hiking

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 158 (Sentinel Dome Trail – Onward & Upward)

Jeff

Sentinel Dome Trail - Near the Start

The Sentinel Dome Trail was a popular upward trek

The picture above provides some indication of the general aspect of the Sentinel Dome Trail. When climbing to an elevated view, one should expect that the trail would lead upward and it certainly did. There were times when the trail would taper off a bit, but it is basically uphill all the way. I wouldn’t say it was strenuous, but as this shot shows, there is some rock scrambling along the way.

As yesterday’s post indicated, there were wildflowers along the trail and they would provide a good excuse to pause and catch our breath as we examined the floral beauties. Although this is a bit of a traipse at times, the vistas and wonders to be seen are well worth the effort if you are fit for uphill hiking.

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 157 (A Carpet of Wildflowers – Phlox)

Jeff

Spreading Phlox was abundant at Yosemite

Along many of the trails and paths we hiked, we came across purple or pink phlox

This somewhat dainty plant was abundant during our late Spring, 2016 visit to Yosemite. It is most likely Spreading Phlox (Phlox diffusa). The color of the phlox ranged from light purple or pink to very pale renditions of both bordering on near white.

We would often come across pockets of phlox clusters separated by only a few feet which sometimes looked as though someone had strewn beautiful bouquets along our path. I hope all the hikers took time to appreciate the beautiful display.

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Meta Data – Day 157 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 156 (Colorful Sun on Tunnel View)

Jeff

Sun setting on Tunnel View

The Scene from Tunnel View – Early Evening

We had been past Tunnel View a prior to this and stopped a couple of times, but this particular stop came closest to having the best lighting. Earlier stops were near midday or when light was harsh. This scene has a bit of a fall look because of the orange/brown trees, but those are trees that are dead or dying. Much like other areas of the United States, drought and insects have taken their toll on the trees in our national parks.

Tunnel view is a major stop on the way to or from Glacier Point. It is almost always crowded. Buses, campers, cars, hikers, nearly everyone stops at Tunnel View to take photographs. My advice is if you do stop, move around. Don’t stand in just one place. There are so many wonderful views to capture.

El Capitan (left) and Half Dome (middle) are obvious to most visitors, but the jutting series of rocks the right, just in from the edge, is Cathedral Rocks.

I missed getting Bridalveil Falls in the shot. It was there, but I failed to take the picture from an angle that would have included it. I forgot that it was just off to the right. Also…if you have a wide angle lens, that would be a great tool for this vantage point.

NOTE – I do have a couple of previous pictures from Tunnel View with the falls in them, but the light was not as good in those shots.

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 155 (Four Mile Trail 5/5 – Half Dome Close and Large)

Jeff

Half Dome close up along Four Mile Trail

A close up view of Half Dome from a vantage point along the Four Mile Trail

Much like my Grand Canyon experience, there were times when hiking the trails at Yosemite, it was difficult to put the camera down and walk. There was a tendency to step to the side every twenty to thirty feet to take another picture. Luckily digital photography is not expensive, but there are often time constraints.

I took several shots of Half Dome from the Four Mile Trail and for this photo I used my Canon bridge camera to get closer to the dome to show as much of the color and texture as could capture.

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Meta Data – Day 155 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 154 (Four Mile Trail 4/5 – Half Dome Peek-A-Boo)

Jeff

Half Dome as seen along the Four Mile Trail

After Hiking along the Four Mile Trail for a while, Half Dome became visible

Imagine this scenario…We were hiking along the Four Mile Trail for more than twenty minutes. At the beginning, the woods were deep and we were in the shade with little visibility beyond the trees. Soon we moved to the outside of the mountain and started to descend the switchbacks.

From time-to-time, there would be a break in the tree line and we could peer over the edge of the mountain to get our bearings and see the vistas before us. After each look, we returned to the hiking and resumed our downward path. This was repeated many, many times because we didn’t want to “miss anything!”

Then, without any inkling of what we were about to see next, we looked out from between the trees and saw Half Dome (see photo above) in all its glory. I had no idea it would be that visible or that clear of impediments.

Half Dome was bathed in the sun, the valley spread out beneath it and the surrounding cliffs provided the frame. Isn’t that a magnificent site?

