Day 13 Yosemite National Park

  Yosemite National Park, California, United States
Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Another even later start, had breakfast at 0830 with a 10 min wait. The kitchen seemed overwhelmed because whenever something ran out (such as waffles) it took 15-20 minutes before it was restocked. Overnight it had chucked it with rain so we didn't think conditions up Tioga would be very good.
 
We changed plans and caught the 0930 free shuttle from Wawona to Mariposa Grove (Shuttles run from 0900 every 30 mins till 1800). The shuttle was full with a lot of people driving down from Yosemite and parking up at Wawona as the parking at Mariposa is limited,
 

Mariposa Grove

We got off and started up the trail. There was a tractor pulled tram ride available but we didn't take that. The first few minutes was busy with other tourists. We found that if you walked along the old road rather than the trail, oit was a lot quieter and you seen just as good a site. There were a few trees/sites along the way- Falllen Monarch (which was made famous by a photo of it lined with US Cavalry when they estimate even at that time it was already several hundred years old. Then there was the Grizzly Giant and the photo opportunity of the California Tunnel Tree. There was a queue of people getting their photos taken here. As we carried on up the trail the amount of people got fewer (obviously the artificial hips not able to make it up the hill or they fond another squirrel to photograph.
 
We didn't see many squirrels but did fine some Chipmunks. The walk was very serene, lots of tall, OLD trees, many of them have been burnt at one time (that time could have been hundreds of years ago). There was a lot of wildlife (that we could hear but not necessarily see).
 

Woodpeckers at Mariposa Grove

We did come across a woodpecker knocking away on a tree. Further round we saw him disappear into a hole about 30ft up an old tree. We sat there for a while and watched as a pair of woodpeckers took it in turn to go off, get food and take it back into waiting chicks inside the tree.
 
It was amazingly quiet and peaceful; the sun was more or less out, with the occasional big cloud. We met one other couple as we walked round up to the Faithful Couple (a pair of giant Sequoias beside each other) and walked back down the Outer Loop Trail, the height above sea level is just over 6000ft. We heard that a bobcat had been spotted near Grizzly Giant but we had no such luck.
 
Got back to the car park and onto the bus at 1200, so that was about 2 hours and 3 miles done. Feet and muscles getting used to it!
 
Back at the hotel we got ready to head to Glacier Point, as the weather had been bad earlier we thought Tioga might be shut/dodgy, so drove to Glacier Point. As we headed NW we could see big black clouds - that will be Glacier Point then!
 
We got there just after 1400, having driven through black clouds again, but the Point itself was clear as was the valley.
 

Nevada and Vernal Falls

What can I say, I've run out of words to describe how awesome Yosemite looks. To stand up at the viewpoint and look down on all the areas we have walked - the Upper & Lower Falls, Mirror Lake, Nevada and Vernal Falls, the whole of the valley floor, it was beautiful. It was also flipping freezing, and 15 minutes after we got there the heavens opened with hail/sleet showers and we took refuge in the café.
 
Now I call this a café in a loose sense in that they weren't selling any teas/coffee/anything hot, all they had was sandwiches and snacks. If you wanted a cup of tea they would sell you a teabag and you could fill a cup from the drinking fountain and nuke it in the microwave to boil it.  They also don't have any toilets; you have to use the ones in the car park. And we both heartily suggest you go before you travel to Glacier Point as they were the most disgusting toilets we have ever seen (and we have used Beer Bar toilets in Thailand!)
 

Half Dome

After about 20 minutes, the showers stopped and the clouds meandered off. There was still some hanging about moving quickly through the Valley. Half Dome went from being completely clear, to wisps of clouds to completely covered. You really can get all 4 seasons within 1 hour in Yosemite.
 
I went back to get some more photos and videos from the viewpoint while Catriona stayed in the café to warm up. The Point is about 7000ft. up and it was a tad on the chilly side! I just wanted to go back and view everything again, I could have stayed up there for hours.

Valley floor from Glacier Point

Finally, it was time to head off; just as we left another big hail shower hit us. On the way back down the road we passed what I though was a broken down RV on a corner with 2 other vehicles stopped to help, as we went passed I seen they were all out with their cameras - I bet it was a bear and we had missed it, bugger!
 
We went down into the valley which was having nicer weather and parked up. We visited the Ansell Adams Gallery and Catriona picked out some nice black and white prints to take home. Some of the prices were a bit out of our league. Many photos were $250 and some $20-60,000! OK, they were originals but even so. $46 for 2 prints and a calendar :)  We also went into the Auditorium and watched the free 20 minute film called Spirit of Yosemite which was quite interesting and gave superb views of Yosemite. I wish my camera was than good but I think there's a slight price difference of thousands of pounds in value.
 
A shuttle bus ride later we were at the Yosemite Lodge. We had a drink at the bar while I caught up on the blog.
 
One thing I noticed about Yosemite was the lack of Rangers out and about on either trails or at the various busy tourist sites. There is no-one to stop you going off the trail, writing grafitti, feeding the animals, riding bikes where you are not supposed to etc. I would have thought there would have been some out there to keep an eye on the place.
 
The Mountain Room restaurant at the Yosemite Lodge is the same as at the Wawona - there is no booking system, you turn up and put your name down for the next table. We did that and had a 45 minute wait, but they give you a pager that goes off when your table is ready.
 
We went in for dinner at 7.30pm. The menu had a much better variety than the Wawona. We started off with French Onion soup which was delicious. Followed by Swordfish and pan fried Crusted Trout. Both mains were well presented and tasted spot on; we don't normally eat a lot of fish so this was a good change for us. The restaurant is casual, there were people with dinner suits and others with hoodies, it was busy, but steady and the food and service was spot on, well worth the no.1 slot on TripAdvisor. Total cost was $90 with tip.
 
We managed to catch the last shuttle bus back to the car park at 9pm and headed out of the Valley. There were roadworks in progress on the North side, so there was a diversion and convoy system in place which delayed us about 20 minutes. Driving back on the wrong side of a windy road in the dark wasn't easy. I found it better to try and stay behind someone else so I could see better when a bend was coming up and when other cars were coming. We got back to the hotel at 10pm and started packing the cases and throwing away various collected junk (maps, flyers etc.)
 
Tomorrow we drive over to Carmel. We have already decided that we will come back to Yosemite. Catriona is still not struck on this "tent" idea but if she wants to see more wilderness then we may have to do that. Anybody out there who has not already been to Yosemite, you must go there. For anyone who has already been, you already know what I mean.
 
Number of Bears seen to date - None (tho we appear to have driven past one!)
Number of squirrels seen to date - squillions plus a few chipmunks
Number of miles walked in Yosemite to date -  about 27 miles, phew!