We should be making one of our all-too-infrequent trips to Yosemite next week (the "should" part of it is a long story...let's just say it's not definite at this point). Since my wife is recovering from a broken ankle, they'll be at least one or two days where she drops me at a trail head and picks me up somewhere else several hours later. I'd like to connect two hikes that we did lasby DavidK42 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Yes, I remember those posts...now that I've actually been there, they resonate that much more with me. Definitely want to get back to Alder when the water's flowing. BTW, since it was bone dry when I was there, I couldn't be too sure how feasible to go beyond the falls on that trail. Does the trail actually go through the water or does it cross at a higher point?by DavidK42 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Thanks, Peter. I thought I was logged in but tried again and noticed that I also had to edit the album visibility (it defaults to just me). I don't want to hijack this thread for my TR (at least no more than I already have!) so I'll just post the album link here and try to get some separate posts up about the trips soon. FYI, the trip to Deer Camp is photos 125-179 and the trip to Alder Fallsby DavidK42 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
QuoteJustKeepWalking No bodily abuse...at least on that bit... Chick-on's comment below clarified where you were and yes, that's a pretty abuse-free zone although, ironically, I got one of my worst old-road injuries the first time I hiked that segment (threw my leg over a downed tree and smacked the back of my calf onto the stubby but still very sharp remains of a small branch that had brokenby DavidK42 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quotechick-on It was continuation of Elevenmile. It only went for a very bit more... Basilblop pointed out another bit s and e of there that needs exploration though. That is quite a lovely stretch and definitely one of the easier sections (including the spur down to the meadow), even if all the construction up at the Henness Ridge Rd end has destroyed a lot of the charm and isolation of tby DavidK42 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quotechick-on Thought of you just yesterday when a new bit of Old Wawona Road was "discovered" ... You KNOW you can't drop a line like that without at least a hint as to where it is and the degree of bodily abuse I'll have to endure to traverse it!by DavidK42 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Quoterecycling1991 Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I've booked us at the Bryce Canyon lodge for one night. I'll keep my Zion lodge cabins based on your suggestions. I'll have to look into the drives and hikes in more detail as we get closer. My husband has a strong fear of heights, and since we'd like to stay as a family, we'll probably avoid the crazy height hikes or drives, if posby DavidK42 - General Discussion
Been busy with lots of stuff but can't believe I forgot to say Happy Birthday to one of my favorite people-I-haven't-met-yet! It looks like I'm going to have to move to California before we can get our schedules sufficiently sync'd to hike together but, in the meantime, hope you had a fabulous day and that you keep finding new parts of Yosemite to thrill and delight you (actually "thrill anby DavidK42 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
QuoteJustKeepWalking Quotebasilbop Quotechick-on (some would say I have too many sleepy bags) ...and some say he drags his dingleballs through manzanita and chinquapin for fun, and that he invented sat nav just to run Maplets. All we know is he's called the Chick-On. Hey, good news!! There's another version of Maplets out! (I will be pleasantly impressed if someone here gets these refereby DavidK42 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Hope Tom's still allowed to use his old name...DNC might very well claim that it's part of the "Wawona Hotel" trademark!by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Well, I'm inclined to say watermelon and goldenrod for the two bags but my wife (who has worked in or with graphics and art production her whole professional life) assures me that I'm terrible with recognizing most colors!by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Wow! looks like a volcano! No wonder people who only see pictures of Yosemite (without ever having been there) think everything's photo-shopped.by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotehotrod4x5 Is Yosemite the most popular national park in the world? Well, not to get all literal-minded but I'd have to say that that depends on how you define "popular." (Sorry but my day-job requires me to be ultra-picky about things like that and some habits are hard to turn off! ). I would think that, as others have interpreted it here, that would be based primarily on a staby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
A belated happy-happy-happy, Mike! I do have to ask, though...since you're so established in these parts, have you checked lately to make sure that DNC hasn't trademarked "The Old Dude." It's going to get awkward if we have to start changing your signage to "Geezer in the Backcountry" or something!by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
We haven't done any overnight stuff yet. We usually fly in from the East Coast and so have to limit how much gear we bring with us (not that we actually own the gear for overnight stays). We're in the process of relocating to California and, once we're settled in there, we hope to buy the requisite gear and start honing our overnight backpacking skills in Yosemite (hopefully with the help of soby DavidK42 - General Discussion
