miguel wrote: > anyone have any pictures from mirror lake? My daughter was hiking in Tenaya Canyon on rockfall day and shot this photo of Mirror Lake at around 10:30 a.m.: higher resolution: http://rosano.com/yosemite/MirrorLake-28Mar09b.jpg She was in a group of about 30 high school kids that had planned to hike the southern part of the loop first, but changed the plan and hiked only theby vdrummer - General Discussion
Well, I know for sure that you can see the Central Valley from the top of Clouds Rest; here are two photos from a pretty hazy evening: http://rosano.com/yosemite/7-17-05_HalfDome_8.05pm.jpg http://rosano.com/yosemite/7-17-05_CentralValley_9.24pm.jpg 65-80 miles visibility on a really clear day is very reasonable; I can see 50 miles from Mt. Tamalpais to Mt. St. Helena on most trips to the top oby vdrummer - General Discussion
Muir has a fantastic description of the route in "The Yosemite": http://books.google.com/books?id=MHEUAAAAYAAJ&dq=muir+%22the+yosemite Many years ago (when I was 25), inspired by Muir, I hiked the Yosemite Falls - Eagle Peak - edge of El Cap - rockslides trail - back to valley. (see pg. 261 of the PDF download edition of "The Yosemite". It's about 20-24 miles, and I thiby vdrummer - General Discussion
I have a friend that has worked with YOSAR. He's an Eagle Scout, and while he was involved with Boy Scouts, he and some other scouts got involved with our local Search and Rescue group. He maintained his involvement with the local group even when he was away at college (he'd go on searches if he was home from school). I'd suggest finding a local Search and Rescue unit, start working with them,by vdrummer - General Discussion
I did a 40-mile, 6 night solo trek in July 2006 at age 46, from Murphy Creek through Glen Aulin, Cathedral Lakes, Sunrise Lakes, and Clouds Rest, ending at Happy Isles. I do almost all my hiking solo, in part because I stop & shoot a lot of photos. I'd strongly suggest using a GPS (in addition to a topo map), and getting very familiar with the GPS before hand. I had input my entire routeby vdrummer - General Discussion
Hmm - - they look like private jets - maybe a photo shoot? If I was en route nearby and had the chance, I'd for sure fly over YNP! Thanks for the photos!by vdrummer - General Discussion
Thanks for the reply - glad that you enjoyed it! Ronby vdrummer - General Discussion
From today's SF Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/30/MN3Q13ME7B.DTL Includes some enlightening stories about Yosemite Search and Rescue.by vdrummer - General Discussion
here's a good Conness trip report: http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty_pages/romain.wacziarg/climbing/ConnessSept02.html I'm thinking of having a go at it sometime in the next couple of weeks.by vdrummer - General Discussion
That's great - thanks! Looks like the option of dropping down to the Valley is out - the T Meadows Hikers / Tour bus stops running on Sep. 21st.by vdrummer - General Discussion
I'm planning a 3 night tour from Olmstead Pt. - Mt. Watkins - Snow Creek - Yosemite Falls - Yosemite Creek - Porcupine Flat for Sep. 27 - 30 and have two questions: - The NPS web site says Yosemite Falls is dry; will I be able to get water from Snow Creek, Lehamite Creek and Yosemite Creek (both near the falls and up closer to 120)? - Any suggestions for getting transportation from 120 where Yoby vdrummer - General Discussion
According to Sibley's Guide to Birds, Condors have wingspans of 109", first year juveniles have grey heads, neck begins to turn pink in 3rd year, head is orange and adult-like in 5th summer. While adults have very distinct white patches on the underside, juveniles are a much subtler grey coloring. Looks like the bird in the photo has a lighter colored underside, but not white. Eeek, ifby vdrummer - General Discussion
Getting back to the valley from the top of Half Dome will have less ascending than going back to Glacier Point. Several years ago I did the entire Glacier Pt. - Half Dome - Glacier Pt. hike (20 miles) in one day, from ~6:00 sunrise start to 9:30 p.m. arrival back at GP. The route back to GP will have two climbs after Nevada Falls, while going to Happy Isles will be all downhill and probably lesby vdrummer - General Discussion
