I got up at 6:45 and my husband K got up around then, too. I ate and made sure I had all my supplies for the day, but, most importantly my reservation and pass. I was on the road at 7:52 and the odometer read 25097.
The initial road south was I-580 and it was a good road. I stopped at 8:27 (25125) at a Shell station at 500 South Meadows Parkway in Reno for gas and a pit stop. I was able to save 5 cents a gallon due to my Shell discount card. I got 5.5 gallons for $5.869 each. The car had only gone 210.5 miles since the last fill up and had gotten 32.28 miles to the gallon.
I was back on the road at 8:49. The nice interstate ended south of Carson City and turned into US 395. The highway veered to the left a bit at Minden. At 9:11, I noticed a neat sculpture, while at a traffic light. At 9:29, I saw this old-postcard-like mural in Gardnerville.
At 9:52 (25187), I crossed into California and had to go through an inspection station like everyone else, but they asked us no questions. There were towns at times with ridiculously low speed limits. Other times, it was more like at open road.
The further south I went, the more signs I saw warning that you needed a reservation to enter Yosemite National Park. Ah, but I'd known that for months. Back in March, on the day reservations for July were opened up, I was on the computer making my reservation. It was good for a couple of days, but this one fit best in my schedule.
When the odometer hit 25231, there was a sign saying to put on headlights in the daytime. I never figured out why.
No one was around at 11:08, so I felt safe taking the picture below of the approaching mountains. I can't lie- I got more excited the closer I got to them.
Around Lee Vining, I had to take a right onto Rte. 120, aka Tioga Pass Road. I was very grateful to be hugging the side of the mountains on the way up and preferred not to think of the trip back.
At 11:25 (25268), I was in line at the Tioga Pass Entrance on the east side of Yosemite. A ranger was coming along the line asking if folks had a reservation. I told her I did and pulled out my paper. She told me that the ranger and the station would need to see it and I could pay him. When I got to him, I showed him the reservation and he asked if I had a National Park Pass. I pulled out my Senior Pass and when he saw it, he said, "You have the best pass!" I agree. I paid $80 for it right after I turned 62 and I haven't paid an entrance fee at a National Park since.
Finished there, I headed into the park. Just 7 minutes and 6 miles later, traffic came to a halt for road work. No traffic was coming from the other side until 11:44. We saw a truck leading the eastbound traffic. When he got to our side, he turned around to go the other way- after he made a pit stop. We were on our way at 11:49.
I reached the Tuolumne Meadows store at 11:55 (25276). I was very disappointed to find out that the seasonal grill was closed. I had to settle for choosing from the food that was in this grocery store/ supply store for campers. It was interesting to see what they had. I got Kettle Chips for $1.99 and paid the same price for a Coke Zero. I needed a dessert. So, I got a large York Peppermint Patty for $1.59. In the cold case, I found what was called the "Great American Deli Pretzel Club" for $6.69. There was a decent line and I was back on the road at 12:12.
At 12:15 (25277), I parked at the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center. I ate my lunch in the car. The sandwich was still rather frozen, unfortunately. Notice how puffy the chip bag was. It was obviously packaged at a lower altitude. The large restrooms were conveniently in the parking lot area.
Finally, at 12:52, I climbed the stairs on the hill and went in the visitor center. I noticed that the high today was to be 70 degrees. I had postcards and a pin from our visit to the valley in 2008. I wanted things more tied to the meadows. I found some postcards, a pin, and a nice picture book. I got to see two kids getting questioned by the ranger before being given their Junior Park Ranger badges. My daughters loved that program.
One of the reasons I'd wanted to come to this side of the park was to see flowers. We had a calendar from that previous trip and there was a picture of the meadows just covered in flowers. I stopped at the cart outside that was manned by an elderly volunteer and asked where I could find flowers, since the meadows across the street had precious few. She showed me May Lake on the park map and said that people had seen flowers there. It was a 1.25 mile trail and I figured that sounded just right.
I decided to walk across the road to the meadows and take some photos at 1:25. I found Sierra Beardtongue, which was a purple flower. I was also able to take an artsy photo or two, including this one of what I found out was Lambert Dome from a British ranger, who happened to come out to the meadows. We had a nice little chat. he told me that people actually climb the Dome, which is 8590 feet in elevation.
