Yosemite Part I - a Fortuitous Entrance

If you've ever been to Yosemite National Park, you are aware that the park has a number of different entry points - the most popular being the two entrances on the west and southwest sides of the park through California Rt. 120 and Rt. 140.  Well we didn't come into the park through either of those gates, and the fact that we didn't really shaped our visit in some amazing ways.

One of the often lamented down sides of Yosemite - and other National Parks of equal stature - are the crowds, the lines and the heavy traffic on busy park roads.  At Yosemite, this dynamic is further exacerbated by the relatively small size of Yosemite Valley, arguably it's most popular attraction. This is the part of the park that boasts the most sought after viewing attractions (waterfalls, unusual rock formations, views of El Capitan and Half Dome from the valley floor) as well as most of the campgrounds, hotels, lodges, eating options and shuttle bus service around the long, narrow valley.

Most people start their Yosemite adventure here - and for many they end here as well as they run short of time and never quite make it out to see the many other unique areas of the park. As it turned out, we didn't even see Yosemite valley until almost our third day in! And by then, we had already had so many wonderful experiences in the less traveled areas of the park, that we were more than ready to tackle the crowds in Yosemite Valley with good humor.

We got to the park early on Sunday afternoon, after about a 3-4 hour drive south from Reno, mostly on Nevada Rt. 395.  We stopped to stretch our legs and have lunch in the gateway town of Lee Vining, California, elevation 6,781. It is in Lee Vining where you turn off onto Rt. 120 west to travel on Tioga Road over the Tioga Pass (elev. 9,945 ft) and on through Yosemite's Tioga Pass Entrance.  This is the only entrance to the park from the East and the closest to the Nevada state line.



A great lunch at Bodie Mike's BBQ in Lee Vining, CA

Our entrance to the park was made even more exciting, by a "first" for us. We had a few unexpected passengers in the back of the van!  Just after we made the turn onto Tioga Road heading toward the park, we noticed two young guys on the side of the road with fully loaded backpacks and their thumbs out. We've never picked up hitchhikers before, but having spent a good amount of time backpacking ourselves on trails, we were very familiar with the thru-hiker tradition of hiking down off the trail to get to a town for supplies and then trying to catch a ride back up to the trail.

It turns out they were thru-hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) who had done just that and were looking to get back to the trail which runs through Yosemite. So we stuffed them into the back of the van, along with all of their smelly gear and enjoyed talking to them about their hike on the PCT, a roughly 2,600 mile trail that starts at the Mexican border and follows the Pacific crest all the way to the Canadian border. We dropped them off just after we crossed into the park, at a wilderness center and popular hiker meet-up spot not far from the trail. After taking a quick photo of them, we wished them well on the rest of their journey and said goodbye. It was a great way to start our own adventure in the park.



Our happy thru-hiking friends..

The rest of day one was spent enjoying the Tuolumne Meadows section of Yosemite that boasts meandering streams through soft green meadows, hidden lakes and beautiful forests. We camped the first night at the Tuolumne Meadows campground after enjoying a great day of hiking and sightseeing on foot. The visitor center was within walking distance from the campground, as was the John Muir trail and part of the Pacific Crest Trail, so it was a cool place to camp. We enjoyed the campground and especially enjoyed sitting around a campfire again, as we have been in drought-stricken areas for so much of the time that we have been on the road, that a campground that allows campfires was a treat.

 

That first morning, we were a bit surprised to wake up frigidly cold  - but we were at an elevation of almost 8,500 feet so it really did make sense. As each consecutive day got hotter, we grew to really appreciate the cooler nights camping at the high elevations. Although we would not have had the option of camping in the popular Yosemite Valley anyway (all the campgrounds were booked solid), when we finally got to the valley and it was 102 degrees, we knew we had a better night's sleep than many of those in the most sought-after campgrounds. Here are some photos from that first day.

The next morning we checked out of the campground early and enjoyed a leisurely drive along the 29 mile Tioga Road, stopping frequently to enjoy the many short hikes along the way and scenic pullouts that gave us our first glimpses of some of the stunning rock formations to come.



Out of the meadow and into the rocks!

Our first look at Half Dome

One of the greatest things at the above vista turn-out was that there was a telescope set up and we were able to see the long line of hikers making their way up the side of Half Dome! They looked like ants marching. Just one of many amazing sights during those first 36 hours!