enough to kick my behind for sure!

Come along!

It was all uphill to the mile mark, where Columbia Rock provided beautiful views and a nice rest.

Shitty pic of a Steller's Jay. Love them guys!

The final reward was half-mile past Columbia Rock. Yosemite Falls! 

It's amazing that water is all one thing but not at all. 

See that spire on the right of the falls? You can see its shadow hitting the cliff behind. It looks like a needle. It's called Lost Arrow Spire, and it's a climbers' haven. 

A fellow hiker pointed out that there was a climber that very minute. I grabbed my binocs, and sure enough!

Several other groups of hikers had stopped there for a rest and a snack, and I passed around my binoculars so they could all be in awe of the moment as well. 

The iPhone couldn't capture it, but there they are, on the left of the spire. Another climber or two are waiting at the top.

Almost to the top!

Made it!

My heart went into palpitations just watching. It takes a different breed of human being to perform such a feat.

It was a gorgeous hike, and though there were more people than I prefer, it wasn't too crowded. I heard a lot of European languages, specifically German; Australian accents; plus quite a few Asian languages. The one person I could've done without, whose pace was about the same as mine so we passed each other several times,  is the one with the music playing from a portable speaker. Why?

Here's a webcam of the falls. But you should go and enjoy the views in person!

After a bite of lunch, I headed back to the Crane Flats area to visit the Merced Grove of sequoias. 

I had just time to do the hike and then head back to camp to rest before dusk and dinner. 

I read the trail description, and it said that the trail was a mile and a half following a dirt road, gradually sloping down to the grove. 

I headed out and trucked along, saying howdy and "thanks" to the fellow sister resister who complemented me on my shirt, and wondered when it was going to slope down.

The road is not sloping down, says I to my brain. They must mean realllllly gradual!

When I reached a mile and a half and no sign of sequoias, I went a little further. Nope. Lots of big beautiful trees, but no massive giants. It was then that I decided to look at the NPS info I had downloaded, which has GPS maps – no cell signal needed – and saw that the trail to the sequoias was over yonder. 

Geez. 

I hoofed it back, but by the time I reached the turn-off I had missed, it was just too late to comfortably finish the hike before it would be getting cool and dusk-y. Risk averse to critters, cold, and dark, I decided to wait til morning.

It was my last planned day in Yosemite, so I got up early. I wanted to complete this hike and get on the road so I could be home before dinnertime. I pulled in to the trailhead parking area. Poppy was the only one there. Yes!

Deja vu. I started off down the road and this time, half-mile in, I didn't make a mistake.

Head left.

See the little sign?

Not right.

Here are a bunch more dumb, inadequate photos of amazing, massive 3000-year-old sequoia trees.

The next generation trying to make a stand

Pinedrops are reminiscent of childhood days in my mountain home

And just a short movie. The sounds of morning in the forest! Mother's song.

Sound up.

Final thoughts.

Yosemite is one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and as I passed so many foreigners who traveled halfway around the globe to be there, I realized how lucky I am to be a short six-hour drive from this marvel.

I was happy to be away and immersed with Mother Nature for a couple days, blissfully unconnected. As I walked the trails, I realized more and more that we are part of nature, not masters of her. We must work harder to be caretakers of our home. Yes, we've harnessed the power of iron, gold, and oil she holds, but we are simply visitors here. The trees suffer for the billions of dollars that they don't need.

Go. Climb.

Yosemite!

(note: I tried a beta feature of Blogger that automatically inserts search links. For what it's worth, most of the links herein are AI generated)

Finally! Camping!

I had planned to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in early September, but a fire ravaged the area and forced the closure of the North Rim for the season. I pivoted and made a reservation in Yosemite, but I was thwarted again when another fire in the Northern Sierras caused heavy smoke to settle in the park and made me reconsider. 

So, I rescheduled Yosemite for early October. The government shutdown threatened my plans again, but the National Parks stayed open, so I packed up Poppy and we headed out! It was an easy but all-day drive to Yosemite, and I got to Crane Flat Campground just before sunset.

DAY ONE

I got up early, knowing that just about every destination in Yosemite is popular and packed, even on weekdays in the Fall. I made a short drive to the trailhead for the Tuolumne Grove of Sequoias.

Even before I arrived to the sequoias, I was awed by the other conifers in the forest. Massive multi-hundreds-of-years-old Douglas firs, white firs, sugar pines, and ponderosa pines were all around!

I love dead and damaged trees, too. 

This guy survived a lightning strike!

I found little critters too.

And then the Sequoias. 

How does one take photos of a sequoia? Not easily, and wholly unsatisfyingly. The sight and thoughts of the story of a 3,000 year old organism gives you pause. It was deeply moving.

For what they're worth, here are my photos. Completely inadequate. You'll just have to go visit a grove to get the full experience!

"Big Red"

There were two fallen sequoias in the grove. Imagine the earthquake when they came down!

This tree was already dead when they cut a tunnel through "Dead Giant" in 1878 to make a tourist attraction. It was big enough for a wagon to get through.

The inside of "Dead Giant"

Graffiti has been around since humans could hold a tool

There's something charming about 19th century graffiti artists using a serif font!

One more look at Big Red.

Pretty dogwood

I found out today that in July, a Bay Area woman (and a swing dancer!) was killed by a falling branch on this paved trail. So tragic. 

After a bit o' lunch in Poppy, I headed next up the road a bit to White Wolf Lodge, where sits a trailhead to Lukens Lake. 

Gorgeous! I passed exactly one person on the trail, which is just how I like it. It was a pleasant walk through the forest. 

 

Douglas squirrel

We each waited for the other to go a different way when we crossed paths. Finally, mama took her two babies in a different direction.

I had to cross a little creek.

Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)

Lukens Lake!

When I was a kid, we loved to take a magnet with us on walks through the woods to collect iron filings. When I spotted some this day, I regretted that I did not have a magnet with me, until I remembered....

I don't recommend this collection method, though. My home charger is still gathering the filings from my watch!!

After my day of hiking, I had a beer at the campground, read, ate some dinner, and went to bed early!

Tomorrow I head to Yosemite Valley!

Go here for Day Two and Two-and-a-half.