June 27 - 30, 2018 A quote from John Muir who helped establish this national park:
"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, a place to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike".
Mono Lake just outside of the entrance to the park, is one of the oldest lakes in America. It contains 3 times more salt than the ocean. Evaporation has removed fresh water from it. It is one of the most productive lakes in the world, supporting trillions of brine shrimp, alkali flies and migratory birds.
Tufas form when fresh water springs containing calcium bubble up through the carbonate-rich water. The combining of these waters forms calcium carbonate, a whitish limestone deposit that forms the basis of the tufa formations.
We drove into the park at the Tioga Pass Entrance which is 10,000' high! We camped for 4 nights at the Tuolumne Meadows campsite where there were mostly hikers and backpackers. It was peaceful and so in the nature.
June 27 - Hike #1: Clouds Rest -- 22.7 km / 1018m gain / 3015m high / 7:15 hours MT
We were exhausted at the end of this hike. The heat was getting to us.
June 28 - Hike #2: Cathedral Lake -- 15.4 km / 475m gain / 2840m high / 4:50 hours MT
We walked aroung the lake.
I'd never seen so many backpackers in one location before.
An after dinner stroll along the Tuolumne River by our campsite. Reserve your campsite ahead of time!
June 29 - Hike #3: Dana Peak -- 10.3 km / 962m gain / 3957m high / 5:20 hours MT
This was the second highest peak in the park. Its not advertised there. We found out about it from a local. It was the greenest and had phenomenal views from the top.
Ice lining the creek.
At the summit.
There were many butterflies at the summit.
Mono Lake.
June 30 - Hike #4: Mist Trail -- 16 km / 700m gain / 33.3C!
This hike was in Yosemite Valley where there were lots of tourists, shuttle buses, etc. Once beyond Vernal Falls there weren't as many people. At the top of Nevada Falls we were both shaking from the heat and not eating enough. We had to ration our water towards the end of the hike.
Vernal Falls.
A steep granite stairway of over 600 steps leads to the top of Vernal Falls.
The lake at the top of Vernal Falls.
Nevada Falls
A bridge led us over the top of the falls and onto the John Muir trail.
pic 2) Nevada Falls
The famous rock climbers' El Capitan.
Wendy getting chummy with John Muir.
Did a short walk across from El Capitan.
You need to enter a lottery to do the Half Dome hike. This involves waiting early every morning to see if your name was picked or not.
Lower Yosemite Falls.
John Muir quote: "This grand show is always eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapour ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on seas and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls".
Pic 2) Mariposa Grove is by the south entrance to the park.
These towering Sequoia trees grow only in this one place on the planet: on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in California.
The Grizzly Giant is 63,7 m tall and has a circumference of 29m at its base.
Tea at the Big Tree Lodge.
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