Finally, Yosemite Valley (and Glacier Point)

Our day begins early with a white scrawny coyote scampering across our path as we head out of our campsite. Could it be the fierce competition from the 3.5 million people that visit this park annually that brings him so close to the camp ground? Let's hope not.

We skip breakfast at our site and pack up, determined to beat the rush into Yosemite Valley. We figure once we are down there we can pull up at a picnic area and make brekkie... unless there are park rules about that too!? These uptight Yosemite rangers....

The drive down into the Valley is not too busy. That said, we are driving on a two lane separated highway. Alright, it's a road. To deal with all the traffic in the valley, the paved loop is a two lane byway. You can't go too fast around here — don't want any bear accidents (there are poster boards in every spot a bear has been hit this season with the date it was killed and an all caps message "SPEEDING KILLS BEARS").

We don't want to do that, so we take it slow. This is easy given there are very few cars on the road. Our early start is paying off!

The big highlights in Yosemite Valley are the towering El Capitan granite rock face, the equally impressive granite Half Dome, the gushing waterfalls and rivers and well, the stunning picturesque wilderness. Formed by receding glaciers thousands of years ago, Yosemite Valley is some of mother nature's finest work.















We start out below the well worn trail to the Lower Yosemite Falls. Back in May when we did the LA to Washington State coastal drive, we remember seeing a photo of these Falls (there are three tiers to it) at the height of the full spring run off. The water is much slower now, but still makes it way down the 2,425 feet of granite with panache. Given that it is around 8:30 a.m. when we are there, we have the view pretty much to ourselves — Bonus!




We pull in at a picnic area at the base of the looming rock wall El Capitan (7,569ft) and proceed to ogle the climbers through our binoculars in between spoonfuls of cereal. The picnic area is a launch point for many of the day climbers. Keir asks one group how long it takes to climb El Capitan? "About 2 days for most," says an accented European climber. "But there is a movie about two world class climbers who did it in 2 1/2 hours. I watched it. They are monkeys," he says with a grin.




We stop a few more times along the side of the road to gaze upwards at the cliffs and snap more photos of the ever photogenic scenery. The big story of the day is about an emergency evacuation off El Capitan the day previous. Lucky for one of the climbers that fell, he only lost a few fingers.




Out of the valley we go, just missing the rush and up to Glacier Point (7,214ft) to view the Valley from above and the famed Half Dome (8,842ft) at eye level. It is indeed an impressive chunk of granite. Hike-able in a very long day trek, one now needs a permit to do so as it gets very busy. From up on high, we can even get a nice view of Vernal and Nevada Falls (also on the famed Mist Trail hike).















We opt to lunch atop the Sentinel Dome and hike the 1.1 mile trail in (alright UP) to the top. It is another impressive view — we are able to see both the Half Dome and El Capitan in one go. The swift breeze keeps it cool.















Talking over our plan for the next few days, we decide to make a pit stop at Curry Village back down in the Valley to shower up — then we can stay out for another few days if we choose to. There are no line ups for the shower house (which is deluxe as it provides towels, shampoo and soap) and the roads in the valley are fairly clear of traffic. It seems to be paying off that we have come to Yosemite during the middle of the week and at this time of year!

Our new site at Crane Flat, # 228, is a private oasis tucked back away from everyone. It is lovely and surprisingly flat. We make an early dinner (because Jenn is ravenous) and then campfire it up in our private site.

It's cold at night. Did we mention that? Brrrr.. Enough of these high altitudes!

Hetch Hetchy Hoo

Darn it. It's a new day and we need another campsite.

Time to do the Yosemite shuffle — drive a winding 20 miles, hit the nearest reservation office, plead with and bribe the ranger and hope we can score a site for the night. Dare we suggest it — even two nights?

We leave the Wanona area and head for Crane Flat (6,200 ft), where we think we may be able to snag a campsite for a couple of nights. To get to Crane Flat, we have to descend into the Valley which gives us our first look at the majestic view. Okay, we get why people flock here. It's pretty sweet.




But, we're not stopping. Not today. We loop out of the valley and climb back up the other side towards Crane Flat. There are several campsites in the Valley — much coveted campsites. Getting a reservation here takes some effort, planning and paying off Yogi Bear. Plus the sites are packed to the gills. So, we opt to look at sites out of the valley, but within striking distance. Crane Flat fits the bill.

