Day - 7, Big trees and Snow

We were still limping from the big hike but time waits for no one. We decided to go to see the big trees at Mariposa Grove. The plan was to take advantage of the tram tour and enjoy the giant sequoias.



The Clothespin Tree.



The Grizzly Giant. The biggest tree in the grove. When we first came here almost 30 years ago you could walk right up to the tree and touch it.



Diane in the California Tunnel Tree. They are very big trees. I always enjoy seeing them.



Here is a nice picture from Wawona Tunnel. A classic view of Yosemite Valley. Now for the drive to Lee Vining. We were very curious. The road had only been open for a week after record snow late this winter. What would it look like on one of our favorite drives.



IT didn't take long before we were in the snow. But it was in patches. Here is Alex above a patch of snow at Olmstead Point. Alex loves Olmstead point.



Bart, Diane, and the back side of Half Dome.



Tuolumne meadows was more like Lake Tuolumne.



No fishing at Tioga Lake this trip and Saddlebag lake is right out.

Day - 6, Recovery Day and Bear redemption

Today was recovery from Panorama Trail hike day. We were pretty beat up. DIane had the most energy as evidenced by her doing laundry. WOW! THe boys and I watched disney channel and tried to stay cool. I just couldn't spend the whole day at the room. Diane and I went to Spend some time in the Valley while the boys watched more TV. We were going to go to El Capitan meadow and look for climbers on the monolith. We found some climbers and shared their location with others looking up. Hanging out in that meadow is something that Diane and I have love to do since were have been married. More than 25 years.



On the way out we came upon a group of visitors who were watching a bear with 2 cubs. A second chance to take some pictures after the fail the other day. I had learned my lesson and the camera was ready to go. It was dusk which made photography challenging. But with my killer telephoto and the help of photoshop the I got some great bear pictures. The grass was tall so it was hard to see the cubs. Luckily this one climbed up the tree.



The bear family took its time wandering parallel to the road and the group of onlookers moved with them.



It was another great day at Yosemite!

Day - 5, Panorama Trail

It was the summer solstice and the day of our big hike on the Panorama trail.  Historically our toughest hike ever for both distance and verticality. Before the day was done we would be very challenged.  In the end we would be on the valley floor you can see below. The hike starts at Glacier Point.  One of my favorite overlooks.  We took a one way bus from the valley floor to Glacier point.  The adventure was just beginning.

Looking back towards Yosemite Falls.  The actual Glacier point is the narrow stone ledge to the left.  2000+ feet strait down from there.

The Panorama trail is an amazing hike with spectacular views of the valley and up close opportunities with some big waterfalls.  I had done it once before.  Nine miles to the shuttle stop.  1200+ feet up and 4300+ feet down, much very steep, can really beat you up.

Constant dramatic views.

This picture gives a great view of the trail.  We will drop down to Illilouette Falls visible on the right hand side.  The the trail moves to the left along the drop off and over that hill to the upper falls on the left (Nevada Falls).  From their the trail drops the the drainage below the lower falls on the left (Vernal Falls).  Its possible to see parts of the trail zooming in on this picture.

The backside of Half Dome looks completely different.

Illilouette Falls.  I like the streak of rainbow 2/3s down the falls.

We stopped on the bank of the Illilouette creek and has a nice relaxing lunch.  

You can see a small falls to the left coming off the Glacier point side.

Climbing up towards Half Dome.

Diane loves the Panorama Trail!

It was getting later and the sun was coming off Yosemite Falls.

First glimpse of Nevada Falls below.

Such a cool trail.

Bridge above Nevada Falls.  "You Shall Not Pass".

The water was really raging over the falls.

The drop of the falls.  Sounded like thunder.

There is an observation area right at the brink of the falls.

Here you can appreciate the full falls.  

The generated mist spread over a large area.

The water was literally raining down in this part of the descent.

It was starting to get late in the day.  Had to make a hasty retreat.  But the going was slow.  Steep downhill was beating up diane's knees.

As we descended it bagan to get quite dark.  We only had a single flashlight.  Luckily, the last mile+ of the trail was paved making it easy (and safe) for walking in the dark.  In the end we were able to catch the next to last shuttle bus back to our car at almost 10pm.

Day - 4, Yosemite Falls

Today was our day to enjoy the Valley.  We started at Yosemite Falls.  It was a beautiful clear day and the falls were raging!

The last bit of falls was really flowing.  It was kicking up a major mist shower.  If you timed it with the swirling wind, it was possible to get close enough for a nice picture.  Here is Alex in the mist.

Bart ran up next.

Diane gives it her seal of approval.

It was flowing so well the hump usually seen at the top was not apparent.  Looked like a different falls.

THe boys loved climbing on the big boulders near the base of the falls. They would get a running start and see if they could make it to the top without stopping. 

Bart was very good at this game.

Yosemite Falls was quite the sight with this big spring melt.

Looking back from further up the valley. 

Ribbon falls.  The largest continuous drop of a fall in the park.  It was really flowing.  I like the way the wind can push the water.

Bridalveil Falls was kicking up quite a mist.  Makes for great rainbows when the sun is right.

Bridalveil Falls from the other side of the Valley.

That night there was some food delivered to the door or our neighbors room.  Too tempting for the local racoons.  They really enjoyed their sandwich with an order of wings.

Day - 3, Fathers Day and drive to Yosemite

We started the day with Breakfast at a little restaurant called "Toasties" It used to be my favorite when we would go to meetings at the Asilomar Conference Center near Monterey when I was at Berkeley and UCSF. THey still had the great home fries. We drove along the coast. The Seas were rougher this morning as you can see.



We saw this deer at the entrance to 17-mile drive. Because it was getting late and because they wanted to charge $10 to enter (used to be free) we decided to head towards Yosemite. 6 hour drive lay ahead. Along the way we stopped at an orchard and bought some cherries. They were sweet, crunchy, and wonderful!



We got to our room at the Yosemite View Lodge around 7, checked in, and headed to the Valley. We came in on Route 140, which runs along the Merced River. The river that runs through Yosemite Valley. It had been a big snow fall year and we expected a lot of water. But the river was really raging. This built anticipation for the water falls in the Valley. They should be raging! We were not disappointed. The first falls is Bridalveil. Here it is in full glory in the late afternoon sun. IT was kicking up a bunch of mist. We would visit it towards the end of our visit to the Sierras.



Only the top of El Capitan was lit up in the late afternoon sun. We would get a number of chances to sit in the meadow below El Cap, one of our favorite activities in the past. There were lots of climbers on the monolith throughout the week.



Yosemite Falls was really raging. So much water it looked like another falls. It is in the shadow in the early evening as you can see.



There was so much water pouring into the Valley there were fall we didn't every remember seeing before. This one is Sentinel Falls, cascading in multiple steps just west of Sentinel Dome. It has the second largest drop in the Valley after Yosemite Falls. We also saw a black bear with two cubs as we drove back out to our room. Due to a bad setting on my camera we didn't get any decent images. My screw up. I was updet. Luckily, fate would give us a second chance later in the week. We had a hard time falling asleep knowing our exploration of Yosemite valley began tomorrow morning.