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Yosemite First timers in August survival Guide

Yosemite First timers in August survival Guide

Old Aug 16th, 2014, 01:51 PM
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Yosemite First timers in August survival Guide

This is a continuation of my Porland to Yosemite report. I think Yosemite merits it's own report because I hope it helps people who are worried about the crowds.

I was very worried about the crowds myself. In fact part of me was dreading the whole Yosemite thing a little bit. One reason for that is I'm really impatient, I don't like lines,. I don't like hiking with people right in front of me or behind me. I'm also gluten free and knew that just grabbing a bite was going to be difficult.

As I mentioned in the other trip report on this topic, our trip turned out great. Some of it by planning, some of it by dumb luck.

Our arrival in Yosemite was less than auspicious. We somehow lost our map onthe way from Gaberville, and we were going on memory on where the hotel was and what entrance to to in. We were heading for Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal. I was sure we were supposed to take the 120. ( In my defence I had been asking my husband to look at maps and the hiking website to help sort out the yosemite portion of our trip. Of course that didnt happen. Every morning he got up and asked where we were heading that day. seriously)

So as we are approaching Yosemite from the 120 we see the river. I know our hotel is on the river. Why are we climbing higher and higher? This can't be right. However it's very pretty. We finally stop at Priest' s Hole? to reevaluate. After phoning the hotel, and with help from a nice local, we have directions how to drive through the park to get to the entrance we want. By this time it's after 5. We. Hit the entrance. Hmm we are the only ones here. That's cool. We drive through on uncrowned roads taking it all in. So far I am pleasantly surprised.

Now we at least have a park map, so I note that we are close to Tunnel View, so we head there. If you've seen it before you know. If not put it on your list.
Then we head to Bridalveil Falls. Empty parking lot. We do a quick leg stretcher walk to the top. Bone dry of course. ( In fact the whole drive to Yosemite made me very uncomfortable. The land was so dry that I found it scary)

We drove around the Valley a little more and then headed to the hotel. I had no idea that it was such a giant complex. We found our room to be quite comfortable, and clean. By the time we had a glass of wine it was getting on the late side for dinner, and we were actually able to nab a table on the patio. Our server was charming, the food was decent ,the wine and beer was delicious. I was fed without a hassle so I was happy.


Next Up Yosemite Valley.
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Old Aug 16th, 2014, 02:17 PM
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Yosemite Valley

We used this website www.yosemitehikes.com/ to help guide our trip.
We headed into the park around 8:30 and headed for the Vernal Falls / Nevada Trail. We had no agenda as to how far we were going to go. It was a reasonable ttemperature at this point and we easily found a parking spot at the Trail head.
There were lots of people on the trail to start out . As we continued it got prettier and prettier and there were less people. We made it to the top of vernal falls fairly quickly and decided to keep going. I think I alarmed a few people with my ankle brace as a couple people told us to take The John Muir trail down because it was easier. Fine with me. I like going up. Hate going down.
The top of Nevada Falls was beautiful. The small amount of water coming over the falls was actually very pretty. It fell down like sheets. It was quite neat. We live near Niagara Falls and see waterfalls on our walks every day, so lack of water in the various falls wasn't as disappointing to us as it might be to others.
We started on he John Muir trail down, but ended up on he Mist trail. A mistake. It forced us to go down all tthe stairs. Which was ok but by this time they were crowded, and it was hot. I had to concentrate on my going down technique you speed things up a little.
All in all it was a great hike and we were happy we had done it. We saw several people with full backpack gear , tents etc.Do people do half dome in two days, and stay on the trail somewhere?

After the hike we grabbed some snacks at the wagon at the bottom of the trail and sat for a bit. Then we caught a bus to Yosemite Village. We wandered around a bit . Bought tshirts went to the gallery. I texted my son that we had hiked half dome. I was really tempted to buy one of those shirts that says I Hiked Half Dome,but decided not to push it.
We caught he shuttle back to the car. The parking lot was closed but there were plenty of spots so we thought it might be safe to drive around the Valley without too much traffic. Our timing worked out well so we did that and headed back to the Hotel. We had some vague plans to hike Cook,s Meadow, but our Legs had other ideas. Late Dinner on the patio again. This time we waited a loong time, but our waiter comped us free drinks.
Up next Glacier Point
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Old Aug 17th, 2014, 01:55 AM
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How did you like the hotel?

