OK, a naive question since I've never been on Sunnyside Bench but is that what the guy in the 2nd photo is walking along? I've always been curious about this but the little bit I've found about it online makes it sound more like a climber's route than a hiker's route but at least the segment in the picture doesn't look that bad. Is it a big deal to get to that spot?by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotemrcondron The Old Priest Grade is closed to virtually any vehicles except cars and pickups. There is a big sign at either end of it graphically showing which vehicle types are forbidden. Absolutely no trailers though. Well I know that and you know that but just like the signs in Yosemite that warn against wading in the Merced just above a waterfall, the signs don't always work. The sameby DavidK42 - General Discussion
Quotey_p_w As was mentioned earlier, buses and trucks use New Priest Grade Road. I think the twisties are only about 4 miles, and only a few spots are actually exposed (and only eastbound). New PG is actually six miles up. Old PG is 2.7 miles. I actually feel safer (partly because the twisty bits are so densely concentrated on the old road that you never have the temptation to go very fastby DavidK42 - General Discussion
Thanks for the info. I'm not sure if that makes me any happier knowing that it's non-residential use...it's still impinging on what is one of the single cleanest remaining stretches of the Old Wawona Road but hopefully they won't decide to branch out too much in their future land use.by DavidK42 - General Discussion
Quoteplawrence What's cools about this perspective of Tueeulala Fall is that it looks somewhat like Upper Yosemite Fall and the middle cascades of Yosemite Falls. I wonder if the reservoir wasn't there would there be a Lower Tueeulala Falls to complete the picture? I suspect there would be (after all, the water had to keep going down after the "middle falls" ) although I've neverby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
I'm not sure that makes it ANYTHING-proof (except maybe owner-proof the day he misplaces his key!)by DavidK42 - General Discussion
Things DO seem to have gotten a bit contentious around here lately. I know there's a LOT more traffic on the forum now as compared to when I signed up in the middle of this past winter. Does it get like this every summer? And, although that was at least relevant to chick-on's last comment, I'll bring this back to the main topic to say that Yes, that IS a really cool tree but then I find a LOby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Cool shot, chick-on! I took a quick look at your Picassa albums but didn't notice which one this was from (if any). It makes me realize, though, that although I've done a couple of short day-hikes around Hetch Hetchy, I've never seen pictures of where the Tuolumne stops being a river and starts being a valley-killer (aka, reservoir). I'm guessing that that happens right around the very bottomby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteplawrence You really hike a 15 minute mile? That's a pretty brisk walking pace even on a flat paved trail or sidewalk, let alone on a non-paved, non-level typical hiking trail. Well, if we're defining "hiking' as being out on a trail in someplace I really want to be (like Yosemite), I almost never hike a 15 minute mile but if I'm just out to get from point A to point B (like normalby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Well, not really my place to criticize what anybody thinks is a great day's hike but, FWIW, doing all that in one day strikes me as giving you very little time to actually enjoy much of it (unless (maybe) you're planning to make it a VERY long day). Again, just my point of reference but, in a normal (i.e., primarily focussed on getting from point A to point B) walk/hike/sojourn, I normally moveby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
It's already written in to my will...glad to know that it doesn't have to be done clandestinely now!by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Depending on how close you want to stay to the Valley, I'm a big fan of the Chilnuana Falls hike down in the Wawona area. Depending on how fast you hike, how much time you hang at the top of the falls and whether you explore around the top of the falls (the trail continues on a long ways beyond the falls), that'll be anywhere from a few hours to a long day. Since I usually go in May when theby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Hi Andre, As long as you're planning that far in advance, you shouldn't have too many problems but, depending on where else you want to go on your trip, you may be better off just renting a car and staying in one of the facilities within Yosemite. Even a small motor-home will seem huge when you're driving it on some of these mountain roads (not all of which have guard rails) and between tby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteparklover My goal is to see as many as the National Parks and Monuments that I can and so far my total is somewhere around 40. That's also part of my long-term vacation plan but with a limited amount of vacation time, I always struggle with the difference between wanting to see them all and wanting to get to know some of them in great detail. I've not been to a single NP that I haven'tby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotehotrod4x5 How much of a nut are you? Well, I currently live in NJ and still manage to spend 7-10 days a year in Yosemite. I have an entire shelf