The reservation office is eight miles past the campsite and when we get there, we manage to book a campsite for one night. But the ranger can't figure out what's available for two consecutive nights as the phones are down and she's unable to call the supervising ranger back at Crane Flat. Grrrr, patience please.

She gets us a site for tomorrow night and sends us back the eight miles to Crane Flat in hopes the incommunicado ranger will have the same site for tonight.

She doesn't. Grrrr. We are hoping to stay put in the same site for two nights, but that's not going to happen. Okay, we ask, what site do you have nearby?

The ranger takes pity on us and throws some poor sap out of site 220 so we can at least have a site tonight near our site for tomorrow night. After setting up our tent on a steep angle (which earns the site the new nickname of "Crane Slope") we decide to pass on THE Valley today and head out to Hetch Hetchy Valley which is on the Department Of Homeland Security's watch list. Why you ask?

Is it because terrorists might want to blow up all that natural beauty? Possibly. However, it's more to do with the big ass dam and a 117 billion gallon reservoir that provides water to all of San Francisco that they're more concerned about.

Hetch Hetchy is located in the north west part of the park and is less visited by the Yosemite faithful. Good for us, but too bad for those who miss it. It's quite a place — first off the dam alone is an engineering marvel. It's holding back a fair bit of water. If terrorists did blow it up, it would be some flood on the other end.




We take our time crossing over the dam, checking it all out.




Here's all the water, heading to San Fran. Don't spit...







After you cross the dam there is a walk through a longish tunnel and you are on the other side of the reservoir with a hiking trail that leads to Wapama Falls. It's a mere 5 mile round trip, but with the hot sun and uphill ascent, it makes for a good walk. Hetch Hetchy, we decide, gives Yosemite Valley a good run for its money. There's great views of the granite domes and cliffs and with all that water, it's beautiful.












The Wapama waterfall isn't too shabby either. Cascading over 1000 ft down fractured granite, it's impressive. We imagine what it must be like during the spring runoff. A torrent, we suspect.




We sit for a while, spray our faces in the glacier runoff (careful not to contaminate the water for the San Franners) and then start back. There aren't many people on the trail, which makes for a peaceful hike.







We drive out of the valley and hand back our parking pass to the park ranger who crosses our license plate off her list (Homeland Security, you know). Back at Crane Flat for dinner we go and encounter a cold night. Brrr. Get out the long johns It's chilly up in these thar hills!

Yosemite Sam

Here's why you come to Yosemite National Park!




More on that view in a moment. Our drive from Fresno to Yosemite National (Yo-sem-a-tee) is straight forward. What is not straight forward is arranging camping accommodation. We have become conditioned to just driving up to a campground, picking a site from the dozens available, filling out our form, putting in our money. Done.

Not at Yosemite. No sir, Smokey The Bear. Even in late September, the waning period of the high season, the campgrounds are packed virtually every night and reservations are essential. And to add to the fun, Yosemite has shut a few of their campgrounds already for the season while a raging forest fire has shut others. This makes securing a site a little tougher for everyone. After an arduous process on the Yosemite website while in Fresno, we manage to reserve a spot at the Wawona campground for our first night. For the remaining nights, we'll just wing it. We've read in our guidebook that as long as you get your tent and gear to a new campground before noon, you should have no issue securing a spot.

We hope...

Arriving at the Wawona campground in the morning, we find an amiable ranger at his station. He crosschecks his list with our reservation number. "ID please," he asks. He scrutinizes my driver's license like I'm sixteen and trying to buy a keg of beer. Then he proffers a whole checklist of bear do's and don'ts to be read OUT LOUD (the ranger insists) and then SIGNED indicating we will duly follow the rules. Next, we get the campsite do's and don'ts. Then finally a map to our site. We are quickly learning that the Yosemite folk are a touch more uptight than they are in other parks when it comes to putting down a tent.

Our site is fine — small, but far enough away from the other campers. We only had a tiny photo online to go by, so we think we've done quite well. With camp set up, we down a quick lunch and head back out to see the Mariposa Grove, one of the main attractions here at the park.




