January 29, 2026 - Snowshoe Badger Pass

 

Title: January 29, 2026 - Snowshoe Badger Pass

Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's 

Hike Info:

Type:  Snowshoeing

Trail head: Badger Pass Parking Lot

Trail: Glacier Point Road, Summit Meadow Trail, Old Glacier Point Road, 

Destination:  Loop and possibly Tempo Dome

Actual Destination:  Ridge where Tempo Dome is

Distance:  3.94 miles 

Start Time: 10:52

End Time:     3:07

Travel Time:  4:15  (0.93 mph)

Moving Time: 3:01   (1.31 mph)

Elevation Rise:  692'

Descent: 719‘

Maximum Elevation: 7,653'

Minimum Elevation: 7,250'

GPS Tracks

Description:

Sherri cannot come today-she has an appointment. But Steven and Rachel can. We decided that it looks like we can go to Badger Pass today. It does not look like we will have fog in Fresno, even though in the morning, it looked like the temperature is 20 degrees up at Badger Pass. But by 10 it will be at least 40, at least that is the forecast.

We planned to leave at 8 so we could get a full day up at Badger Pass. Rachel got hung up, so I started driving about 8:40, but with all three of us. When we got to the Yosemite entry station, Rachel had her first opportunity to use her digital Park pass. It worked! The road is dry and there is no concern with there being ice on the road. We did stop at Chinquipin before going up the Glacier Point Road. We get to the parking area, parking close to where we will start off.

Our snowshoes touch the snow about 11. But we do not get too far before we get in conversation with a couple of young ladies who are on cross-country skis for the first time. At least they are upright. Their friend gets up and then falls, repeating that a couple of more times. It turns out they are part of a group.When the group comes along, we leave.

One of the things which I want to do is to see if I can identify why I get shortness of breath when going uphill. I have brought along an Pulse-Ox meter to measure both the oxygen saturation levels and my heart beats. We are at 7,200’, so that is also a factor. About the time we are at Summit Meadow, I am at 90%, a bit low, but reasonable. By the time we hit lunch time, it is up to 94%. That is a bit unusual since between Summit Meadow and the trail back to the parking area is the steepest part.

Rachel with Mt Clark

To go back to the start, once we leave those who are going to learn to cross-country ski, we start up the snow-covered Glacier Point Road. The slope up is gentle and in places we can look north across the Merced-but not into Yosemite Valley. Once we reach the top, it is a short descent to Summit Meadow. There had been a couple options which we rejected. There are a couple routes to Dewey Point-the site of my debacle last Spring. We would not have made it there, but Sherri and I have gone a ways on them and found routes back. Then there is continuing on down the Road, but that means a long uphill return. We decided to go south out of Summit Meadow up to a return route to the parking lot.

When we get to the trail, we found a log to sit on and have lunch. One of the good things about being outdoors and doing things with people whom you like, is that you get to talk with them. And by talking I mean more than just “how are you doing” type conversation. Rachel was talking about some training she is doing with yoga. Part of it is recognizing and responding to trauma. This brought up a conversation about trauma, the type and causes of trauma and how you could respond to it. It is good to be able to talk with both Steven and Rachel as adults.

After lunch we take the trail starting towards the parking lot. In about a quarter mile, we come to a junction with what looks like a service trail to the top of Tempo Dome. I think this is also part of the Old Glacier Point Road. Also at this junction is the true Badger Pass.

Cloud's Rest and Half Dome

We debated for a minute about what we should do. All of us felt like we wanted to do more. So we followed the road which goes up the ridge. But first, it goes on a small, gentle descent. Along the way, we noticed places where the snow had settled, leaving large cracks where snow sank. We take a little detour around these.

The road curves to the south before heading up the ridge. That climb is pretty steep-later looking at the stats, the slope was at a maximum of 13%. I definitely am huffing and puffing and stopping on the way up. Rachel is trying to pace us by keeping her heart beat within an aerobic area. Somehow that pace just does not suit me-even though it would have been better for me. My O₂ saturation is still OK at 91%, but the heart rate is in the upper 140’s.

When we reach the top, we turn around and see across the Clark Range. There we play the game of trying to identify peaks. The one just to the east, I say is Mt Starr King, but Steven and Rachel think it is Clark Peak. I suspect they are right and may King be behind some trees. Just looking over all of this would be breathtaking except the climb up already took my breath.

