The Trip – Part 14: Yosemite National Park
We left the central valley and were driving up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, heading for Yosemite National Park. Our main concern was that we didn’t know what kind of weather we would encounter. It was February 14; Valentine’s Day might be a bit early to be camping at an elevation of 4000′ in the mountains. But, we were determined to see Yosemite Valley and didn’t want to hang around for another month or more to wait for spring to arrive. We finally decided that we could survive anything for one night. If the weather was really cold and nasty we could always pack up and head out. So, on we drove.
As we headed into the park we were immediately met with incredible scenery. Having admired the photography of Ansel Adams, I had seen pictures of the valley before. But, I hadn’t really grasped the scale of the place until it was in front of my own eyes. Bridal Veil Falls, Cathedral Spires, El Capitan, the Royal Arches, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome — these great granite features crowded in around the narrow valley. You could hardly look in any direction without seeing some remarkable feature.
We finally found a place to park and headed over to the visitor center to ask about the weather. A ranger told us that this time of year temperatures in Yosemite Valley were typically in the 50s during the day and in the 20s at night. We were pleasantly surprised. It only got down to the 20s at night — the 20s ABOVE zero, not below. So, encouraged, we drove into one of the campgrounds and set up. The campground was almost completely empty. Only a few other people were crazy enough to be camping here in February. As it turned out, despite the weather we camped in the mountains for 7 weeks. We stayed in Yosemite for 3 weeks, then we went down to Sequoia & King’s Canyon National Parks for 2 weeks, and then we returned to Yosemite for 2 additional weeks.
Yosemite was an amazing place to visit, in part because of the snow and winter weather that we had been concerned about. This time of the year the high country was snowed in so we mainly had access to the Valley. We were able to take a bus ride up to the Badger Pass Ski Area one day and go on a snow shoe hike. Another day we drove down to the Mariposa Grove to see the huge Sequoia trees. The rest of the time was spent in the valley.
Most days were pleasant, especially if the sun was out. We enjoyed hiking on the valley trails and climbed one trail that went up the valley wall near Yosemite Falls. You couldn’t go all the way up this time of year due to the snow and ice near the top. In the evening we often went to Ranger talks at the Visitor Center to warm up before going back to the campground. We usually brought our toothbrushes along and brushed in the warm Visitor Center bathrooms. Upon returning to our tent we would start the lantern and use that for reading and for warming the tent a bit. Then we curled up in our cheap cloth sleeping bags with air mattresses underneath and extra blankets and our winter coats piled on top. Since we were in our 20s and didn’t have to get up every night, it was not difficult to adjust to this routine.
One day it started to rain. As the evening approached the temperature started to drop. Then the sky was filled with large wet heavy snowflakes. The snow continued during the night. Because of the weight of the snow, we had to get up several times during the night to brush the snow off of the roof of the tent to keep it from collapsing. The next day the valley was a true winter wonderland. Everything was covered with a thick coat of snow.
We cleaned off our tent once more and shoveled paths around the table and the tent so that our feet were not continually buried in snow. After breakfast we walked around the valley enjoying the winter landscape. As luck would have it, a couple nights later there was a full moon. The sky was perfectly clear so the moonlight lit the entire valley. Some time after midnight we went for a walk. I waited until it was late enough that there probably wouldn’t be many cars driving around. I brought my camera and tripod and took photos of the snow-covered valley in the moonlight. I had no idea of what exposure to use but was lucky to get some photos to remember that night.
Our time in Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Parks was rather uneventful. I don’t remember much about it except for seeing the big trees, including the General Sherman tree, which is considered to be the world’s largest tree. Our return to Yosemite was accompanied by warmer weather and the onset of spring. We finally left the park in early April. On the recommendation of one of the park rangers, we stopped at the Hite Cove Trail on our way out. We only hiked on the first mile or so of the trail, which was a dazzling display of spring wildflowers. If you’re ever in the area in the springtime, this is the place to visit.
After leaving Yosemite we headed back to the coast. Our plan was to follow it north all the way to Vancouver, BC.