We spent the night at the Groveland hotel in Groveland, one hour from the entrance of the park. The hotel has been operating for over 100 years and it is very reminiscent of the Truckee Hotel (without the trains and with private bathrooms) . Needless to say, we loved it.
We had planned to hike out of Tuolumne Meadows but the weather was not on our side . We decided to wait till Tioga road reopened and took a short day hike to the giant redwoods
When it was clear that the road was not reopening any time soon, we decided to try an 18 mile hike out of Big Oak Flat road, the main road into the valley.
The trailhead is on the downhill leading to the valley, just short of the first tunnel. The small parking lot is on the valley side of the road.
The trail is a steady uphill for about 6 miles. At one point, we hiked amidst flurries. The weather was ominous still but having packed 7 layers of clothes , hand warmers and a 0 degree sleeping bag, I had no fear.
A medical treatment "on the go". Is there something duct tape cannot do?
We decided to camp about 6 miles in, as the trail flattens out of the forest.
Fires are allowed under 9,600 ft....
We were blessed with a great sunset and an almost full moon.
But no large furry animal came to play with our bear-proof cannister.... struck out once again!
In the morning, we hiked up the next 2 miles to reach the top of El Capitan. What a special place. That morning, there was a race up the nose El Capitan. The winner: 2 hours and 37 minutes. Not bad for a route that took 47 days in 1956!
11 AM and there is still ice in the water bottle
This is the only campsite on El Capitan but what a dreamy one...
This is Half Dome as seen from El Capitan
The stretch from El Capitan to the top of the Yosemite falls is beautiful , easy and fast.
Lunch at the top of the Yosemite Falls, before a grueling 3.2 mile downhill.
The path was steep, rocky, slippery at times. Needless to say, by the time we reached the valley, our quadricepts were mush... but our knees had held up! We hitched a ride 8 miles back to our car and headed home . (stopped in Manteca for the obligatory In-n-Out burger. Hahaha)
We spent the night at the Groveland hotel in Groveland, one hour from the entrance of the park. The hotel has been operating for over 100 years and it is very reminiscent of the Truckee Hotel (without the trains and with private bathrooms) . Needless to say, we loved it.
We had planned to hike out of Tuolumne Meadows but the weather was not on our side . We decided to wait till Tioga road reopened and took a short day hike to the giant redwoods
When it was clear that the road was not reopening any time soon, we decided to try an 18 mile hike out of Big Oak Flat road, the main road into the valley.
The trailhead is on the downhill leading to the valley, just short of the first tunnel. The small parking lot is on the valley side of the road.
The trail is a steady uphill for about 6 miles. At one point, we hiked amidst flurries. The weather was ominous still but having packed 7 layers of clothes , hand warmers and a 0 degree sleeping bag, I had no fear.
A medical treatment "on the go". Is there something duct tape cannot do?
We decided to camp about 6 miles in, as the trail flattens out of the forest.
Fires are allowed under 9,600 ft....
We were blessed with a great sunset and an almost full moon.
But no large furry animal came to play with our bear-proof cannister.... struck out once again!
In the morning, we hiked up the next 2 miles to reach the top of El Capitan. What a special place. That morning, there was a race up the nose El Capitan. The winner: 2 hours and 37 minutes. Not bad for a route that took 47 days in 1956!
11 AM and there is still ice in the water bottle
This is the only campsite on El Capitan but what a dreamy one...
This is Half Dome as seen from El Capitan
The stretch from El Capitan to the top of the Yosemite falls is beautiful , easy and fast.
Lunch at the top of the Yosemite Falls, before a grueling 3.2 mile downhill.
The path was steep, rocky, slippery at times. Needless to say, by the time we reached the valley, our quadricepts were mush... but our knees had held up! We hitched a ride 8 miles back to our car and headed home . (stopped in Manteca for the obligatory In-n-Out burger. Hahaha)
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