"Better take the shuttle," the rangers tells us on our way out. "It gets pretty packed up there in the parking lot. Yesterday, I set out at 4:00 p.m. and I couldn't even get up the road."

Shuttle? In the woods? The Yosemite shuttle, we discover, is really a big city transit bus that chugs its way up the mountain to the Mariposa Grove. In the end, it's not too bad a way to ride and the bus driver is chatty and full of fun grove facts.

The Wawona area of Yosemite NP is located just inside the South gates and was the first area to be developed in the park. The Yosemite Valley, the park crown jewel and displayed in the top photo, is about 30 miles further in. Due to those stunning rock face views, The Valley can get extremely congested with visitors, so we decide to hold off visiting for a bit and see how we want to tackle it.

Mariposa Grove, located in Wawona, hosts the biggest and most impressive cluster of massive sequoia trees in Yosemite Park. In 1855, James Hutchings built himself a cabin in the woods amongst these great trees and it was Mr. Hutchings who wrote to President Roosevelt, describing the Yosemite wilderness and requesting he ensure it remain protected. Thus the creation of Yosemite National Park.

There are indeed lots of people and cars at Mariposa Grove, but we don't let it deter us and begin the two mile ascent to the upper grove where the best trees are found. Along the way, we catch the star of the show, The Grizzly Tree, which is indeed mammoth and dated to be some 2700 years old. Got to give the Grizz his due! No photo, though. How many tree shots can you take?

Past the Grizz and the higher we climb, the more the crowds thin. Crossing over a ravine by log may slow down a few people, but not Jenn.





At the top, in the upper grove, we find Jame's Hutching's original cabin which has been converted into a small museum. The guy knew where to build a cabin — all around are beautiful, soaring sequoias. Can you see the cabin in the photo just below?











We walk about, taking in the grove and stopping at the featured trees such as the Fallen Tunnel Tree which at one point you could drive a car through — until it fell down. It was this tree that began to draw people out to Yosemite and see this very feat of a car going through a tree. There's also the Telescope tree which is still alive and lets you step inside and look right up through it into the sky.







Now all by ourselves, we climb a little higher to Wawona Point and are rewarded with a great view of the Wawona Valley.




It's an ideal stop for a snack and the perfect capper for our first day in Yosemite. We were anticipating hoards of people and, yes, there are quite a few, but we are able to duck around them. For now.

Down we go, back on the shuttle to our campsite where we whip up a deluxe salmon dinner on our little camp stove. Beat that, Martha Stew!




Yeah, I bleed red, white and blue...

Laying Low In Fresno

Ah yes, Fresno. Home to Cal-State, the Tower District, the Fresno Water Tower...and... well, hmmm.... did we mention Cal-State?

Fresno is not much to get excited about, but it's a nearby stopping point after our four days in Sequoia/Kings Canyon. It's also within striking distance of our next stop, Yosemite National Park.

We have no idea where we are when we pull into Fresno or where to go to find a hotel. The guidebook is a little vague. So we just drive around the wonderful city seeing ALL sides of life and places dubious and shady. It's a good glimpse of the social scene in a less than glamourous American city. Eventually, we stumble upon the historic Fresno Water Tower which also doubles as a Visitor's Centre. The two very unbusy volunteers are shocked to see us walk in — apparently no one comes downtown to Fresno — not on the weekend. They longwindedly set us straight, shipping us up the highway to a more "lively" area — the Blackstone Strip which is lined with every chain restaurant ever incorporated in America, your Targets and Banana Republics and more than a few hotels. Oh, and if we're interested in going clubbing in Fresno, our Visitor Centre volunteers have a brochure for that...

We choose a Best Western for our stay, shower off the sequoia dust and head to Whole Foods for lunch (Fresno does have a Whole Foods Market, thankfully — you can't beat the very, very complete salad bar).

We take the rest of the day to do laundry, Skype with family, eMail, etc. We also look into campsites in Yosemite National — reservations are required for most of the sites. It's going to be much more populated and a very different experience in one of the most visited U.S. national parks.

In the morning, we decide to take another day and just chill — even if it is Fresno. We lounge for a bit, then head out and get some camping groceries. We catch a movie (Drive) at the Edwards 24 billion multiplex and visit the one attraction in Fresno the guidebook advises us not to miss.

