The entire road from Tamarack Flat to the Valley floor is probably my favorite hike in the park -- always will be, I suppose.by Rob65 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
FYI for the OP, the Old Big Oak Flat Road mentioned by Bearproof is the same trail as the one I mentioned to Rainbow View. Rainbow View is farther up and requires negotiating through the area where rockslides have covered the old road. It's a similar view to the one in Bearproof's photo, but just higher up on the north wall of the Valley. There's a metal railing left there from when this was tby Rob65 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Inspiration Point -- it's a short hike (all uphill going; all downhill returning). The view is largely the same as from the Tunnel View but from a higher angle. You won't have much company, likely. I enjoy it at dusk. It's a nicer view than Artist Point (which really isn't a point, anyhow), although a steeper/longer climb. Another, although probably less private option, is Sentinel Dome.by Rob65 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I did some research on that. The Coulterville Road was only constructed as far as Crane Flat when McLean "discovered" the Merced Grove. The 6 miles from Hazel Green to Crane Flat that had been constructed were abandoned and the route was switched to dip southeast from Hazel Green to the Merced Grove and thence on down to Big Meadow. Apparently, the original plan of the Coulterville Rby Rob65 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
That isn't technically a part of the Old Coulterville Road (which runs through Merced Grove and down to Twin Bridges and Little Nellie Falls, and then over to Foresta/Big Meadow), but dates from the same time period. My understanding is that it was a road that was used as a "short cut" from Big Meadow to Crane Flat and, along with another abandoned road from Hazel Green to Crane Flat (by Rob65 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Is this the one that was on the old Mono Trail somewhere to the east of where it crossed the old Big Oak Flat Road?by Rob65 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I'm fairly certain that the Sentinel Dome road was a side road and not ever part of the old GP Road. I don't think it was closed off until sometime in the mid-1970s, as I am pretty sure I remember driving up to the old parking area at the base of Sentinel Dome on one of my first family camping trips to the park. The switchback shown on Chick-On's map and photos is the one I remember seeing piby Rob65 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
Have a good trip! I'm jealous. Finding the original Old BOF Road segment from Rush Creek/Crocker's to Hodgdon Meadow might be a bit hard, at least on the western end because there are so many other dirt roads meandering about in that area and, since this OBOF road section was never paved for autos (unlike the segment from Carlon Day Use Area up to HM), there's really nothing to distinguish itby Rob65 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I know what you're referring to, and that wasn't what I was thinking of. I seem to remember seeing some things that looked like the original alignment farther up, above or near Washburn Point, but the memory is a bit foggy since I didn't have detailed maps with me and wasn't really focusing on the Old GP Road during that trip.by Rob65 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I'm here, David. Thanks for the PM. I have not hiked the section of the Old Coulterville Road from Merced Grove to Little Nellie Falls, but I think it is pretty clear and open. Once you go past Merced Grove, it receives less use but I think it's a pretty obvious path. I think the Stanislaus National Forest has closed the portions of the OCR (and connecting FRs) outside the YNP boundary to aby Rob65 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I believe that some of the Old GP Road switchbacks from the point where the old side road to the Sentinel Dome parking lot branches off the GP Road were aligned differently than the current road. At least I've noticed a few signs of what might have been the old road diverging from the modern alignment in a few places, but I haven't explored it in any depth.by Rob65 - Backpacking and Hiking Yosemite and the Sierra
I agree with you about tunnels. Highway engineers in Europe love tunnels -- there are hundreds of them in Italy, France, and especially Norway. Perhaps they value aesthetics more than we Americans do, but you rarely see big highway scars on mountains there. I can't imagine it's much cheaper to build them there; perhaps they just have superior engineers. I would have built dozens of tunnelsby Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I think we can also thank the fact that the southern Sierra never experienced the Gold Rush (or any other mineral boom), otherwise these roads would have been constructed -- and later improved into modern highways.by Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Although this map shows 190 as running from Porterville to Lone Pine, I think that was just a "line on a map" in the early years. Once Caltrans (or the Division of Highways then) got serious about actually building the route, they outlined it as a connection from Porterville via Quaking Aspen to Olancha via Olancha Pass. A Caltrans survey of the route sometime in the 1950s resulted inby Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
The map shows the planned route of State Route 190 across the Sierra south of Sequoia National Park as well.by Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Fantastic! Another short hike to schedule for my next visit! Thanks so much for sharing!by Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Any sign of Split Rock?by Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
So do you think the piece you show as being east of the current WR between the Henness Ridge Road junction and Indian Creek is part of the Old WR? I had wondered, but other map overlays on another thread here seemed to show that the Old WR is somewhere to the west of the current WR all the way to Chinquapin (which didn't make sense to me given the topography -- such a road would have had to loseby Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Awesome! I've seen Moonlight Rock before without knowing what it was. I, too, am very interested in what has become of the long abandoned (since 1876, I presume) segment of the Mariposa Trail from Moonlight Rock down to the valley floor. Could be a fun bushwhack. Did the Mariposa Trail follow what is now the Pohono Trail east from Old Inspiration Point toward Taft Point? If so, where did iby Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Merced Grove is a nice 1/2 day trip, but you might enjoy Tuolumne Grove more. It's a bit larger and easier to reach as the "trail" (really a segment of the Old Big Oak Flat Road that was closed to autos in 1990) is paved, plus it's a shorter distance. On the other hand, if solitude is what you're after, Merced Grove is the one. The first part of the trail uses a dirt fire road of rby Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Not a swinging bridge, but does anybody remember the rope swing at Devil's Elbow? I had a blast on that thing, splashing into the Merced River, on many a weekend in the 70s. Is it still there?by Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
No idea on the whereabouts of this photo, but the third photo (the "precarious" one) might be along the stretch of the OWR north of Grouse Creek where it makes a steep climb up toward Turtleback Dome and, eventually, Fort Monroe.by Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Me too!!by Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Awesome! I've always wondered about the OWR between Chinquapin and Wawona. Any traces of the old Alder Creek entrance station site from back when that was the south entrance to the park?by Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Hate it when work gets in the way of Yosemite talk. Or Yosemite visits...by Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
David, I'm fairly certain that the red line to the north of modern Highway 120 on the left side of the map (and then crossing to the south side as you move toward the map's left edge) is not the Old BOF Road, but is the old connector/cutoff road that ran from the Coulterville Road at Hazel Green to the Old BOF Road at Crane Flat. This was originally constructed to be part of the Coulterville Roaby Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Thanks for the cool map. But I have some questions as the roads you've traced don't quite match up with my understanding of the old road system in the Crane Flat area. What is the red/orange line that goes off the top of the map on the right hand side? I'm not aware of any road in this location -- it looks as if it is supposed to be the OBOF Road through Tuolumne Grove, but due to a mapping erby Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Beautiful. What a fantastic day that must have been.by Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Oh man, now you've piqued my curiosity.by Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I grew up camping in Lower River. My favorite sites were always the ones that backed up to the path and roadway because I could get on my bike directly from the campsite and go exploring without my parents knowing!by Rob65 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion