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Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...

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Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 24, 2011 12:03PM
We lucked out and got two night in a row at TMHSC due to people cancelling reservations this coming labor day weekend, to be followed by a night staying up near White Mountain Peak at the White Mountain Research Center, and although I used to spend a lot of time around TM, it was years ago, before I was a photographer, and mostly using it as a staging area, heading out for points north or south.

Can anyone suggest photogenic areas that would don't involve heavy climbing (g/f has vertigo, so I have to go alone for some places) that are relatively short(er) hikes?

We're already doing Gaylor Lakes, but I haven't ever been to Lyell Forks with a camera, Mono Pass with a camera, etc....

Thought I'd ask with two weeks in advance to get the most help.

Thanks as always.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2011 10:29AM by tanngrisnir3.
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 24, 2011 12:50PM
You will have some dark night skies and a nice crescent moon setting in the west in the evening, so wherever you are, think about doing some night stuff! From the Whites about a month ago:

Have fun!
Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 24, 2011 12:55PM
Quote
Bearproof
You will have some dark night skies and a nice crescent moon setting in the west in the evening, so wherever you are, think about doing some night stuff! From the Whites about a month ago:

Have fun!

Thanks! We were up there for the first time about a month ago, driving into a total lightning storm. Dicey, I can tell you, and my g/f got altitude sickness. Back down the mountain in the most spectacular light I've ever seen.

Couldn't believe, in the rain and shitty road conditions, however, the kind of cars people were driving up there in!

We have a relatively hard-core, trail rated Liberty, and people were doing it in Saturn coupes!
Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 24, 2011 04:48PM
Quote
Bearproof
You will have some dark night skies and a nice crescent moon setting in the west in the evening, so wherever you are, think about doing some night stuff! From the Whites about a month ago:

Have fun!
Nice.
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 24, 2011 02:53PM
Quote
tanngrisnir3

We lucked out and got two night in a row at TMHSC due to people cancelling reservations this coming labor day weekend, to be followed by a night staying up near White Mountain Peak at the White Mountain Research Center, and although I used to spend a lot of time around TM, it was years ago, before I was a photographer, and mostly using it as a staging area, heading out for points north or south.


I presume you're staying at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge (since there's no Tuolumne Meadows HSC).

Quote
tanngrisnir3

Can anyone suggest photogenic areas that would don't involve heavy climbing (g/f has vertigo, so I've got to go alone for some places) that are relatively short(er) hikes?

We're already doing Gaylor Lakes, but I haven't ever been to Lyell Forks with a camera, Mono Pass with a camera, etc....

Thought I'd ask with two weeks in advance to get the most help.

Thanks as always.


An extremely easy destination for great photographic shots of Tuolumne Meadows and the surrounding mountains would be Pothole Dome located on the westend of Tuolumne Meadows off of Tioga Road. From the roadside pullout, there's a very short trail to the base of the dome, and then an easy scramble to the top of it. The top of the dome offers some very nice 360º views of Tuolumne Meadows and its environs.
Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 24, 2011 06:01PM
Quote
plawrence


I presume you're staying at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge (since there's no Tuolumne Meadows HSC).

Technically, the Lodge is a HSC
Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 24, 2011 06:32PM
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The Other Tom
Technically, the Lodge is a HSC

That's a questionable assertion. White Wolf Lodge and Tuolumne Lodge were taken out of the HSC reservation system, and put in with Curry Village, etc.
http://www.yosemitepark.com/Accommodations_TuolumneMeadowsLodge_LodgingDetails.aspx
You won't find the usual High Sierra Camps in that reservation system. Those require a phone call or letter to book. You can find out about availability, though:
http://www.yosemitepark.com/Accommodations_HighSierraCamps_Availability.aspx

Both White Wolf and Tuolumne are on the highway, and require no hiking at all. Hence, most people would not consider them HSCs. However, it is true that the High Sierra Camp trip people do book up blocks of reservations there before the season starts, so that many HSC trips can use them as a starting or ending point.

Whether they are actually High Sierra Camps or not is probably a question of how they are advertised. From the two examples above, you could argue it either way.
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 25, 2011 12:07AM
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The Other Tom
Quote
plawrence

I presume you're staying at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge (since there's no Tuolumne Meadows HSC).

Technically, the Lodge is a HSC


Technically, the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is no longer considered a High Sierra Camp, though once upon a time, it was.

Besides the differences that "Wherever" has already pointed out, other very important differences include that the meals (breakfast and dinner) are NOT included in the cost of the lodging at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge. The cancellation policy is also different. Anyone can dine at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge dining room (not just overnight guests or backpackers), and the last time I ate in its dining room, the menu was a la carte, though like an HSC you shared the dining table with other guests (IOW, communal dining). And ecologically and logistically speaking, the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is restocked via delivery trucks, while the HSC's are resupplied via mule trains.

