YOSEMITE - ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - 2

ON TO YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

 
We decided to go into the Park for a short hike before we had breakfast.

We headed for Wawona where we went to the Trailhead for the Chilnualna Falls. We had backpacked this trail a number of years ago with both girls. Today we started under cloudy skies with only a fanny pack, water, and a light snack. The trail ascends quite quickly. We made it up the trail about a half of mile where we could see what would have been fairly tall falls, but there was  only a trickle falling through a single crack in the rocks.

CHILNUALNA FALLS

As the trail continued up we decided to retrace our steps as we had gotten a call from the girls that they had just entered the park and were passing the Wawona Hotel. We were able to catch them and they turned toward the small village of Wawona, and they met us at the trailhead.

We had not yet had breakfast sowe got a couple cups of coffee at the Village Store and then headed for a picnic table beside the South Fork of the Merced River. We had a great breakfast, and Klara and Tina roamed over the rocks to the River edge. 

ALONG THE SOUTH FORK OF THE MERCED RIVER

The water was so low, that Klara could easily rock scramble across the river to explore the vegetation. Finally it was time to welcome Justin to the park with the view at Wawona Tunnel. We, and about 50 others enjoyed the view of the Valley. 

TINA AND KLARA

THE HAPPY COUPLE

At Bridalveil Falls there was a very thin veil of water falling, enough to moisten the rockface, but hardly anything reached the base of the Falls. 

BRIDALVEIL FALLS, OCTOBER 2015

BRIDALVEIL FALLS, MARCH 2010

We had lunch along the Merced across from El Capitan where we could see rock climbers scaling the monolith. 

EL CAPITAN THROUGH THE TREES

YOSEMITE GRANITE

We continued to drive the complete Valley Loop around to the Yosemite Lodge with another short hike around the meadow below El Capitan and the Royal Arches. 

HALF DOME

After checking into the Lodge, we relaxed a bit before heading to the Lodge Food Court for dinner. We do not recommend this experience if one has the time for another choice.

YOSEMITE - ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - 1

This was a family trip to Yosemite National Park where we have had many adventures, camping, hiking, and photographing. I had first visited the park in 1962 on a whirlwind trip with my Uncle. He took me to all the basic photo stops in the park in about 24 hours!! George was introduced to Yosemite in 1965 as we traveled from Castine, Maine, to San Diego to start a new tour of duty for George.  My first visit was in the month of September, as was George’s. The Falls were flowing but not with the vigor of the Spring runoff.    

This year, we visited in early October, the fourth year of a severe drought here in California. It was quite noticeable. Several of the Falls were dry, and several had only a trickle. The Merced River was down quite a bit, with no white water visible.

 DRIVE TO FISH CAMP, CA

We drove to Fish Camp, located just South of the Wawona entrance to the park from San Diego in very warm weather. Thankfully the air conditioning worked well. The Los Angeles/Riverside Basin was quite busy but the traffic moved along at least 65 miles per hour. The hills around Tejon Pass were brown and dry. The San Joaquin Valley also was quite dry and hot. The grape orchards for raisins were covered in places so the fruit did not fry. We enjoyed the drive from Fresno as we headed into the foothills of the Sierras which though quite brown are still dotted with Live Oak Trees to break up the monotony.

After checking into our lodge, White Chief Mountain Lodge, we inquired about a place to go for a hike in the area. Eight hours in the car, which was comfortable, still required some exercise afterwards. We headed off to find a trail head for Lewis Creek. Lewis Creek runs close to CA-41. We found the trail to Corlieu Falls, which on a good day has a cascade of about 80 Feet. We hiked to it,

 

Corlieu Falls

 and then below the Falls to an arbitrary point where we turned around as it was getting quite late in the day. If we had gone North we would have come upon Red Rock Falls three miles up the trail. In any case we enjoyed the outing, but due to the ongoing drought there was little water at Corlieu Falls.

Corlieu Falls Detail

A TOUCH OF COLOR
We stopped at the Narrow Gauge Inn on our way back to our Lodge,   for dinner. Their Dining Room is very pleasant and not too noisy. We enjoyed a delicious Portobello mushroom sandwich which we shared.