Believe it or not, there actually is some water in the Lyell Fork below.
By 1:47, I was heading west - right into road stoppage. I took the time to look at the park newspaper I'd been given at the ranger station. Suddenly, at 1:58, the car was rocked by wind. I almost fell asleep before we started moving again at 2:09.
When we stopped at 2:36, the line ahead looked pretty long. I found I had cell service. So, I posted the photos below to Facebook to show my armchair travelers at home where I was.
We started slowly moving around 2:39. Eventually, I reached the turnoff for May Lake Road. The road started out nice and paved, but it soon turned into more of a dirt road. It ended at a parking lot that had a fair number of cars. I got there at 3:01 (25290) and was surprised to find one bar on my phone. There was a lake there, but I wasn't sure that it was actually May Lake.
I saw two guys with really full packs on their backs and I asked them about the water. I was right; this wasn't the lake. When the one guy realized I was about to take the trail, he asked if I had water. Oh, yes, right in the handy pocket in the front of my purse slung across my body. We started on the trail at about 3:06. We actually kept pace with each other for a bit until I stopped to take photos and I passed them and vice versa at another point.
A couple were coming down the trail and I asked if it was worth it. Yes, they replied, you go up a bit, but it was worth it. So, I continued on.
I could leave you in suspense, but I'll say it right now- it went up more than a bit. The phone eventually claimed about 800 feet in rise, but things I've read since say 500. Regardless, any gain in altitude constitutes a hike to me. I've also seen it described as "moderately challenging" and even "strenuous". It did prove what the National Park Service put on Facebook and Twitter: "Trails look more flat on the map." If I'd known, would I have attempted it? I don't know, but I'm really glad I did. It really wasn't a killer trail, but there were some parts that were pure rock and it took guesswork to figure out where to go. Other times, it was nice dirt. On the way up, my knee felt so good, I wondered why I was having it replaced in August. Of course, on the way down, I was promising it that if it got me off this mountain, I'd have the surgery.
I didn't just look down at the ground for flowers. I also took the time to appreciate the dramatic views around me. Things like trees, whose seeds obviously found space between the rocks, and they managed to grow tall. And the view I had of Yosemite's iconic Half Dome! You always see it in profile, because the photos are taken from the valley. Here, I was looking at its cliff face. When I first saw it between the trees, I had to look at a map to see if it really was Half Dome. Then, a bit later, I saw it in more of a clearing. Amazing!
All was not flowers and magnificent views, however. At 4:14, I found myself off the trail and down on my bottom facing down the trail. I have absolutely no idea how or why I fell. There was no one there to see my embarrassment. I assessed all the parts and found a bleeding cut on my left arm near the elbow. Ever the Girl Scout, I went in my purse for a clean tissue and a Band-aid. I used some of my water to clean the cut. I considered using some of my hand sanitizer, but thought getting the bleeding to stop was best. So, I bandaged it and put the trash in a pocket of my purse.
Now, I had to get up. This is not a pretty sight even in my living room. I got up as best as I could without kneeling on either bad knee too long. I brushed myself off and headed on up the trail.
At 4:20, I reached the top of the trail. There, I ran into John, one of the guys from the beginning of the trail. "You made it!" He seemed surprised, yet pleased. He pointed to the latrine and noted that it was a flush toilet, which seemed incredible way up here, but this used to be a campground with tents on pads that you could rent out. Now, only the pads remain. He told me that after I'd had time to look around at the lake, I should come chat with him and his buddy Bill. They were setting up camp on one of the aforementioned pads, which the Park Service had left in place.
May Lake was just lovely. I'm particularly fond of my photo with the sun's ray coming down onto it. Funny thing, I didn't try to take a selfie, nor did I ask anyone up there to take one of me. It just didn't occur to me. There were some flowers around the shore, at least on this side. There were also mosquitoes. So, I took my photos and looked around a bit before finding the guys.
