Day 21 – El Capitan

I was enjoying a nice deep sleep when I got awoken by the motel gardener doing a spot of topiary – I nearly got up and shoved those shears where the sun doesn’t shine. Its been a week now since I managed more than 6 hours sleep and its beginning to wear me down. the upshot was that we got up earlier than expected and hit the road to Yosemite before 10.

Getting to Yosemite involved the customary going round in circles due to dodgy or late signs. Tom has this theory about signage; in the UK we use the “just so you know where you’re going” format and in the USA they sue the “by the way this is where you should have gone” format. Even with a few extra miles it didn’t take more than a couple of hours to get to the park.

By the time we got there the temperature had hit the mid 90′s and I welcomed the shade of the information center. FYI its $20 to get a 7 day pass for the park. The previous night we’d worked out that we couldn’t cut across from Kings Canyon to Death Valley, thus going to see the sequoia there would add on 500 miles. After a bit of Googleing I found three other groves within Yosemite. The information center lady assisted us with directions and advised us on timescales for driving around the park.

First stop was Crane Flat for the Tuolumne sequoia grove. after parking up you take an old logging road down into the woods. After a mile or so you see the first sequoia, not as abundant as I’d thought but instead their reddish colour and size makes them stand out from the other trees. There’s a path that leads you round the resident sequoia, made up of young (500-1500 years old), old and fallen trees. One of the dead trees is preserved with a tunnel cut through its 31ft trunk; its bark apparently went to the Crystal Palace exhibition.

Next stop was Bridalveil, or the disappearing , falls (so names as the water turns to mist before it reaches the bottom). Not content with the viewing area we followed a couple of people up the river bed to near the base of the falls. Where they stopped, due to big rocks, we carried on and eventually made it to the very base. There we stood under the falling water and even took a dip in the icy waters at its base. An amazing experience that words really can’t describe.

Finally we headed into Yosemite valley to view El Capitan and Half dome. We stood in awe at the base of El Capitan and witnessed a group of climbers, about a third of the way up, setting up camp for the night. their support crew and friends were gathered in the field below with telescopes and beers. Nothing can prepare you for the sheer size of El Captian and Half Dome they’re simple huge; but not in the mountain sense, their sheer vertical faces give them a structural facade.

Heading out of the valley we rejoined the 120 to drive across and out of the east side of rthe park. By this time the light was starting to go and I started dozing off. after a short nap Tom woke me up to the vista of Olmsted Point. By now the mountains had taken on a reddish glow that enhanced every crease in their smooth sides. We climbed up to a higher vantage point and got treated to the postcard view of Cathedral Peak and the lake beneath it.

Leaving the park we had to drive south for a while to find accommodation. We ended up in Mammoth Lakes and got a deal on a room in a lovely ski lodge. the receptionist here gave us some useful info on the area and times to Vegas. its worked out that we can fit in an extra day in the area so we’ve opted to take the room for two nights.