Wilderness Wandering

Wednesday

We left Pinnacles NP a bit early. There is a Severe Weather Forecast for Yosemite starting on Saturday and we were supposed to arrive late Wednesday and stay until Sunday. They’re forecasting ridiculous amounts of snow – 42” on Saturday alone. So we are planning to leave the park Friday unless the forecast changes, which only gives us a little over a day in one of the most amazing National Parks. 

It was a 4 hour drive from Pinnacles to Yosemite and we had to stop and purchase the required tire chains along the way. Tim says we will not be using them, but the park requires them…

We also stopped to buy some groceries that don’t require cooking just in case we get stuck somewhere. 

We arrived at the south entrance of Yosemite. It was a beautiful 68 degrees and sunny upon arrival. We chatted briefly with the ranger at the entrance. She asked where we were from and we said WI and asked if they got many visitors from WI. She responded that 80% of the park visitors are international! We were shocked the number was that high.  

We drove to see the Tunnel View where you can see both El Capitan and Half Dome at the same time.  We also stopped at Bridal Veil Fall, since it is right there.  Then we drove what is basically the Yosemite Scenic Drive to Yosemite Village and the Welcome Center. We took our picture, got our passport stamp and talked to the rangers about weather forecasts and trails that are open. We had a plan! We drove back out to Tunnel View for sunset. Then we found our campground and campsite. We were right next to the bathroom and there was an electrical outlet!

Thursday

We got up at 6:15 and as soon as the sun was up, we walked out to Mirror Lake. It was about a 3 mile flat round trip. What gorgeous views! Mt. Watkins is reflected in the calm lake. 

Next, we hopped on the park shuttle and rode to the trail head of the popular Mist Trail that leads to Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall. We intended to do the hike as far as Vernal Fall. There was a detour due to a recent rock slide on the lower part of the trail. We trekked up about 2 miles only to find out the last .3 miles of the path we needed were closed. Ugh. We didn’t have time to add 3 more miles to the hike to get around the closure, so we returned the way we came and got on the shuttle to Lower Yosemite Falls. Lower Yosemite Falls is an easy 1 mile stroll to a gorgeous view of both Upper and and Lower Yosemite Falls. We learned that Upper Yosemite is the tallest waterfall in the U.S. and the 5th tallest in the world. 

That was it for hiking. We took the shuttle to Yosemite Village. The bus was fairly empty, since many people changed their plans with the weather advisory and let the park.  We chatted with the driver. She has been driving a Yosemite shuttle for 20 years. Her subsidized housing in the park is $27 per week!!! (Plus utilities) We enjoyed touring The Ansel Adams shop, The Yosemite Museum and The Yosemite Exploration Center. 

The Exploration Center had an excellent film about the origins of the park. Thank you John Muir!!

Yosemite is the first National Park. Abraham Lincoln signed it into being during The Civil War. 

Lastly, we walked to The Ahwanee Hotel, where rooms are between $500 and $800 per night. No – we aren’t staying here. But, I wanted to see the beautiful lobby and have a drink at the bar. We commoners can be there in the public areas for up to 3 hours. We returned to Calypso and dinner and prepared to depart early Friday morning. This is the first time in our travels that weather has made us change our plans. 

While the weather cut our stay at Yosemite short, we were extremely impressed with the park and it’s beauty. We are already trying to see when we can fit in a return visit! After having seen 30 parks, this one is in our top 3 and we did not  get to see much of it!

Friday

We listened to rain pelting the roof of Calypso through the night and were grateful it was only rain. We were up very early and got on the road. We are heading to Fresno to wait and watch the weather and see when it will be safe for us to head to Sequoia and Kings Canyon.