nature

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 172 (Lembert Dome (6/8) – The End In Sight)

Jeff

Near the top of Lembert Dome

After much hiking, we see the trail’s terminus

It was quite a hike and as we climbed higher and higher we began to become invigorated. Nothing helps to generate more energy after a substantial hike than seeing what is potentially the end of the trail; reaching your goal.

We have had experiences when, from a distance, what looks like the end turns out to be a saddle and just a stop along the way. This time, however, we were very near the end. There was a saddle of sorts near the very top of the dome and those less inclined waited there.

It was only a short distance from the saddle to the very tip of Lembert Dome. This picture was taken just before the final ascent to the top. There were bands of snow on the sides of the dome.

 
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 171 (Lembert Dome (5/8) Looking Northwest)

Jeff

The Tuolumne river in the distance

From Lembert Dome, the Tuolumne river can be seen in the distance

After ascending to the top of the Lembert Dome and walking around to take in all of the views and perhaps doing a bit of whirling, I focused on the mountains to the west. In the picture above, you can see how far they stretched. Also in view is the Tuolumne river meandering gracefully at the base of the mountains.

Based on my previous experiences, I am certain there are prominent features and points of interest captured in the above view of which I am not even aware, but what I did realize is that this was a beautiful scene!

 
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 170 (Lembert Dome from the Woods 4/8)

Jeff

Lembert Dome could be seen periodically as we hiked

Lembert Dome as seen from the trail as we hiked

From time-to-time, we could garner glimpses of the dome as we hiked. In the picture above, we could see a section of the top of the dome. Of course we couldn’t be too sure which exact wall we were viewing, but it was gratifying to see it getting larger and closer as we hiked up the hill.

From this vantage point, Lembert Dome looked much like Half Dome did when viewed from the woods near Mirror Lake.

 
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 170 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 169 (Lembert Dome Stream Crossings – 3/8)

Jeff

There were a surprising number of stream crossings we had to navigate

During the spring thaw, there are a good number of stream crossings along the Lembert Dome Trail.

We understood that during the time we were hiking there would be snow melt and with that would come the need to navigate through wet areas. When we came across a stream, that was not surprising. We did not anticipate that we would have to do this as many times as we did. I also did not appreciate how much water the streams would carry and how wide some of the crossings would be.

We would have to search up and down the banks of the streams to find the most suitable and narrow spot often adding a large fallen branch/log to the debris to help provide a dry foothold.

When does a stream become classified as a river?

 
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 169 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 168 (Lembert Dome The Trail- 2/8)

Jeff

A major portion of the trail looked like the typical hike in the woods

A major portion of the Lembert Dome trail looked much like the typical hike in the woods.

A good portion of the Lembert Dome Trail was similar to many other trails we hiked through a wooded area. The path was often wide and clear. There were patches of snow all around and as we got higher on the mountain, the pockets of snow became more prevalent and at times, larger!

As this picture indicates, portions of the trail were thawing quickly and relatively dry, but that didn’t mean it would be that way in other areas as you will see in the post of Day 169!.

 
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 168 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 167 (Lembert Dome Trail – 1/8)

Jeff

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

The start of the trail opens after the woods

Exiting the initial wooded area, there is a rock shelf with numerous cairns

Before arriving at this massive rock shelf, we hiked from the parking area and through a grove of trees, i.e. woods. The trees soon gave way to a clearing and we were presented with many cairns. Some were simple while others were more elaborate.

Hikers debate whether cairns are reliable and/or helpful because there are some who might mislead future hikers intentionally or because of ignorance. There were so many cairns in this area and they were all leading in the same direction and therefore hikers could “hedge their bets.”

In any event, the path was rather obvious and we had a trail map that we consulted to make sure. Except for the Valley Loop Trail, I would say that most trails were rather easy to find and follow. When considering the size of Yosemite, I should also add that they were probably marked as well as they could be.

