Title: October 15, 2016 - Yosemite Valley East Loop
Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons : Extra Photo's : Animals : Flowers and Plants
Trail head:Camp Curry Parking Lot
Hike Info:
Type: Hiking
Trail:Valley Loop Trail
Destination:Loop
Distance: 10.22 miles 1
Start Time: 9:53
End Time: 3:11
Travel Time: 5:18 (1.93 mph)
Moving Time: 3:55 (2.61 mph)
Elevation Rise: 1,359'
Maximum Elevation: 4,247'1This probably a correct mileage. I forgot to turn on the GPS after the Ahwahnee for about 5 minutes. But then the GPS was on when I went a little extra to find a couple of our group. Also I have gotten substantially different readings on the various times I have done this walk, between 9.2 and 11.4 miles. Maybe there is more differences in the slight variations which I have done.
The weather has been a concern all
week. At the start of the week, it looked like Friday and Sunday
would be raining with a lull Saturday. But then Thursday rolls around
and it looks like rain all day Saturday. Time to make alternate
plans-like Giant Forest sounds good. Then Friday night, it is back to
Saturday being nice. I wonder what aspect of Yosemite
will show up for our hike?
I get up around 5:15 and check the
weather. Looks promising until 3pm when the chance of rain goes up.
But the discouraging thing is the wind: 15-17mph all day long. May
not be much fun. I will need to figure out a way to make sure the
hike is good, but maybe shorten it if it starts to rain or the wind
is a bit much.
I get to Eddie's bakery at 6:40 and
already two people are there. Shortly afterwards, more people show up
until we have 15 people in all. By the way, Sherri is out bike riding
in the Valley
Girls ride. But Dana is co-hosting this walk
with me. Her first one as an official organizer. We stop at Starbucks
in Oakhurst and continue on to the Camp Curry parking lot, arriving
at 9:30am.
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| Leaving Camp Curry |
This hike's route is from the Camp
Curry parking lot to Happy Isles. Then we continue around the east
end of the Valley till we get to the Ahwiyah Point trail. We follow
that around the far end of Mirror Lake until we get to the Tenaya
Creek bridge. From there, we come back to Mirror Lake and take off to
the Awhahnee Hotel. Our next stop is Yosemite Falls, then cross
Cook's Meadow to pick up the Valley Loop trail by Sentinel Bridge.
Then it is back to Camp Curry.
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| Half Dome in the Mist |
Now this the real hike we did, which on the whole is not different than our proposed one. After figuring out where the various groups were-we parked in the big parking lot, while another three cars parked a ways away. We walked through Camp Curry to Happy Isles. This is the first bathroom break. I also asked the group, why the name Happy Isles? Nobody knows, I then tell them to read my blog-take a look at this link for the answer-hint: think Tennyson.
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| Along the Ahwiyah Point trail |
As we leave the restrooms, I am
walking towards the head of the pack with Tim, Suzanne, Derek,
Danyo and Jerry. Dana is making sure that I do not leave anybody
behind-not that is likely to happen with my speed, or lack of it. But
Dana does herd every one and is my safety net throughout the whole
trip. It is my end is where I get missing people. But more on that
one later.
At the Ahwiyah Point trail, I poll
our group about taking a shorter route-going around to Tenaya
Creek or go straight over to Mirror Lake. Everybody wants to go
around the longer way. And we do get rewarded with so much beauty.
First there is the obvious when you are walking right under Half
Dome. There is North
Dome and Washington
Column to our West, Mt
Watkins before us, with Ahwiyah
Point.
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| Yosemite in Autumn |
As spectacular as these may be, these
great chunks of granite are overshadowed by the display of trees in
the Fall. The colors-mostly shades of yellow right now, but some reds
are showing. Areas are richly tinted with color, so as we walk
through the forest, it is like having a tent over us, casting a glow
over us hikers. I am afraid my vocabulary and photographic skills do
not match the splendor of what the Creator set before our eyes. Isn't
that always true of what He does? Those who have eyes, let them see.
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| Mt Watkins |
As we get to the Mirror
Lake junction, some of us are getting hungry-and I know of a
place which is nice to just look out. It is 100' from the junction.
As Tim, Derek and Danyo are up ahead of me, I tell them where to
stop. And they do. But two folks slipped by me and continued on like
they were going to go to the Ahwahnee Hotel. After doing a head
count, I realize I am missing two people. Since they were not behind
Dana and Tim did not see them at the front, I knew where they had
gone. I rush off and find them about two-tenths of a mile later. So
glad that is that.
 |
| Jody, Gary and Dana, courtesy of Jerry J |
After lunch, we head off to the Ahwahnee. Most of us have been in there before. But it is always a pretty awesome place. The women's bathroom line was long-actually the men's was crowded as well. So we spent some time lounging around the Hotel. Also it looked like the group needed a pick me up, so out come some of my Golden M&M Bar cookies. Seemed like a good comfort food.
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| Merced River from Sentinel Bridge |
When we get to the Yosemite
Falls area we did not go over to the falls, just because there
was no falls flowing. So we just cut across Cook's
Meadow-I talk a little bit about the hotel which was here. Then
we go over Sentinel
Bridge and meet up with the Valley Loop Trail again. From here, I
think we all scented that the cars were close by and we were ready to
call it a day.
At the parking lot, we had some
discussion about stopping in Oakhurst for a meal together, but
decided not. Our car starts back. But we do stop in Oakhurst to get
ice cream at Reimers. I think I needed a break for a few minutes as I
was getting sleepy. Made it back to Fresno by 5:45. A good day.
Trail Lesson: Do not be too proud to accept help.
Extra Photo's
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| The Ahwiyah Point trail |
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| Meetup Group at the Tenaya Creek Bridge, courtesy of Jerry J |
Flowers and Plants
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