Another big difference is in the booking an overnight stay at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is that one reseve an entire canvas tent cabin for one's party, just like Curry Village and UNLIKE at the park's High Sierra Camps where one can only reserve the number of beds (not entire tent cabins). The only three similarities between the High Sierra Camps and the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is that you're up in the High Sierra, meals are served in a communal setting, and you sleep inside a canvas tent cabin. But note, you can also sleep inside a canvas tent cabin at Curry Village. And reserving a canvas tent cabin at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is a lot more similar to reserving one at Curry Village than reserving a bed (or several beds) at a High Sierra Camp.

And one last important distinction, all of the Yosemite High Sierra Camps reside within the official boundary of the Yosemite wilderness. The Tuolumne Meadows Lodge DOES NOT. (It's frontcountry, not backcountry.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2011 12:12AM by plawrence.
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 25, 2011 01:21AM
Quote
plawrence
Quote
The Other Tom
Quote
plawrence

I presume you're staying at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge (since there's no Tuolumne Meadows HSC).

Technically, the Lodge is a HSC


Technically, the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is no longer considered a High Sierra Camp, though once upon a time, it was.

Besides the differences that "Wherever" has already pointed out, other very important differences include that the meals (breakfast and dinner) are NOT included in the cost of the lodging at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge. The cancellation policy is also different. Anyone can dine at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge dining room (not just overnight guests or backpackers), and the last time I ate in its dining room, the menu was a la carte, though like an HSC you shared the dining table with other guests (IOW, communal dining). And ecologically and logistically speaking, the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is restocked via delivery trucks, while the HSC's are resupplied via mule trains.

Another big difference is in the booking an overnight stay at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is that one reseve an entire canvas tent cabin for one's party, just like Curry Village and UNLIKE at the park's High Sierra Camps where one can only reserve the number of beds (not entire tent cabins). The only three similarities between the High Sierra Camps and the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is that you're up in the High Sierra, meals are served in a communal setting, and you sleep inside a canvas tent cabin. But note, you can also sleep inside a canvas tent cabin at Curry Village. And reserving a canvas tent cabin at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is a lot more similar to reserving one at Curry Village than reserving a bed (or several beds) at a High Sierra Camp.

And one last important distinction, all of the Yosemite High Sierra Camps reside within the official boundary of the Yosemite wilderness. The Tuolumne Meadows Lodge DOES NOT. (It's frontcountry, not backcountry.)


It might be noted, however, that the facility is still considered part of the HSC Loop:
http://www.yosemitepark.com/high-sierra-camp-trail-descriptions.aspx



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2011 01:26AM by szalkowski.
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 25, 2011 01:56AM
Quote
szalkowski
Quote
plawrence
Quote
The Other Tom
Quote
plawrence

I presume you're staying at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge (since there's no Tuolumne Meadows HSC).

Technically, the Lodge is a HSC


Technically, the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is no longer considered a High Sierra Camp, though once upon a time, it was.

Besides the differences that "Wherever" has already pointed out, other very important differences include that the meals (breakfast and dinner) are NOT included in the cost of the lodging at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge. The cancellation policy is also different. Anyone can dine at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge dining room (not just overnight guests or backpackers), and the last time I ate in its dining room, the menu was a la carte, though like an HSC you shared the dining table with other guests (IOW, communal dining). And ecologically and logistically speaking, the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is restocked via delivery trucks, while the HSC's are resupplied via mule trains.

Another big difference is in the booking an overnight stay at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is that one reseve an entire canvas tent cabin for one's party, just like Curry Village and UNLIKE at the park's High Sierra Camps where one can only reserve the number of beds (not entire tent cabins). The only three similarities between the High Sierra Camps and the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is that you're up in the High Sierra, meals are served in a communal setting, and you sleep inside a canvas tent cabin. But note, you can also sleep inside a canvas tent cabin at Curry Village. And reserving a canvas tent cabin at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge is a lot more similar to reserving one at Curry Village than reserving a bed (or several beds) at a High Sierra Camp.

And one last important distinction, all of the Yosemite High Sierra Camps reside within the official boundary of the Yosemite wilderness. The Tuolumne Meadows Lodge DOES NOT. (It's frontcountry, not backcountry.)


It might be noted, however, that the facility is still considered part of the HSC Loop:
http://www.yosemitepark.com/high-sierra-camp-trail-descriptions.aspx

I don't disagree with that point.