We spent about 15-20 minutes at the top of the ridge-there was still more up if we wanted to. After all Tempo Dome is another 200’ above us and about a quarter mile to the south. But, we have enjoyed this outing and rather than getting too tired out, we decide to head back down the ridge. Nobody is wild about taking off directly to Badge Pass, so we fall the same track as what we came up on. From Badge Pass down to the parking area, it is about a mile and almost all downhill. I am glad as the last 10 minutes or so, my legs were starting to feel the day. That indicates this has been a good one. We reach the car at 3:00pm and Rachel drives us out at 3:15. Just for the record, my O₂ level is now 94 and the heart rate is 110-getting better. We decided to do Mexican food in Oakhurst. Rather than El Cid, we go to Los 2 Carnales. The helpings there is satisfying and we arrive back in Fresno tired, but content.

Extra Photo's

Shadow Snoeshoers

Gary, Steven, Rachel

Half Dome and Cloud's Rest

Father and Daughter confering

Steven and Rachel going up the Summit Meadow Trail

May 11, 2025 - Yosemite Valley

 

Title: May 11, 2025 - Yosemite Valley
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's :  Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail head:  Yosemite Parking  Area

Trail: Cook Meadow, Valley Loop Trail

Destination:  None

Actual Destination: Mirror Lake 

Distance:  4.21 miles

Start Time:  11:15

End Time:     2:45

Travel Time: 3:40  (1.15 mph)

Moving Time: 2:05 (2.02 mph)

Elevation Rise: 784 '

Descent: 620‘

Maximum Elevation: 4,247'

GPS Track

Description:

It was the typical Spring day in Yosemite

Ribbon Falls

, with some exceptions. First, this is Mother’s Day. Second, all five of us were planning to go to Yosemite to celebrate this day. Third, Yosemite is not as crowded as expected. One of those did not play out. That would be Rachel did not go with us-Friday, the dog, was not doing well. So she stayed home.

Like I said, it is Mother’s Day. I got up around 5:45 and made pancakes for all of us. By 8:00, we were already ready to go. I am driving. Nothing exciting happens on the drive. Except Sherri does realize she forgot her phone. So no picture taking for her today. There is only one car in front of us at the entrance station. So we get in quickly. We do stop at Chinquapin. There was a German couple and we talked. They are going to Glacier Point. For the first time today, I played tour guide and told them about things they can see on the road. Then off we go into the Valley.

There is a lot of parking in front of Bridalveil Falls. We parked and walked up towards the Falls. There are dogwoods in bloom. We look up towards the Falls. They are coming over the lip and catching the sunlight. Not only that, mist is flying upwards, swirling around in the winds the falling water makes. This is one of the things which make Yosemite Valley special. Sherri and I go only part way up; Andrea and Steven go all the way up and get drenched. But by the time we get down to the car they are dry. It is that kind of day.

 

Bridalveil Falls

 

Then along Southside drive we go. A year and a half ago, Andrea and Lawrence got married at Cathedral Beach. The Merced River is up close to being full. The beach they were married on is covered. Andrea looks like she is going out, but her wisdom prevents her and she is content to gaze at the area.


Then it is onward. I am anticipating parking at Curry Village, but it is full and traffic control waves us on to the Yosemite Parking Area. Time to recalibrate today’s walk. Sherri wants to go past Yosemite Falls. This makes route planning a bit easier.

Bridalveil Mist

We head towards Cooks Meadow. This gives us a view of the eastern end of the Valley-nothing like it in my 71 years of experience. Half Dome to the east, Yosemite Falls to the North and Glacier Point to the South. So much natural splendor.

We cross the Meadow going towards Yosemite Falls. The walking is leisurely. We climb up to the bridge over Yosemite Creek. Once we get to the bridge, there is some spray, but not really a lot-at least by Spring’s standards. Usually at this time of year, we are drenched with spray. We look and take pictures. We are now on the Valley Loop Trail. We leave the paved trail and have dirt under our feet. We start to head upward.

 

 

 

As we headed up, there were two couples who appeared lost and wanted a place to eat. I tell them to continue on this trail until they come to a parking area. When they get there, they are behind Degnans where they can get lunch. They are appreciative. I guess I cannot help but being a tour guide. Turns out the instructions are slightly off, but they are in the vicinity.

Now I am able to give our own group some instructions about where we will eat lunch. But somehow what I thought I was saying did not get conveyed. We still ended up looking at Ahwahnee Meadow as our lunch time location.

After lunch, we headed towards the Ahwahnee, but did not go in. Just on the other side of the hotel, the Valley Loop Trail is closed. Why? There is some loose rock on the Royal Arches, so they have blocked off the area. But there is a route around the danger area.