The Forestiere Underground Gardens are the dream and vision of Sicilian immigrant Baldasare Forestiere who dug out some 70 acres under the hard Fresno soil to create a subterranean home and citrus garden. Having first worked as a subway builder in Boston, Baldasare dreamt of owning his own citrus farm in California. However, upon purchasing a large plot of land in Fresno, he discovered the soil (rock) was completely unsuitable for growing crops. He also found summers in Fresno to be unbearably hot.

His solution to beat the heat and rocky soil was an underground home and garden which he dug and designed entirely by himself over the course of 40 years. Baldasare died in 1946 and his remarkable creation is now run by his extended family who do the restoration work on the many tunnels and rooms and offer guided tours.

It's not much to look at from the outside, but we soon find the underground marvel well worth the visit. Magical, charming, and peaceful are all words we repeat during the first rate tour. For an underground home and garden, it is remarkably light due to the skylights Baldasare included.

Some photos of it all below. Yes, we asked endless questions and hijacked the tour — we can't help ourselves. It was definitely the highlight of our day and visit here in Fresno.









































Tomorrow, we rise early and hit the road once more, refreshed and ready to see what Yosemite has to offer.

Tree Huggers

The Redwood Canyon is a bit misleading. It's not really a canyon per say and there are no redwoods here. It is, however, well worth a visit to see (and embrace) a secluded grove of 15,000 sequoias without the thrum of any crowds.









We opt to hike the 6.6 mile Sugarbowl Loop. This section has just reopened after some controlled burning. "Don't worry about any smoldering brush" the sign tells us. Okay then!

The loop sets out on a steady incline. Soon enough we realize we are walking up along the ridge. Terrific views abound on both sides. To our left we look out across the heavily forested "canyon" to see Big Baldy and to the right we look down into the San Joaquin Valley.



The pine cones here are also jumbo sized!





There is some evidence of recent ground burning by the rangers to promote forest growth, but nothing is smoldering. Best yet, we've encountered no one else on the trail.




The Sugarbowl grove of Sequoias is impressive. Silently they stand. There are many — dozens upon dozens of the big meaty giants. A creamy light filters in through the tree tops and trying to capture the magnitude of these trees is near impossible!








We opt to do lunch with this tall crowd and settle ourselves on a massive fallen trunk. We remind ourselves to think of this exact moment when we are back in Canada in the following months, for it is amongst these trees that we feel an ultimate blanket of peace and contentment. These trees have been here for upwards of two thousand years. That's a lot of lunches...




Continuing on, we reach a more heavily burned area. This part of the hike is fairly exposed with a faint campfire smell still hanging in the air. Overall it is quite pleasant. We spot a deer grazing (on what we're not sure? toasted berries? roasted acorns?). The trail is quite steep and, at times, it's challenging to get a good foothold. Here, we do encounter still smoldering brush...



Down and down we go until we are in the valley where the trail continues on for another 7 miles into another large grove of Sequoias or turns up the valley to follow a stream back to the trailhead.

Feeling a bit of walking weariness in our legs, we select the latter option. Heading back, we encounter more giant sequoias, masses of breeding ladybugs, stinging bees (one got Jenn!) and a steady (feel the muscle burn!) march upwards along the way.




We choose a site at the busy Azalea campground (6500'), put our feet up and crack open a cold one.

It looks like we're going to need to crack quite a few — we have a family with a young crying baby on one side of us, a country music playing RV (called, no joke here, "The Redneck Shaggin' Wagon") behind us, a gaggle of giggly gals on another side and a loud Armenian contingent across the way (breaking the park rules by parking their RV in our clearly marked "Tents Only" section — how dare they!).

Thankfully, a minor thundershower sends everyone inside by 9:30 p.m. Unthankfully, it passes quickly and it's rowdy with crying babies, revving engines, and giggly girls until the wee hours of the morning.

We have the last laugh though.... up at 7:30 a.m. we fling open the squeaky bear box doors just to be annoying. Naaaw... we Canadians are too polite to do anything other than complain to ourselves.

However, here is a photo of perfectly formed bee's nest located near our site and taken just before we whacked it with a stick, jumped in Honky and sped away.




Take that you rowdy campers!