John and Bill were from California. When they found out that I was from Florida, the current politics of the state came up. It turned out that we were fellow travelers when it came to that topic. We talked about a variety of things and I really enjoyed the break.
But, the hour was getting late and I had a long drive ahead once I exited the park. So, I made my good-byes, visited that latrine, and started down at 5:08.
I took far fewer photos on the way down. A few hikers passed me on their way up. I assured the parents in one party that it was worth it. Down was naturally faster, but also much more painful, as I said.
I reached the bottom of the trail at 6:04 and had an almond butter bar, when I reached the car. I was heading out of the parking lot at 6:09.
There was far less traffic on Tioga Road, when I got out there, but there were still visitors. At 6:24(25294), there were quite a few at Olmsted Point, when I pulled over to take in the view.
The sky was a glorious shade of blue. On both sides of the road, you could see evidence of glacial polish on the rocks. They were so smooth! Of course, nature had found chinks and things were growing in them. On the right side of the road, there were also glacial erratics, large pieces of rock left behind when the glacier retreated. On this side of the road was also a great view of Half Dome, almost as if viewing it from the opposite end of the valley than usual. An excellent stop.
I was back on the road at 6:32. My next stop was just six minutes later (25296) at Tenaya Lake, elevation 8150 feet, and it was a cool 64 degrees. There were campers and cars in the lot. The lake's shore was not muddy, but not really a sand either. It didn't even match the sand we'd seen at Lake Tahoe. It was somewhere between sand and fine dirt.
I was on my way again at 6:43. I saw this gorgeous formation ahead of me at 6:51 and slowed to get this shot.
As I was nearing the Meadows at 6:55, two deer came out of the woods on my right and crossed the road. One paused and looked me in the eye, I felt, as I stopped. If I'd had my wits about me, I would have grabbed the phone for a photo. But, as it was, they were soon gone.
At 7:01 (25303), I parked in the Visitor Center lot, hoping that the restrooms were still open. I had a long drive ahead of me and had not really seen fast food places to stop at. Happily, they were still open.
On the road again at 7:06, there was next to no one else on the road. This let me take the time to appreciate and notice the area around me. For instance, at 7:16, I noticed this bald mountain and realized that I could see a small patch of snow above the tree line.
I passed the now-empty ranger station at 7:20 (25311). I noted a sign that said the elevation was 9900 feet and the car indicated the temperature was a nippy 50 degrees.
Five minutes later, I was driving along Ellery Lake in the Hoover Wilderness of the Inyo National Forest, when I saw this incredible site ahead on the bend on the Tioga Road, i.e. Rte. 120. There was actually a fair amount of snow in the shadowy part of it.
At 7:27, I pulled over into a pullout just before the descent in the Tioga Pass. The rock wall was incredible! Such color and such natural geometry. The pass ahead looked dramatic and I was too terrified to get out of the car to take the photo. I was just positive the car would roll off into the abyss. The photo from the car was just fine.
I steeled my nerves and headed downhill, white knuckled all the way. Since no one was coming in either direction, I'll admit that I rode the middle line. That had served me well driving down out of the Rocky Mountain National Park and it gave me a modicum of comfort here.
I reached the intersection with Rte. 395 in Lee Vining at 7:39. A sign noted that the elevation was 6850 here. I few minutes later, I pulled over to take a couple of photos of Mono Lake. I'd been encouraged to visit it by someone, but I was sure the visitor center was closed now.
I retraced my steps heading back to Reno. At 8:10, just outside of Bridgeport, California, I was able to get a shot of the sunset on the Sierra Nevada Mountains to my left.
It was 8:54 (25392), when I crossed the Nevada state line. Traffic would pick up, when I neared a town. There was still that town with the insanely low speed limit for way too long through town. I have a healthy fear of western sheriffs giving out speeding tickets. So, I was careful.
At 10:11(25460), I was parked back at the Peppermill, having made no other stops on the way back.
My phone said I'd climbed 4 floors, which is a major undercount, and walked 10, 236 steps for 3.5 miles. What a wonderful day it had been! As is too often the case, it took a lot of driving to do what I wanted to do and I had to overcome a bit of natural inertia to just go do it. I am truly glad that I did.