where's the photo from? I'd say it's most definitely a Turkey Vulture or Black Vulture, and possibly a California Condor, though Condors are very rare and limited to very small areas. Juvenile Condors and TVs had greyish heads like that. Kind of a weird sun reflection at the rear of the primary feathers there.by vdrummer - General Discussion
Jim, Overall, I'd consider planning the longer hikes with bigger altitude gain for later in the trip (give yourself time to acclimatize) and shorter distances on days 1 & 2; so if Hoffman (or whatever) is your big push, maybe save it for the last day or something. FYI, the hike to North Dome is pretty nice, but making it out & back on the day I drove up from sea level was much harderby vdrummer - General Discussion
I don't have enough data to accurately comment on being less likely to encounter a bear out by yourself as opposed to closer to the HSC camps, but it sure seems that you're almost assured of being fine as long as you follow the bear rules. I look more for solitude rather than crowds, and while I've visited four of the camps, I've never stayed in one - I've camped out along the river upstreamby vdrummer - General Discussion
Ok, thanks. I had mistakenly assumed that the Yosemite Creek Trailhead was at the Yosemite Creek Campground; no problem to start at the official Trailhead on 120, and will have alternates planned just in case. Yes deserted campgrounds are kind of interesting - I walked through Glen Aulin and Sunrise HS camps in July 2005 when they were empty (if I recall correctly, a large snowpack delayed poteby vdrummer - General Discussion
So, although the campground is closed, wilderness permits are still available for departures from Yosemite Creek, right? I'm considering a short trip out of there starting Sep. 27. Thanks!by vdrummer - General Discussion
If you go for Half Dome, I highly recommend bringing a water purifier - it is almost in the 'life saving' category IMHO - you will see many many folks desperate for more water, and you won't be burdened by carrying a gallon or two from the start. Post Edited (07-08-08 07:59)by vdrummer - General Discussion
last year on Thursday July 5, I arrived at TM Campground at 9:30 am, and it was 1/3 empty, and all spots were first-come, first-served, no reservations accepted. Not sure if it's representative of history or of what will happen in '08, but it's a data point for you - -by vdrummer - General Discussion
I stayed there mid-July 2005 after finishing a multi-night high country trip that ended at Happy Isles - it was easy to catch a shuttle and because it was around 9:30-10:00 when I got there, I just pitched my tent, cooked a quick dinner and crashed. It's right next to the river; I left my food outside in a bear container, I think - don't recall seeing or using lockers. I was at the bus stop aby vdrummer - General Discussion
North Dome from Porcupine Flat is terrific - see http://rosano.com/NorthDomeTrail for photos. There's a very unique arch at Indian Rock (short detour). I spent about five hours round trip and had some extra time for photos (about 60 pictures); altitude there can slow you down if you're not used to it. The ups and downs of the trail slowed me down more than I expected.by vdrummer - General Discussion
an old postcard I have says: "The overhanging rock at Glacier Point was a favorite spot for daredevil stunts in Yosemite many years ago. Visitor Antonio Gillette must have topped them all with this back flip in 1903" "Published by Flying Spur Press, Box 278, Yosemite, California, 95389" Looks like there was a wooden platform or something constructed on top of the rock.by vdrummer - General Discussion
I received weak coverage on a Motorola v815 near the Tioga road at pothole dome next to T Meadow in July 2005, and received good coverage on an iPhone with AT&T on July 5-8 2007 in T Meadows campground and nearby areas. I always carry a cell in the backcountry - 5 years ago my group discovered a one-hour old forest fire at the edge of Lake Spaulding (campers left and didn't extinguish theby vdrummer - General Discussion
I made a tuolumne-to-valley trek two summers ago, and I liked having my car at tuolumne so I could coordinate my gear, have lunch at the grill, and have a dip in tenaya lake at the end. The YARTS bus ride from the valley was really enjoyable - it was a tour bus, and the driver has lots of interesting info to share the entire way. We stopped at White Wolf briefly, and the driver stopped the buby vdrummer - General Discussion