It's definitely part of the HSC Loop – often used as the starting or ending point (or both), but technically it's no longer an HSC (though it once was). And the current correct name of the lodging facility, as shown on the HSC Loop map below, is the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge (not the Tuolumne Meadows High Sierra Camp). smiling smiley

Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 25, 2011 12:02AM
Quote
plawrence


I presume you're staying at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge (since there's no Tuolumne Meadows HSC).

http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?1,13130,13154
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 25, 2011 12:15AM
Just because a group of people like to call the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge not by its proper name, doesn't make that incorrect name correct. wink
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 26, 2011 05:33PM
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plawrence
Just because a group of people like to call the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge not by its proper name, doesn't make that incorrect name correct. wink

Just because some people call it a lodge doesn't mean they are correct.
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 27, 2011 01:22AM
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eeek
Quote
plawrence
Just because a group of people like to call the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge not by its proper name, doesn't make that incorrect name correct. wink

Just because some people call it a lodge doesn't mean they are correct.

True, but in this instance, they happen to be correct. smiling smiley
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 27, 2011 06:55AM
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plawrence
Quote
eeek
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plawrence
Just because a group of people like to call the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge not by its proper name, doesn't make that incorrect name correct. wink

Just because some people call it a lodge doesn't mean they are correct.

True, but in this instance, they happen to be correct. smiling smiley


It would seem that the main requirement for a shed to be called a lodge is that it is readily accessible by motor vehicles (see, also, White Wolf Lodge).
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 27, 2011 10:17AM
White Wolf does have several hard-sided cabins with private baths, though.
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 27, 2011 12:59PM
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plawrence
White Wolf does have several hard-sided cabins with private baths, though.


Those cabins predate the acquisition of the property by the park and the establishment of the White Wolf HSC.
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 27, 2011 01:47PM
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eeek
Quote
plawrence
Just because a group of people like to call the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge not by its proper name, doesn't make that incorrect name correct. wink

Just because some people call it a lodge doesn't mean they are correct.


Presumably DNC decided that they could make more money by declaring it a lodge.

At least as recently as 1987, when the HSCs were run by the Curry Company (both pre- and post-MCA acquisition), the Tuolumne Meadows facility was recognized for what it was:
http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/yosemite_resources/mather_years.html#page_626

(Added note: the 'White Wolf Lodge' portion of the White Wolf HSC existed as a private roadhouse along the Great Sierra Wagon Road well before it was acquired by the park.)
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 27, 2011 02:10PM
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szalkowski
Presumably DNC decided that they could make more money by declaring it a lodge.

That was my thought.
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 28, 2011 10:11AM
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eeek
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szalkowski
Presumably DNC decided that they could make more money by declaring it a lodge.

That was my thought.

GMTLC



Chick-on is looking at you!
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 28, 2011 10:48AM
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chick-on

GMTLC

avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 28, 2011 10:59AM
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plawrence
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chick-on

GMTLC



Great Minds Think Like Chick-on.
(Obviously Yours)
The Marmots



THE YOSEMITE POST
Voice of the Rocky Marmot Empire
Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 24, 2011 03:18PM
Just outside the park's eastern entrance (Tioga Pass) is Ellery Lake and it's well worth the few minutes drive over there. It's not the really the lake itself that is photogenic, it's the huge slope behind it that leads up to the Dana Plateau that is the spectacle. And it's extremely easy to get to; it's literally just a turnout along the highway.

Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 24, 2011 04:34PM
I found the entire area from Tuolumne Meadows to Glen Aulin HSC down to Water Wheels Falls to be very photogenic. If you enjoy water photos you can get some neutral density filters and slow down your exposure for some nice shots. There are many waterfalls to enjoy. I very much enjoy my photos from my trip last year.

Tuolumne to Waterwheel
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 25, 2011 02:27AM
Budd Creek.
Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 25, 2011 03:58PM
Has anyone tried the Fisherman's route up to lower Cathedral Lake? It looks like it might cut off one hell of a lot of distance from the normal trailhead.
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 25, 2011 04:41PM
It's a nice route up:

http://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,28755

I second Budd. Not sure vertigo factor... but over Wilts Col to north of Matthes Crest... Love it.

Have fun

(and I have a bunch of other signs with Tuolumne Meadows HSC on them)
(let's change the name to Lodge so it just sounds like it's not a Tent Cabin)



Chick-on is looking at you!
Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 25, 2011 05:49PM
We were up the 'fisherman's trail' a couple weeks ago. The shuttle driver knew what we were talking about and was glad to drop us off between stops. It's a nice route. We topped the Medlicott Domes then x-country to the regular Cathedral Peak trail back to TM; boring except for the nice spring on the way down.
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 28, 2011 08:40AM
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Strix

In a post above I asked if anyone knew the name of the dome northeast of Medlicott Dome. You have a perfect picture of it. What is the name of it?

Chuck



Panoramic Images - http://panoramas.aa6g.org/
Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 28, 2011 09:03AM
That would be Fairview Dome. On the left is the northern of the Medlicott Domes.
avatar Re: Photography-centric suggestions for around Tuolumne...
August 28, 2011 12:31PM
I received a response from another source pointing me to here:

http://www.summitpost.org/mariuolumne-dome/314319

It is called Mariuolumne Dome.

Chuck
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