This morning we were quick to pack up and vacate our Hodgdon Meadows campsite. The roads through the park are long and winding. Since we were going to be camping in the Valley for the next two nights, we headed up to the higher elevation part of the park, stopping at Olmsted Point after sunrise. The short trail from the parking lot rewarded us with panoramic views of the upper portion of Yosemite Valley and the northern side of Half Dome.
We continued eastward and parked at Tenaya Lake. As we hiked the perimeter trail we saw people setting up to climb the nearby domes and we saw some people who had already gotten an early start on their ascent. The lake was nearly perfectly still and clear as could be. For most of the hike we encountered almost no other people. When we rounded back toward the park road there were several groups going for what looked like a refreshing swim and we saw some inflatable kayaks.
The Tuolumne Meadows was very beautiful but the wind was starting to pick up. We hiked up to an old Sierra Club cabin and took in the views of Cathedral Peak, Unicorn Peak, and Lembert Dome. This area sits at about 8,600 ft of elevation.
By this time my feet were starting to bother me. We went to the Tuolumne Meadows visitor center, a former Civilian Conservation Corps mess hall built in 1934, and I warmed my hands by the wood-burning stove.
It was a long drive back the way we came and down into Yosemite Valley. Hans took over driving and I nodded off in the afternoon sun. Coming down from the higher mountains took a long time and once we turned on to the main valley loop road we were blown away by our initial views of El Capitan and the surrounding cliffs.
When we checked into the Upper Pines campground we were taken aback by how warm it was compared to up in the high Sierra. The elevation is closer to 6,500 feet in the valley. To get our bearings we went to the commercial center of the valley and walked around the grocery store, visitor center, and smaller museums. I inquired about shower facilities and got the scoop from a Park Ranger.
In the evening we were pretty tired but I was anxious to take advantage of another potentially clear night of stargazing. Hans accompanied me to a parking lot facing Half Dome and if it weren't for all of the traffic from other cars and the park buses it would have been great. Watcha gonna do when you're in one of the most visited national parks on a major holiday weekend? Still, it was fun to watch the intermittent headlamps of climbers going up and down the peaks. We watched one particularly bright one slowly rappel down Mount Watkins.
Olmsted Point view
Unicorn Peak on the left, Cathedral Peak on the right
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