NOTE – Whenever I hike, I take three cameras. One of them is a simple point-and-shoot which only captures JPEG images. If this sounds foreign to you, then you can skip this paragraph. There will be several pictures which were taken with my Canon PowerShot AS590 and are intended to be “pictures of record” and not picturesque portrayals or renderings. This photo is one of them.

 
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 167 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 166 (Textures and Colors and Sounds, Oh My!)

Jeff

Mossy Rocks in the Merced at Happy Isles

A large boulder with moss sits in the Merced River


While walking along the path at Happy Isles, we spied this rock with beautiful textures and colors. It may a bit unusual to be visiting a noted national park with all of its monuments and major attractions and to focus on a moss covered rock.

I was struck by several things. Look at the colors of the moss on that rock. The shades range from medium brown, to gold to light green. Whatever light came through the clouds was highlighting the yellowish growth. Additionally, the warm tones of the fallen log in the background and the sound of the rushing water made this a true sensory experience.

Several posts ago, I spoke about the “small miracles and gems” and perhaps I am the only one who would consider this as such, but that is what makes nature what it is. It is a person-specific connection and wonderment!

 
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 166 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 165 (Unexpected Water Feature)

Jeff

Water feature along Vernal Fall Trail

A water feature was created along the Vernal Fall Trail

I have spoken about the wonder of our national parks a number of times as part of my blog posts. Considering the amount of funding and the scope of the task, I have to say that the workers in our parks should receive a lot of praise.

There were many instances as we hiked, we would come across a feature that took time and energy to build and probably did not receive the recognition it deserved. These individual touches give personality to our parks and add natural, artistic touches to the hiking experience.

Although it may be difficult to discern in the photo, just above the fern was a wall of boulders and water was dripping down that wall creating a perfect environment for shade loving plants. The park crews built two retaining ponds with the natural stone and it created a much appreciated water feature that added to both the visual and aural the pleasures of hikers as they passed. I do hope many of the visitors note and admire these distinctive touches!

 
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 165 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 164 (The Bus Stops Here)

Jeff

Visitors wait patiently at the bus stop

The various bus stops throughout the park are generally very nice with overhangs and benches

Years ago, many national parks devised an intrapark transportation scheme that encouraged visitors to take buses rather than drive from trailhead to trailhead. By and large, I think this has been a very good transition for both the visitors and the parks.

There is less vehicle traffic which is an advantage for the native flora and fauna. We have found the buses very efficient and most, if not all, the drivers very helpful and friendly. Once in a while we were able to ride on a bus with one of the rangers and we then could use this opportunity to gather more information.

Our experience has been that the buses do not use gasoline and therefore there is a reduction of air pollution; always a good thing.

The bus waiting area pictured above is fairly typical of the waiting areas. There were some that were composed of stone and they were works of art. The frequency of the rounds was also very comfortable and waits were not too long. Needless to say, your experiences may vary when crowds surge, weather interferes or other unforeseen circumstances occur.

The managers of our national parks did this the right way!

 
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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No Meta Data – for this photograph

 

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 163 (Sentinel Dome – Nevada Falls)

Jeff

Vernal Fall viewed from the top of Sentinel Dome

A closeup view of Vernal Fall taken from the top of Sentinel Dome

**NOTE** – The waterfall pictured above is inaccurately referred to as Vernal Fall when this was initially posted. It has now been corrected to reflect the appropriate reference to Nevada Falls.

Standing on the top of Sentinel Dome, was like having my head on a 360 degree swivel mechanism. All I could do was turn a bit and stare and then turn a bit more and stare until I absorbed as much of the 360 degree view as I could. While I had seen many of these Yosemite features from other areas of the park, it is much like looking at a spouse or good friend and noticing something that perhaps was not as memorable prior to that instant. These familiar features took on a different character because of the change of perspective when viewed from Sentinel Dome.

I hope this photograph conveys the power of Nevada Falls. The curtain of water had prominent cascades with the new waves of water trying earnestly to overtake those that went before. This, my friends, is a first-hand example of the power of the natural world.

 
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 163 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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