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Meta Data – Day 154 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 153 (Four Mile Trail 3/5 – Penstemon Wildflower)

Jeff

Pink Penstemon along the Four Mile Trail

Mountain Pride clings to the rock face along the Four Mile Trail

How amazing are wildflowers? All they need is a small foothold and they create a home between the spaces in the rocks. The pink penstemon featured above is Mountain Pride (Penstemon newberryi) and was prevalent along quite a few of the trails.

Against the gray rocks and the dark shade background, the penstemon created quite a flare as it was highlighted by the sun’s setting rays. It was difficult to show restraint by keeping my camera at bay.

You can read more about Penstemon newberryi at iNaturalist.org

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Meta Data – Day 153 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 152 (Four Mile Trail 2/5 – El Capitan)

Jeff

El Capitan as seen from the Four Mile Trail

El Capitan viewed from the Four Mile Trail in late afternoon

As we started down the Four Mile Trail, we couldn’t help but stop every few feet. This was especially true at the very beginning of the hike as there were many gaps between the trees which allowed us to “pull back the curtain” a bit and see the magnificent views. We were high, but in spite of that, the key players loomed large.

We were hiking into the sun so much of the detail is not presented in the picture of El Capitan, but the overall vista is portrayed well. Given another crack at this, I would take an early morning hike to try to catch the sun bathing El Cap, but as you will soon see, this would leave Half Dome in the shade.

As a matter of reference, Tunnel View is somewhere out there past the break in the mountains beyond El Capitan.

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Meta Data – Day 152 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 151 (Four Mile Trail 1/5 – Yosemite Falls)

Jeff

NOTE – This is the first photograph in a series of five that will be presented over the following days to give readers a sense of what it was like to hike the four Mile Trail. Previous Year of Yosemite photographs and descriptions were mostly individual presentations without providing a narrative to portray the essence of the hike.

Yosemite Falls from GP

Yosemite Falls from Glacier Point just before we begin our hike

After spending some time at Glacier Point, we moved toward the Four Mile Trail trailhead. On the way, I stopped for one last picture of Yosemite Falls. We were far away, but the falls were so overwhelming that they made their presence felt.

We read about the Four Mile Trail and we were excited to begin our adventure. No matter how much one reads about certain trails, being there can still take your breath away. While we “heard” that Half Dome and El Cap could be seen from the trail, the reality of how much, how close and how amazing the views would be could not be anticipated.

Even though the Four Mile Trail from Glacier Point is downhill, there are numerous switchbacks and the footing can be slow in places so be prepared.

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Meta Data – Day 151 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 150 (Yosemite – Mountain Range)

Jeff

A multitude of mountain tops seen from Glacier Point

This is another view from Glacier Point – a multitude of mountain tops
See Duplicate Without Numbers Below

 

A multitude of mountain tops seen from Glacier Point

In yesterday’s post (click HERE) we talked about Liberty Cap Mountain, which would be just out of the frame to the left of this photograph. Vernal Fall is still being used as an anchor in the bottom left of the photograph, the peak with the reference #1 (top photo), reaching into a cloud is Mount Clark. That tall peak all the way to the right under reference #2 is Mount Starr King

The view was breathtaking and confusing as it was difficult to grasp all the individual mountains one could view at a single glance. Well, actually I don’t think anyone could just glance at the sight. It would be more like a stare! There is probably a book somewhere that includes the history explaining how each mountain received its name. Some are obvious, but others are less so.

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Meta Data – Day 150 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 149 (Glacier Point – Liberty Cap)

Jeff

Liberty Cap from Glacier Point

Liberty Cap mountain viewed from Glacier Point

When standing at Glacier Point and soaking in the panorama that lies before you, it is almost overwhelming. There are mountains on top of mountains.

Closer to the pedestrian viewpoints, however, there are some that loom large and add to the beauty of the foreground scene. There is one very recognizable landmark among the sea of hilltops and peaks. Just to the left of Vernal Fall in the picture is Liberty Cap mountain.

Apparently this is quite hikeable and draws a good number of adventurers. You can read more about the hike to Liberty Cap at the linkk below:

SummitPost.org – Liberty Cap Hike: Yosemite

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.

 
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Meta Data – Day 149 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Capture time: 2:59:09 PM
Capture date: June 6, 2016
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