I've only been to Bryce once (about 3 or 4 years ago). We stayed at Bryce Canyon Pines (about a 10 minute drive outside the park). We ate at the Lodge one night (pretty good but not good enough to justify the price as I recall), Ruby's one night (my wife's chicken was absolutely inedible...her hiking boots were probably more tender...to their credit, the waitress was VERY nice about trying to fby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I finally clicked through to take a look at the actual Conde Nast posting. To be fair, they don't list the Ahwahnee as "Best in the World" but rather "Our Favorites in the World" (and I didn't count but it looks like there are about 200 hotels on that list). "Favorite" (as opposed to "Best" at least acknowledges the subjectivity of such an accolade ("by DavidK42 - General Discussion
Thanks for the pictures, Kevin. I was in Zion a few years ago and am anxious to get back. I was just staying in Springdale (the town immediately outside the park) and doing day hikes but I did go through Echo Canyon on the way up to Observation Point. Really beautiful place and definitely in the top 3 or 4 NP's I've been to so far. FWIW, I also did several miles of the West Rim trail whenby DavidK42 - General Discussion
Good point and I have seen the type of spider attachments you mention (although I've never used them). There was plenty of clearance on the car I rented on that trip but it was definitely NOT a sports or specialty vehicle!by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
My wife and I met through a regional bicycle club. As a testament to what biking can do for your health and endurance, at the time we met, her mom was 72 and was consistently the top rider in our (rather large) club, averaging about 16,000-17,000 miles per year. Despite being a rather slow rider (averaged about 10-12 mph), she just got up and rode for 8-10 hours pretty much every day unless theby DavidK42 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I've only been to the Valley once when chain restrictions were in effect (on the way out, not on the way in). Snow started coming down quite heavily the morning we were due to leave and I was nervous about driving in it. I'd never used chains in my life (even though I grew up in New England) and, although I'd bought some specifically for this trip, I was clueless as to how to put them on. Therby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechick-on OK... forum abusers... wish him a happy birthday... He makes the forum fun with his great TRs and knowledge of Yosemite. That he does! And although I'm a stickler for getting dates right, I'll join in the "start-ball-rolling-early" party and say Happy Almost Birthday, Basilbop! Hope to be able to join you on the trail one of these days!by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Ah...thought it might be something along those lines. Thanks for the link...by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I don't want to sound cynical but what's the conversion factor that makes Fourth Graders = "Every Kid?" Don't get me wrong...I'm very supportive about anything that gets kids interested in the NP's and wilderness conservation, I just wonder why younger (or slightly older) kids are excluded. Is it simple economics or is there some other rationale that I'm missing?by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
It's a shame about the bridge being destroyed. My wife and I have only gone down the old Foresta Road once (didn't go all the way to El Portal but went a good ways past that now-burned bridge). I can't imagine it's going to be a high priority for the park to replace that bridge (actually, is that even inside the park boundary? Without double-checking a map, I'm thinking it's outside the park..by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Cool! I've seen old cabling on a number of my old-road explorations and, except for those that are obviously very old (like the telegraph wire/insulator in your 2nd picture) or very new (like the last picture), I'm always at a bit of a loss to know how much of an historical artifact I'm looking at (or stepping/tripping on/over/through/around) but I'm always fascinated to see them. Walking the oby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotewherever The map can be downloaded in several resolutions, including an incredible 20 MB zipped JPEG. But you don't need to download it, you can just view it in your browser and blowup what you want using the sliding bar within the lower center of the picture. Fascinating map (thanks for the link!)...I was looking to download the hi-rez jpeg you mentioned but I can't find where to do thaby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Thanks for posting this, wherever...I can't get enough of this stuff! Quotewherever I will spare you the photos of us peering at wires and insulators. Our actual off-official-trail bushwhacking on the Old Horse Trail lasted only 2 and a half hours, and that's with various stops. It makes for a very satisfying sunny-day hike, if you enjoy route-finding. I (and, I'm pretty sure, at least a fby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteabetterpitchfork How'd you do the GPS tracks? Garmin, or smartphone? I always hike with my Garmin and save tracks after each hike. When I get home, I load them into MapSource which makes a nice record of where I've been (unfortunately, I didn't save them the first several years I was carrying the GPS so I've only got saved tracks for the last 5 or 6 years). There's probably an easier wayby DavidK42 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I've been very remiss in my trip reports and it will probably take me a few weeks to get around to all the day hikes we did on our last trip to Yosemite in early September but I promised myself I'd get at least one report up to day so here's day 1 (actually day 2 since we arrived late afternoon on day 1). We started at the Mono Meadow TH, went down to Illilouette Creek, followed along to theby DavidK42 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra