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Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Yosemite - National Park of the Week #4

Yosemite celebrated its 123rd birthday this week and is one of my favorite parks, so it was the natural choice for this week's NPOTW.

Yosemite National Park
Location: Eastern CA.  190 mi. E of San Francisco, 100 mi. N of Fresno
Area: 748,000 acres
Major Attractions: Massive granite domes, scenic glacier-carved valleys, stunning waterfalls, sequoia groves
Miles of Trail:  750+
My Favorite Parts: High Sierra Lakes, Backcountry Vistas, Granite Domes
Getting There: From Fresno: 2 hours - Drive north on CA-41
From Bay Area: 3 hours - I-580 E, I-205 E, I-5 N (short!), CA-120 E
Website: www.nps.gov/yose/

Established as the third National Park in the country, Yosemite is one of our country's most iconic parks.  Its jaw-dropping glacier-carved valleys with their incredible waterfalls and huge exposed granite faces and domes are hard to beat in terms of sheer scenic beauty.  Besides the summer traffic, my main complaint about the park used to be its lack of wildlife, however, after my last trip there I can no longer make that complaint.  The most famous views in the park are in Yosemite Valley and from Glacier Point.  I think Hetch Hetchy Valley and views of Mono Lake from the eastern edge of the park are just as spectacular.  If you hate crowds and traffic, Yosemite has an enormous backcountry/wilderness area.  With the exception of the hike to and up Half Dome, my general rule of "once you hike two miles into the wilderness the crowds disappear" holds true.  For this reason the backcountry is my favorite part of the park.  Views often look better when you have to work for them (and when there are no crowds of strangers in the way); and for that reason I find the views around Ten Lakes, Parker Pass, Cathedral Peak, and Clouds Rest to be some of the best in the park.

Yosemite is beautiful year-round, but late spring is probably the best time to visit to see the waterfalls in their full glory.  If you are looking to backpack and want to avoid crowds, high temperatures, and walking on snow, the fall is probably ideal.

My other piece on Yosemite can be found at:
http://trailsofarkansas.blogspot.com/2013/06/hetch-hetchy-yosemite-national-park.html

Ten Lakes Area Yosemite National Park
Near Ten Lakes

Yosemite National Park Ten Lakes
Near Ten Lakes

Yosemite National Park

Cathedral Peak Yosemite National Park
Dome Near Cathedral Peak, Yosemite National Park, California

Near Medlicot Dome Cathedral Peak Yosemite National Park
View Near Medlicot Dome

Yosemite National Park Rest

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park
Waterfall - Yosemite

Yosemite National Park

Cathedral Peak Snow Yosemite National Park Backpack
Cathedral Peak

Yosemite National Park
Unhappy about Backpacking on Snow

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park Waterfall Half Dome Backpack Hike

Glacier Point Yosemite National Park
Glacier Point

Hetch Hetchy Valley Reservoir Yosemite National Park
Hetch Hetchy Valley

Ireland Lake Yosemite National Park
Trail to Ireland Lake, Yosemite

Ireland Lake Yosemite National Park
Ireland Lake

Yosemite National Park
Looking Towards Townsley Lake and Vogelsang from ridge near Ireland Lake

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park

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