DH has booked us in there, even though there was room in the park. He got the names confused I think, but that's OK, it saves a few bucks, though I suspect that is also the reason he booked us in there .

I am enjoying your trip reports. I've added Requa Inn to our list of possibles. DH is doing the planning, so I have to drop hints on a few nicer places along the way.

I am feeling more than a bit guilty about visiting California in the middle of a massive drought. The last thing they need now is more people drinking their precious water. It also means of course we won't see it at it's best, but it's our only chance to go.
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Old Aug 17th, 2014, 04:11 AM
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We liked the hotel. It worked well for us. I had read some bad reviews,about it being tired but our room while not new was nice enough. It is just outside the park. We spent the day in the park and it didnt seem inconvenient to leave at the end of the day. At one point I had reservations at Curry Village. After seeing that I was glad we didn't end up there. I think I would have rather slept in my own tent.
I did feel guilty too about visiting during the droughts as well.
When are you going?
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Old Aug 17th, 2014, 04:16 AM
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We are going in October.

Mostly for me a hotel is a place to sleep, so I don't mind tired as long as it's clean!
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Old Aug 17th, 2014, 05:06 AM
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It was clean, and quiet. Maybe the drought will have eased a little by then. While we were gone the city 15 minutes away got almost 200 mm of rain in one day. We didnt have a drop. We had already had a rain storm like that about a month ago so we dodged a bullet there. Climate change is definitely wrecking havoc.
Th
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Old Aug 17th, 2014, 06:08 AM
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Yosemite Glacier Point
This was a Saturday. We decided to stay out of the Valley and hit Glacier Point. We got off to a bit of a later start after breakfast in our room. We hit the entrance around 9 , showed our week pass and were waved through. No waiting.
First stop Sentinel dome. There was lots of parking at the trail head. It was a nice easy walk , and then you just walk up the dome itself for spectacular views. We lingered on the rock face and then headed down. At the bottom a man asked us if it was worth the walk up. Umm yes. He said it would be the only walk he would be doing that day then. It made me wonder what people do in Yosemite if they don't enjoy or aren't able to hike.

At the bottom of the trail we we saw the sign for Glacier point, we were going to drive there but we were worried about not getting a spot so we decided to hike. It was a mostly downhill walk I believe. The point was was crowded when we to there, but not so much that it made it not enjoyable.. We hung around for awhile taking in the views, talking to the ranger. We bought some beverages ate a Popsicle, filled our water bottles and started to hike to Taft Point.
As a side note, we live near the border, have been going to the States our whole lives and miles still mess us up. I have no concept of how long miles are. Every time we go for a hike it is longer than we think. The signs around Glacier Point are also a bit confusing. As you walk the distances seem to change. ( I really think miles are why European Tourists get confused and think they can drive so far)

So off we start for Taft Point. Shortly after getting on the trail we notice a young couple stopped in front of us. There is a baby bear on the trail. They aren't sure what to do? Should they turn around. We tell them to just watch and look for the mama. As long as we aren't somehow between mama and baby we will be fine. We watch the baby run off well in the other direction and decide its safe to continue.
The young couple is from Holland are now rather scared about the bear situation. We encourage them to keep walking and talking with us loudly to keep the bears away. We ended up hiking all the way to Taft Point together. We regaled them with all our bear encounter stories, of which we have many ,to make them feel less worried about being eaten. We had a great time hiking with them and talking travel and customs in our respective countries. The walk itself was lovely too. Pretty and quite flat.
Taft Point itself was simply gorgeous . A real highlight of the trip. Now our companions had also attracted a couple of young California boys. ( one of them spoke Dutch) so we all sat and chatted amongst that beautiful back drop. We ended up driving the Couple from Holland back to their car,.at Glacier Point.Those miles and signs had confused all of us at one point and they thought it would be a short way back. It was actually 3 or 4 miles. My husband and I had been out for about 6 hours at this point. We couldn't get near the parking lot at Glacier Point but we were able to drop them off and turn around. Then my husband and I had a well deserved picnic at an overlook.
We decided at this point to head for Mariposa Grove. The youngsters had told us that they were able to park right In the lot at around 5 the previous day.
So off we went. It was now around 6 and a Saturday. The parking lot was open but it was a bit chaotic. The cars were backed up , but we did manage to get a spot, without waiting too long.
We didn't really enjoy the Grove after being in the Redwoods. The trees are all fenced off, and it was quite crowded on the trails. The trees are bigger, but there are far fewer of them After the serenity of The Redwood National Park, it seemed almost like the Disney Version.
Now we were hungry, and my husband had a craving for pizza. I knew that Dengals in the Village had Gluten free pizza so we headed there. It was dark by the time we got there, and it took us awhile to find the place. The menu makes no mention of gluten free anything, but I ordered a gluten free pizza and they didn't blink. It was actually not bad. A nice cap off to the day.
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Old Aug 17th, 2014, 07:18 AM
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I have stayed at the Yosemite View also and thought it was fine. We only slept there and had a couple of meals. Very convenient for getting in and out of the park- you can even take a bus in if you don't want to drive. I was very happy we did not stay at Curry Village.