Andrea and Steven travel ahead on the way to Mirror Lake

. We get to the section of trail which the horses use. There is an outhouse by the road going up to the Lake. I told Sherri that I would wait for them there. As a bonus, there is a whole forest of dogwood which I enjoy.

Steven, Sherri, Andrea

For 45 minutes I enjoy them until Andrea wonders where am I at? We coordinate and in a few minutes, I see them.We walked further on to the Mirror Lake tram stop. The tram is packed. We stay on until we reach our parking area.

We drove home after considering stopping for dinner in Oakhurst. Glad we waited as Rachel had a delicious spread waiting for us. This is a good Mother’s Day dinner. Thanks Rachel. Oh yeah, and Friday’s problem was that there was a pine needle in her paw.

 

Extra Photo's

Royal Arches Falls

Bridalveil Falls Mist

Sun through mist and leaves

Top of Bridalveil Falls

 
Flowers and Plants

Dogwood

Dogwood

April 19, 2024 - Yosemite Valley

 

Title: April 19, 2024 - Yosemite Valley
Hike Info : Description : Trail Lessons : Animals 

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail head: Camp Curry Parking area

Trail:  Northside Drive, Yosemite Village, Valley Loop Trail, Lower Yosemite Falls Trail, Cook’s Meadow, Southside Drive

Destination:  Loop

Distance:  4.39 miles ¹

Start Time: 2:10

End Time:  5:10

Elevation Rise:  678'

Descent: 676‘

Maximum Elevation: 4,107'

 ¹I forgot my GPS. So I plotted out the route on Google Earth. So this will not have been the exact mileage and time. Steven’s Strava recorded 5.5 miles. He did make an extra trip of about half of a mile. So I think the truth is someplace between 4.4 and 5 miles.

Description:

This was going to be a long day as I needed to repair a sprinkler pipe before we went to Yosemite. It got even longer that evening. The first was planned while the second was thrust upon us.

Lunch at Cathedral Beach-Sherri and Steven

I got up at 6:30. I finished repairing the pipe, then let it set while I had breakfast. After that I tested all of the sprinkler lines and they looked good. I got all of this finished by 8:30. So why didn’t we start sooner? First, I was relaxing a bit and then I think everybody was waiting for everyone else to say they were ready. That was the state until Sherri came in at 10:40 and asked if we were still going to Yosemite? Yes was the answer.

So we got ready in about 25 minutes. Sherri got us out of the garage by 11:05 and drove us to Costco to get gas. Then she drove straight through to Chinquapin. By this time, she had enough of driving and Steven took us down into the Valley.

Vows were said here

Unless we have company, we usually do not stop at Tunnel View-usually too crowded for our tastes. Today we did not stop, but there was plenty of room. It will not be that way in a couple of weeks. The Bridalveil parking area is open, looks crowded, but a lot better than before the construction of the past couple of years.

Steven has a destination in mind for lunch. That would be Cathedral Beach

Mist from Yosemite

. We arrived there at about 1:45. This picnic area has a special place in our hearts. It is where Andrea and Lawrence got married last October. Certainly looks different without the table covering. Also the Merced River is higher, much higher than in October. If they had gotten married now, the water would have been above their boot tops.

We continue on to Camp Curry’s parking lot. This area is also under construction. But fortunately there is a lot of parking. We only decided what we were going to do a few minutes before driving in. The thought was to go up to Vernal Falls. But I suggested just walking around the Valley. A couple of days ago I strained my hamstring muscle and I am not sure about doing any steep climbing. It is too late to go around Mirror Lake. The decision was to walk around Yosemite Valley, heading towards Yosemite Falls. By the time our boots hit the pavement, it is 2:30. Sherri has discovered she is missing her phone. I guess she will need to rely on Steven and I for pictures.

Gary, Steven and Sherri

 

 

 Our goal is to walk the relatively level route to Yosemite Falls. The road by Stoneman Meadow is being revamped. Maybe into a bikeway connector? It does change the traffic patterns, for the better. We get a good view of the Royal Arches. But it is a relatively unshaded area. So after a quarter mile, Steven decides he needs his hat and goes back for it. 

Sherri and I continue on towards the Visitor Center. We passed by Ahwahnee Meadow and into the Yosemite Village area. It is just pleasant walking and surprisingly there are not the usual crowds of visitors on this Spring day. When we get to the Visitor Center, actually by the Ansel Adams Gallery, we wait for Steven. But there is a new Welcome Center and Steven thinks we are there. So Sherri and I get a good rest before Steven joins us. By this time it is about 3:20.

