Yosemite National Park
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Panorama Trail Yosemite National Park |
June 8, 2012
By getting up well before dawn, I am able to reach Yosemite Lodge
in time to catch the 8:30 a.m. shuttle to Glacier Point.
This bus is full, so my reservation was indeed necessary.
Upon arriving, I detour directly over to the point to take in the
well-known but ever-spectacular views.
Yosemite Falls to the north
My trailhead is about a quarter-mile south of where all the tourists are.
Destination: Yosemite Valley
From here, the views are largely different.
Half Dome, Liberty Cap, and Nevada Fall in the east
Mount Starr King to the south
Shortly down the trail is a view of my most favorite thing:
Vernal Fall awaits me 2,000 feet below
This outing will be unusual in that the trek is almost entirely downhill. Having paid the big bucks to ride up here, now I get to reap the benefits.
Those two hikers were with me on the shuttle
Not your everyday view of Vernal Fall. I love it.
The trail is snaking up the hillside over there
Balancing along this log is the only way
Another two miles of uninteresting going get me to the head of Illilouette Gorge and its namesake attraction.
Illilouette Fall, 370'
Without venturing precariously close to a big dropoff, there is no nearby point from which the entire waterfall can be viewed. I scramble down as close to the edge as I dare, but now the angle is even poorer.
The best I can do without tying myself to that tree
Another hiker is packing up his big camera and tripod, grumbling
about a lack of sunlight on the subject. I've no sympathy,
though; for the man didn't do his homework. What did he expect
from a west-facing cliff before noon? A little patience
could have saved the day.
This natural formation almost looks man-made
A nice footbridge awaits me ahead.
The head of Illilouette Gorge
Upstream of the bridge
Still hoping to capture some sort of super-photograph, I clamber over some boulders toward the brink of the falls.
The only photo-op that's available over here
Mount Hoffman in the distance
A verdant cliff face
It's time to get off these scary rocks
A nice swimming hole
Just ahead is a great new warning signpost:
Just beyond that is the original sign.
I like this one better
That victim in the picture really shouldn't be smiling, though.
That's where I was shooting earlier
Starting up the 'snaky' trail observed earlier, I discover substantial remnants of asphalt pavement.
At one time, this route was paved all the way up here!
At the high-point of this moderate climb are some new vistas.
Yosemite Falls
Royal Arches
Nevada Fall from a non-everyday perspective
Low ceiling
That one is man-made
Half Dome and Liberty Cap
A colorful spring
After negotiating numerous switchbacks, I encounter the John Muir
Trail. Opting not to head over to the big falls themselves,
I turn left onto the cliff-side track that was constructed
with wagon-travel in mind.
The John Muir Trail
In this verdant section are the only flowers I have seen today.
Pacific Stonecrop
Nevada Fall, 577'
Leaving the JMT, I head down a spur trail to Clark Point, which
just happens to be my favorite photo-op; and it doesn't
let me down today. Oh, my!
The incomparable Vernal Fall
I can only sit here for a time, not trying in the least to stifle the tears that are mingling with the spray from the falls.
This is why I go hiking
It's a 15-minute further scramble down to the brink of the cataract.
Lots of activity here
The Mist Trail is living up to its name
The view from my most favorite spot
Some 600+ stone steps and three-quarters of a mile of pavement
get me down to the end of the trail. The free shuttle whisks me back
to Yosemite Lodge, from which four more hours of driving get me home.
The Merced River at Happy Isles
§: What a day! Five miles of new trail, followed by a
traverse of the world's most beautiful place, is hard to beat.
| Scenery |  |
| Difficulty |  |
| Personality |  |
| Flowers |  |
| Adventure |  |
| Solitude |  |
