After meeting up at the Four Mile Trail trailhead and shuttling cars for the return trip, we were on our way up to Glacier Point. JKW had already started and was about 17 minutes ahead of us. The pink chicken went off and checked out some "shortcuts" along the trail. So for most of the 3200' climb it was just me, my pack, random radio chatter, and the occasional view.
Yosemite Falls at least had some water, an improvement over Thanksgiving.
Even the north-facing aspects of the valley were almost clear of snow--there have been Memorial Day weekends with more snow.
Near the top where the trail traverses around to Glacier Point there was a bit of snow on the trail--never enough to require showshoes or even micro spikes.
Even the high country showed only a hint of snow.
I finally caught up with the other two near the snack stand/hut and soon thereafter realized why no one had responded to any of my recent comments on the radio--my radio had somehow gotten turned off at Union Point. There were a few dayhikers at the top. There was a bit of a stiff breeze, but it wasn't cold, and we enjoyed lunch near the overlook.
The Glacier Point hut was locked, and a sign was posted indicating that no water was available to day hikers. It didn't seem like any of the guests who could not ski to the hut along the road had opted for the "hike up the Four Mile Trail" alternative. Fortunately, we had hauled up some extra water, and there seemed to be enough snow to melt.
The parking lot and lowest parts of the GP road were covered with a few inches of snow and ice.
Not far beyond the parking lot, the road was bare except for a few short stretches.
The wind was strong at times until near sunset, but it was never too cold. We managed to find a campsite where there was just enough snow nearby to melt for cooking and drinking water.
The views from our campsite at sunset were spectacular.
Despite 3400' of vertical gain, it had been an easy-ish hike so we enjoyed just hanging out as the sun set and the moon rose.
Sunrise was about an hour earlier than it had been just a month or so ago, and after breakfast and packing, we were soon on our way down the Panorama Trail.
Of course no trip would be complete without daleing around on an abandoned segment of the Glacier Point Road.
We had planned on refilling at Illilouette Creek, which fortunately seemed to have a bit of water flowing in it.
On the other side of the creek, we stopped at Panorama Point.
Some telephoto action confirmed Washburn Point was quite visible from Panorama Point.
The trail across the top of Panorama Cliff and down to the John Muir Trail was dry and uneventful. The upper gate at Ice Cut was open, so we headed across it--there was a bit of ice, but we didn't need our spikes.
We stopped for lunch near Clark Point, then headed down to the overlook above Vernal Fall that isn't Clark Point.
There were several day-hikers on the Mist Trail, which wasn't at all misty--or icy.
We were back at our cars well before kickoff and home in time to find out that not all birds had had a perfect Sunday.
More Pictures