 

 

Yosemite Falls

We head west again, getting to the Yosemite Cemetery which Sherri starts to head through. This is OK with me as I am interested in the names I have seen here. While the cemetery is not well protected and has a very low fence to mark its boundaries, it does seem wrong to purposely use it as a shortcut. That is not Sherri’s intention. So we go around the cemetery, past the Law Enforcement area and up the short trail besides the stables. This leads us up to the Valley Loop Trail.

Yosemite Falls

Along the way up to the Loop Trail, we spot a mountain quail. Much more attractive than the quail we see around Delilah. Once on the Loop Trail we continue our westward trek and come to the bridge crossing Yosemite Creek. But before that, we see signs that the Falls are coming. First, there is the mist flowing well above the trees. Then there is Yosemite Creek thundering past the trail. And now crossing the bridge, we feel the wind created by the force of the falls. The sight of Yosemite Falls never fails to elicit a sense of awe.

 

 

 

We continue on our walk down to the Yosemite Falls Bus Stop. There are two women parked in the bus place, but it looks like they are pretty agitated and there is no bus while we are waiting. And while we wait, we consider the new bus routes. This bus will go all the way to the Pohono Bridge. So we decide to cross Cook’s Meadow and go to the Sentinel Bridge Bus Stop. Crossing Cook’s Meadow gives a great view of the eastern end of the Valley. So we take our time and walk through there.

Briefly after arriving at Sentinel Bridge we enjoyed its seats. That is until we realize that this is no longer a bus stop. Yosemite has been working on getting a better traffic flow around the Valley. It looks like as part of that, this stop has been discontinued. The traffic looks like we are in England as the flow has vehicles going on the wrong side of the road, that is the left side..

Indian Canyon Falls

So what to do? Sherri would like to go to the Chapel, so we go there. It is a short walk to it, maybe a quarter of a mile. The chapel is the oldest building in the Valley. But it used to be a few miles west of its current spot. The doors are open and we go in. There is a group in the front pews of the chapel, so we stay back. The interior is pretty basic. If we were expecting large windows with stained-glass, this would have been a disappointment. But remember, this was to serve a purpose and that purpose was a wilderness chapel.

Having walked this area several times, I know that a short distance from the chapel is the other side of the Valley Loop Trail. And that is where we go. A short walk puts us back onto the bike path for Southside Drive. And then an even longer walk back to Curry Village and the parking area. I am dragging during this last part. I would like to think that it is my hamstring bothering me, but I think it is only a minor contributor. Ae all make it to the car by 5:10.

Fortunately, Steven drives us out of Valley and there is not much traffic. I do one misdirection on a roundtable, but after that it is Steven all the way into Oakhurst. We talked about where to eat. Steven is interested in Southgate Brewery. But I am thinking that there may be a long line since it is Friday night. When we got there, we were quickly seated. The service was a bit slow, but that just gives us time to revive and relax.I indicate I wanted a Deadwood BBQ Burger. Evidently that sounded good to everybody as they also ordered one as wel. When the Burger came out, it was piled high. But with a little scrunching, it all fit in my mouth and my mouth was ready for it. There was no disappointment.

Royal Arches Falls

I drove home and we got home a little after 8. I was looking forward to a nice and relaxing shower, when Sherri comes in with an urgent piece of news. You know how she was without her phone which serves as a camera? Well it is missing and the Apple Find Me app has it around a restaurant in the northern part of Fresno, about a half mile from the Costco gas station. We figure it must have fallen out when we got gas this morning.

And now for the truly frustrating part. We try to get a hold of Verizon to tell them the phone is missing. But they are not available until morning. You can go through their automated system, but in order to do anything with the phone, they want you to respond on the phone which is lost. Seems a bit circular, doesn’t it? So we try to go into their web pages. Same thing. We are not getting anywhere fast. Sherri does have the presence of mind to lock the phone through Apple.

So what should we do? Ask Rachel, of course! We figured out a plan which included driving up to the restaurant and seeing if the phone was just laying on the ground-it as not. Also how to proceed in the morning. It did not get better then, so Super Rachel called up Verizon and got things settled there. The long story is that Saturday Sherri got a new phone with a lot better camera.

Finally about 10:30 I got my shower and was asleep by 11:30-I was one tired big boy.

 

 

Trail Lesson: We will lose things. But learn from the experience about what is important and what is replaceable.

Animals

Mountain Quail