Sounds like you are having a blast!!
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Old Aug 18th, 2014, 06:23 PM
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Hi Outdoor1,
I found your trip report and enjoyed it. We have stayed at Yosemite View Lodge several times. I think it is fine--cooking facilities in room useful to make a pasta. If you do not hit rush hour, it is not too much of a hassle to go through the park entrance in the morning. You did a great job for a first trip! Next time I hope you have breakfast at the Ahwahnee.

Nonetheless, I far prefer Yosemite Lodge to Yosemite View. We have favorite rooms in less populated places, like the Mountain View restaurant very much though it's overpriced...and nothing beats waking up and going to sleep actually in the Valley. I call repeatedly for cancellations and usually get them. However, I would choose Yosemite View Lodge any day over Curry Village unheated tent cabins (same kind of cabins are great in the High Country). Curry Village has some motel rooms and some heated cabins with private bath which are fine outside of the crowded summer season, but we actually prefer being on the west side of the Valley at the Lodge, given that we can't afford to be at the Ahwahnee.

I think we may have stayed at the Requa Inn just before we got engaged--may check out your other trip report Thanks again.
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Old Aug 18th, 2014, 07:09 PM
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Cmstraf,
I tried to get into Yosemite Lodge but I gave up once the fire started. I wanted to have a plan B in case the fire got really bad, and Yosemite View has a liberal cancellation policy. As it turned out I didn't need to worry.
I didn't mention it in my report but I did keep waking up with a minor sore throat and cough. I think it was from lingering smoke in the valley.
We were pretty pleased with how well Yosemite went. I read some really horrible August trip reports.
I kept mentioning trying to eat at The Ahwanee, but the driver didn't seem tohave it on his radar. Lol.
I still have our third day through Tioga Pass and onto Lake Tahoe. Will try to get to that tomorrow.
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Old Aug 18th, 2014, 07:12 PM
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Thanks for the report...bookmarking.
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Old Aug 19th, 2014, 12:45 AM
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I'm looking forward to the next installment. If the weather gods play nice we hope to cross Tioga Pass. We have a plan B, and even a plan C, just in case though.

Your report on Taft point has encouraged me. I am not a hiker, can't do much up and down walking due to duff ankles, and will probably struggle with being that high anyway but I do want to give it a go.