of books and maps (plus many more in electronic format on my computer). I've been known to go in to Google street view for the purposes of "walking" along a road in Yosemite. When I'm not in the park, I rarely go more than a few weeksby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteFrank Furter Do the Rangers exert control beyond the permit process-- in other words, do they close down the cables if there is lightning or rain? Are you kidding? They're smart enough to get the heck out of there if there's lightning or rain!by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteplawrence Thanks for the pix of the old road. I didn't understand your reference about your conversion with the one of the owners that's in the photos. The only person I saw in the photos was the old dude. Is the old dude one of the owners? Scroll down to the comments below the picture...there's a fairly long chat thread between chick-on and the owner of the cabin in the picture.by DavidK42 - General Discussion
If you're asking about Yosemite in general (rather than just the Valley), there are also some privately owned holdings in the park: Many of the structures in Foresta burned during the 1990 A-Rock fire but not all of them did (and some have been rebuilt). I believe these are a mix of owner-occupied and rental properties. Most of the homes in Wawona are privately owned (and, not suprisinby DavidK42 - General Discussion
Quotemrcondron Nice shots and content. The clip transitions are painful though. I almost commented on that as well. I'm guessing that I'm a few years closer to the MTV generation than you are, Mike but that doesn't mean I like that type of editting. With a place as beautiful as Yosemite, I want to dwell on every shot. If that makes the video 20 or 30 minutes long, so be it. You definitelyby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotechicagocwright No, no, no. One of the comments from the article had the best idea. A zip line from North Dome! That may be the only way I ever get my wife up there!by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Cool video but, um, did you have a hit man take out everybody else on the cables or something? Seriously, I'd have expected the cables to be packed (or were you up very early and down very late?)by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
GREAT picture! Hope the bird landed safely!by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
My wife called me earlier today and said that just as she was getting out of the car at work, she heard something on NPR about Yosemite but didn't have time to listen. I told her, don't worry, if it's about Yosemite, it'll be on the forum before I'm able to look it up on the NPR site. Gotta love this forum!by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quoteeeek The block free-fell for about 200 m (660 feet) and landed on the prominent ledge above Curry Village along which the old Ledge Trail traversed. Rock debris continued down this ledge, but stopped on the talus slope behind Curry Village. There were no reports of injuries or structural damage associated with this event. Anybody know if this obliterated (or at least blocked) any of thby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Side-stepping while firmly gripping the railing is probably a good approach once you're on the bridge but in very high-water situations, you've also got to contend with water on the approaches and water over the section in the middle (where it crosses the bridge pier) where there is no railing (in fact, Mike's already pointed out that it's conceivable that it was on the approach that the hiker goby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Unless there have been very recent changes that I've not heard about, Half Dome is the only day hike in the Park that requires a permit. I believe that all overnight (i.e., backpacking) trips anywhere in the Park require permits (I've yet to do any backpacking so the latter statement is not from personal experience but I'm pretty sure it's accurate). Although you'll find many of us in this foby DavidK42 - General Discussion
No matter how much I may associate that spot with some of the worst traffic jams in or near the Valley, I'll never get tired of that view!by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteHitech I was expecting a twisting mountain road with no shoulder and a cliff on one side. Also with steep inclines. Something like Hwy 1 but in the mountains with steep inclines. Once all the roads got realigned in the mid-20th century, most of those sorts of things went away. I'm so used to it now that I don't think much about it but, within the park, there are still a few spots on theby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
QuoteHitech (not nearly as bad as I would have thought). I'm just curious about what you were expecting? Were you expecting "bad" as in scary to drive, too much traffic or something else? Before they realigned the road in the early 60's, some people driving it called it the scariest road they'd ever been on (although, based on photos I've seen, and the old parts of the old road I'vby DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion
Quotehikerchick395 And I don't know which show was more exaggerated...this one or "Man vs Wild" in the Sierra Nevada. Man v Wild seems to be getting increasingly silly each season and I only watch it occasionally now. I missed the Sierra episode...were you able to tell where he was?by DavidK42 - Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada. News & Discussion