Re: TM to YV

We just got back from six great days in Yosemite. We brought along my brother in law who has never been out of a city before. I chose to go down the super highway Lyell Canyon route and over Vogelsang Pass and the Mist Trail into the Valley to give him a wide variety of what Yosemite is. He was literally amazed at every new view and I think he is addicted to this "wilderness" thing. He is now looking for places to go hiking outside of London. The trip itself was great, I have been down it several times. The one thing that really threw me was Yosemite Valley. I have never spent any daylight time in the Valley. I have either hitch hiked out as soon as I came in or came in late and took the early bus back to TM. We arrived in the Valley around noon and I walked everywhere staring at the big walls, wow! What a cool place. The sausage and jalapeño pizza and the beer at Curry was a fantastic ending to several days of hiking food!

Just before Merced HSC, I counted over 62 people hiking up past us going to Vogelsang HSC. I didn't start counting until I thought it was a bit more than the quota. I am guessing there were near 80 people! It was a bit like a shopping mall at Christmas!

We are now gearing up for some long weekend trips this fall. We are kicking our 10 year old out of our tent, getting him a super light single and a super light double for us. Any suggestions would be great, though my wife is a bit of a bug magnet, so we need something with netting and would also like something that will work on the fringes of winter... a pretty tall order I think.

Here are a few pictures from my new point-n-shoot:

TM backpackers camp


Tuolumne River/Lyell Canyon


Near Ireland Lake


Above Evelyn Lake


Sunrise at Evelyn Lake


Evelyn Lake


Vogelsang Peak


Vogelsang Lake


Near Vogelsang


Pond at Vogelsang Pass


Gallison Lake


Meadow on Lewis Creek


Snake


Merced River


Merced River


Vernal Falls


Vernal Falls

Beautiful photos! As our pink friend would say, Thanks for shar-on!

Thanks for posting that. You need to go to Yosemite Valley in the spring or early June and see it when the falls are running full and the wildflowers and dogwoods are in bloom.

Wow, some really nice black & white photography of Yosemite! Really well done. Thanks for sharing it.






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/13/2013 02:31PM by plawrence.

Wow! Stunning pictures! Very, very nice!! Thanks for sharing that, and kudos for getting your brother in law hooked on nature

Ansel Adams would be proud of you regarding those great black and white shots!

Eggscellent! Thank you for the lovely photos!!! And so glad you guys had a great time! How can you not?

Interesting to hear you never saw the Valley before in daylight. It's stunning. We avoided it during high season for a number of years, too many people we said... But a few years ago, started camping again. And I have adjusted my attitude a bit towards the crowds. I try to see the good side of them. But mostly I focus on how stunning the Valley truly is. And the weather in summer can be magnificent, as it was this weekend. I camped Sunday night at Lower pines with a clear view of half Dome (modulo one branch). Had a fabulous night's sleep. Perfect temps.

The valley isn't wilderness, but it's gorgeous and worth a visit, several. At least one per season! Spring high water, soothing summer, fall's crisp colors and air, and a blanket of fresh snow in winter are all worth experiencing, I believe.

Hope your fall trips are just as wonderful as this was!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2013 03:22PM by JustKeepWalking.

Love the black and white photos! Very refreshing, thanks!