Great report, and encouraging for other first timers. Thankyou.
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Old Aug 20th, 2014, 09:32 AM
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Hetismij
Do check out the Yosemie hikes website. It has good descriptions of the hikes and the difficulty ,as well as a crowd and scenery rating. The Cooks Meadow hike in the Valley might be perfect for you.
The Taft point trail is not challenging at allquite flat. It was longish from Glacier Point but I think much shorter from the Sentinel Dome parking lot. It was incredibly beautiful.
Tioga Pass to Lake Tahoe
We headed out on Tioga Pass. I had plans to hike at Tulommee Meadows and Tenaya Lake .Firststop Olmstead Point. We looked at the hikers on half dome through the telescope. It's a great view point and worthy of a stop.. Driving along the pass you can't miss Tenaya lake . We pulled over to the shoulder and got out and walked on the beach. It was very beautiful. It looks at lot like the lakes in Banff that are also glacial melt water lakes.
You can hike all around it, but we just ambled around a bit and enjoyed the natural beauty. It was just warm enough to want to swim, and the Canadian in me was very tempted ( if it's summer we swim), but I was feeling quite lethargic and my husband had zero interest. As we were getting back in the car we heard honking, and lo and behold it was our new Dutch friends. They stopped and we had a quick chat. They were heading out of the park to Shamrock Lakes.
Next stop Tulomne Meadows. We got out, wandered around the visitor center a bit, and again opted not to hike. I don't actually get car sick but I become kind of dazed in the car and I think the elevation was working on both of us at this point. We couldn't summon the energy to hike.
So back in the car and away we went to Lake Tahoe. Just a note as we left the park we had to wait for a bit as there were so many cars entering they had closed the exit.
The drive to Tahoe was very pretty. As we started descending my husband noted he was having early migraine warning signs. I'm sure this was due to the change in elevation. I knew he needed a nap.
Nevertheless when we hit Tahoe around 3:00 he wanted food. I can't remember where we stopped but it was a great Mexican Restaurant with a roof top patio. The food was delicious as was the Margarita.
We hit the Pepper Tree Inn in short order after that. My husband crashed as soon as his head hit he pillow. I was also tired so. Read for a bit, and then when out on the walking trail by the lake.
I know some of the posters encouraged us to spend more time in Tahoe, and our visit was very short, but we weren't too worried about it. Every year we go to Muskoka or other cottage country in Ontario, so we get our fill of lakes. Lake Tahoe was very pretty framed by mountains but have a boat and we like to be on the lake not on the side of it. I would love to come for ski season though.
The next day we went for a quick walk and then headed to the airport. Another great trip!

I'm sorry to see that there is another fire and that people are losing houses. It was so dry in Yosemite that the branches and brush cracked and crunched under our feet. It was rather unsettling. Hopefully the drought breaks soon.
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Old Aug 20th, 2014, 03:49 PM
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Thanks for a great report. I hope you never need to know this but we did cancel the weekend before we actually went because of the fire and after the deadline and were not charged because our reason was the fire. We went that second weekend instead 8,9,10 doing the cancellation calls thing. Om your next trip let him sleep in and take yourself to the Ahwahnee for breakfast
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Old Aug 20th, 2014, 06:34 PM
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Cmstraf
We were there at the same time!
As for the Ahwanee I was thinking lunch, breakfast wasn't even on my radar, but it sounds like a plan. A road trip is a lot of togetherness . We did really well though. Nice to not have to appease teenagers, even easy ones.
I thought we might be able to cancel without penalty if fire was the reason, but our cell service was so spotty on this trip I'm glad I didn't have to do any rearranging. We had an American cellphone package too.
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Old Aug 20th, 2014, 06:57 PM
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hetismij2: I am a total wuss and Taft Point was no problem at all for me. A lovely and totally flat walk would be out the back of Yosemite Lodge across the meadow, the swinging Bridge over the river, to the Chapel and back either to the Village or to Yosemite Lodge most of the way is on boardwalks and the views up/down/across the Valley are gorgeous.
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Old Aug 20th, 2014, 07:30 PM
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You might also want to try an ankle brace. Mine is a temporary fix for a sprained anle, but it's a soft lace up brace with Velcro straps. It really does wonders for stability, and is very comfortable.
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Old Aug 21st, 2014, 12:39 AM
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Thankyou both janis and outdoor. I will take on board what you have both said about walks and stuff. I have looked at the Yosemite Hikes website - what an amazing resource!

An ankle brace - I hadn't thought of on tbh but will give it some thought.

Having gone through a dip about the trip - it costing so much, the fires, the drought, the guilt, I am beginning to get excited again, and you two trip reports have helped with that no end .
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Old Aug 21st, 2014, 03:48 AM
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I know exactly what you mean hetismij. . I was almost dreading the Yosemite part of the trip, and if I probably would have changed it if we hadn't booked flying out of Reno. But it was really wonderful and we are glad we went. Plus you won't have the same crowds to deal with, and perhaps they will get some rain. Fingers crossed.
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Old Aug 21st, 2014, 04:16 PM
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Hi outdoor1,
small world. So did you see that incredible super full moon on Saturday night? The light on the valley walls was incredible, all shades of silvers and black. I think the food is better and less expensive for breakfast at the Ahwahnee. There are not tour bus groups then either, at least I have never ever seen one.
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