John Muir’s Yosemite Wilderness
Days 181 – 183
June 27 – 29
Yosemite National Park
One word describes Yosemite: Beautiful. It is the national park I would marry if she
was a woman.
Jonathan and I pressed our
luck again at the Tuolumne Meadows Backcountry Office, scoring another
last-minute permit for the High Sierra backcountry. With half a day to kill, we rode the 90
minute, 4,000-foot descent to the Yosemite Valley, equivalent to the Magical
Kingdom in Disneyworld. The distance and
traffic was worth what we found down there.
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| Obligatory visit to Yosemite Falls |
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| Staring is always encouraged in Yosemite. |
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| El Capitan, one of the many granite monoliths in Yosemite. |
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| We are on a motorcycle and we can park it wherever we please. |
Early the next morning, we set
out, following the Lyell River down the John Muir Trail, turning off at Ireland
Lake and getting into our campground just before sunset. The next day, we explored an endless span of
granite domes carved by glaciers that have become the lush valleys formed after
snowmelt. We summited a mountain just to
see it all, from Mount Lyell to Half-Dome.
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| Frequent breaks were well warranted. |
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| Much of the snow has yet to melt. |
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| Taking in the view at Ireland Lake. |
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| The beauty even at creek crossings is unbelievable. |
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| Just camping next to a granite mountain, no big deal. |
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| A rancher fords a river with his horses. |
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| The best seat in the house is always on top of a mountain. |
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| Portrait on the summit. |
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| Goodbye, Yosemite. |
I can see why John Muir spent
his whole life here.
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