Leaving Las Vegas along US 95 Highway I have a couple of flashbacks to my RAF days and two weeks spent deployed at Nellis Air Force Base just outside Las Vegas. The highway is the route towards Death Valley and passes Mount Charleston where I skied decades ago and had a snowball fight amongst the cactus! Unfortunately Death Valley is closed because of flooding so is a no go. We continue through ever rising ground heading towards Tonopah (where the famous ‘Area 51’ is located but no UFO’s seen) but we are in a very isolated area and I’m concerned about fuel. We stop at a service station in Benton to get the most expensive fuel from a 24 hour pump just before heading across another high pass towards Lee Vining and the gateway to Yosemite. It’s getting towards dusk and heading into the setting sun when a deer decides to ambush Wendy and jumps into her path! Bang!! That’s the bumper bent and cracked! And the deer just got up and wandered away!!! No cheap venison tonight. But Wendy is drivable with all lights working so we stop just a couple of miles further on for the night in the wilderness.
Overnighting in the wilderness means no phone coverage to report the accident so the following morning we stop at Lee Vining for fuel and supplies and talk to the insurance agent.
From Lee Vining we take the Tioga Pass road into Yosemite climbing up to 9,945 feet to get to the east entrance to the park. It’s then a beautiful descent into the park following the river and surrounded with forest which opens out to the broad Tuolumne sub-alpine meadows dotted with wildflowers and interspersed with rock intrusions. Whilst having lunch we look for wildlife but only see humans. We normally stop at a park’s visitor centre, but the East one has gone! It was destroyed in the winter by exceptional snowfall which caved in the roof. So the rangers are operating from a tent! We pick up the junior ranger workbook for Alex to complete and he's in junior ranger mode again.
We move through the park to the North Pines campground in the Yosemite Valley which lies beside the Merced river and in the shadow of Glacier Point and North Dome. Emma is feeling poorly so we have a relaxed evening in the campsite.
The following day we have to move pitches so stay in the campsite for the morning and Alex and I talk to fishermen who note that the river had almost no fish in it and is also fairly low as it’s late summer. After moving pitches we all take a gentle stroll down the valley as Emma is still poorly, and look around Yosemite village and the lower falls.
The next day as Emma is still feeling under the weather so we do a Wendy based trip starting with an attempt at fly fishing the river but just lower down the valley. The local advice was correct, no fish around, but the river was beautiful and peaceful and Alex got some casting practice in. Moving about two miles further down the road we stop to marvel at the rock edifice which is El Capitain. This is a world renowned 3000 foot sheer granite cliff which is a magnet to rock climbers around the world. Looking up the cliff we spot a tiny fleck of red, which upon closer looking with binoculars proves to be an overnight bivouac hanging from the rock face. Apparently there is a side sport to rock climbing, spotting the climbers from the ground!
We move around the valley and head for Glacier Point. We’ve seen the point from the campsite as it overshadows the valley but when we get there what a view! From the edge we look back down to where we are camping and see these tiny ant like creatures scurrying around - humans but so small and distant. Glacier Point provides views across vast swathes of Yosemite and the landscape is awesome as is the sheer scale of the place and how high the mountains and ridges are.
The following day we try to visit the Hetch Hetchy reservoir (such a name deserves a visit!) but the road gets progressively bumpier and bumpier and we have to be heading south not north. So we turn around and start to head out of the park but first stopping at Mariposa Grove in the south of the park to go and see the giant Sequoia trees. And what a beautiful area it is. Massively tall ancient trees protecting squirrels and beautiful butterflies.
We walk through quite a bit of the area with Alex and I (Emma still feeling poorly so doesn't make it all the way) getting to see the Grizzly Giant, a three thousand year old, 210 feet tall tree and the California Tunnel Tree which has a large tunnel cut through it.
Yosemite is a beautiful and huge place and well worth a visit but during peak season it is rather crowded. After Mariposa Grove then it’s out of the park on the start of the 390 mile trip south towards San Diego. We overnight just north of Los Angeles in a state park away from the noise of the 4 lane freeway.
Guy
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