After leaving Lassen Volcanic National Park we stopped at Little Bear RV Park (half way between Lassen and Lake Tahoe) to do chores (09Sep). The next day we drove through Lake Tahoe stopping for a short hike up to Eagle Rock for some great views of the lake before driving south of the lake to Toiyabe National Forest to camp for the night (10Sep). The next day (11Sep) we drove part way to Yosemite stopping at Upper Virginia Falls Campground (a free National Forest campground) about an hour outside the east entrance of Yosemite.
Before heading into Yosemite on Tuesday (12Sep) we stopped at Mono Lake to check out the Tufa’s. These were really cool limestone deposit created by the salt water Mono Lake. We also got to see a ton of mitigating birds while there. After we headed into the park along Tioga Pass Road. We drove to Tuolumne Meadows and discussed must sees with a helpful park ranger (we try to do this in most parks) before hiking short Soda Spring Trail. This had great views of the meadows and took us by a natural spring. We had some issues finding a campsite that evening but eventually got one in Inyo National Forest at Moraine Campground. We also met some climbers on holiday from Switzerland at camp.
Wednesday (13Sep) we drove back to Tuolumne Meadows area to hike part of the Lvyell Canyon Trail (part of the PCT), however didn’t make it to the cannon as we also hiked Pothole Dome & Tenaya Lake (largest lake in Yosemite). We also stopped at Olmsted Point for some great views of Half Dome on our way to the northwest end of the park to camp for the evening; camping in Stanlslaus National Forest on Hardin Flat Rd.
Thursday (14Sep) we got up early to make it into the valley for the Ansel Adam’s Photography Walk. This walk was really cool and informative as our guide not only talked about Ansel Adam life, photography style, and his impact on national parks, but also touched on a lot of tip and tricks around framing. After we checked out the Ansel Adam’s gallery and then got lunch at the Village Grill. We then walked to Yosemite Falls (lower viewpoint) before taking the shuttle to see El Capitan. We then headed up to Tunnel View for sunset. We ended up running into another participant of the photo walk and chatted with her and her husband as we waited and watched the sunset on the valley. We ended up parking out the west entrance sign but somehow found ourselves in a pocket of hot air, so we didn’t sleep well due to a very hot and humid night :(.
Friday (15Sep) we got up early (which was hard after bad night of sleep) to get parking close to the Mist Trail. However, we found that this trail was closed M-F, but we still got to get views of Vernal and Nevada Falls via a longer route up to Clark Point. It was good we got to the trail early as we came down the trail and trailhead were nuts! The weekend crowd had descended on Yosemite. After long ordeal with showering using the shuttles we headed outside the south entrance and stayed at Goat Meadow Trailhead in Sierra National Forest.
Saturday (16Sep) we slept in and had a slow morning before heading to the Mariposa Grove Welcome Plaza (like 5 minutes from where we stayed). We packed our lunch and caught the shuttle to the trailhead for the Sequoia Trees. We hiked up to Clothespin Tree, hitting many of big Sequoia Tree highlights such as Grizzly Giant, California Tunnel Tree, Bachelor and Three Graces, Fallen Monarch, & Faithful Couple. We then headed back to Goat Meadow for the evening.
Sunday (17Sep) we got up early to head to Sentinel Dome Trailhead and hiked the loop that took us to both Sentinel Dome & Taft Point. We got some great views of the valley and surrounding area and it was a very pleasant hike. We then checked out Glacier Point where we again dealt with the weekend crowds, but again the views of the valley for the short amount of walking were so worth it. We then headed back to the northwest entrance and decided to camp within the national park at Hodgodon Meadows to help shorten the amount of driving we would need to do the next day.
Monday (18Sep) we slept in and did a few chores in the morning before heading back for the east entrance of the park. Since the plan was to do a 13 mile hiking on Tuesday, we wanted to snag a spot in the National Forest right outside the east entrance that would be about 1/2hr drive to the Trailhead. We drove to Ellery Lake Campground about 3 miles outside the entrance and snagged a spot for two nights and decided to just relax for the day. Tuesday (19Sep) we hiked to Cloud’s Rest, a 13 mile hike. The views of the Yosemite Valley did not disappoint, but we were exhausted by the end. Since we didn’t make it back to camp until 5:30PM, we cleaned up, ate dinner, and passed out for the night.
Next the plan is to check out some stuff on the east side of Yosemite before heading back towards Ohio.
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