Yosemite National Park
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Tuolumne Grove Yosemite National Park |
September 29, 2016
For my second outing of the day I will revisit Tuolumne Grove. A couple of months ago no photos were preserved from my tour here due to a camera glitch. Last time, I was lucky; but today I must use an overflow parking area a quarter of a mile north on the Tioga Road.
Getting a parking spot is a hit-or-miss affair
The tour buses, however, have a long section of roadway reserved just for them.
The trail down to the grove is paved
I don't know when this route finally was closed to automobile traffic;
but back in the early 1960s I routinely drove this six-mile,
one-way stretch as a scenic alternative exit from the park.
The coneflowers have all but had it
This is the biggest coneflower patch I ever saw; I must return sometime to replace the nice photographs of it that were lost earlier.
Having little else to do, I am walking much faster than most
Autumn has arrived
It's time to hit the trail, starting with a loop through some very tall sequoias.
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Beginning the Grove Loop
Fallen giant
Standing giants
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The selfie-set causes a real bottleneck here
A couple asks me to take a couple of photos of them standing beside the big stump, using their mobile phone. Apparently I didn't do such a good job, because a few minutes later they shamelessly implore another hiker to do the same thing. Admittedly, I never have taken a photograph on my own iPhone, and have no plans to do so.
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It's gravy-time. The routing suggested on the sign saves the main attraction for last.
The Tunnel Tree has been dead for a long time
It also is the last one standing in this park. The Wawona Tree in Mariposa Grove, the most famous tunnel tree of them all, fell during a snowstorm in 1969. The California Tunnel Tree, also in Mariposa Grove and cut in 1895, remains standing; but the opening never was big enough to accommodate automobiles.
Elsewhere on the west coast are several other standing trees or
stumps that one still can drive through — for a price.
The tunnel tree in Sequoia Park is a lot of fun, but its opening wasn't cut
until after the tree fell.
How long will this one last?
It's a shame that I managed not to save any old photographs of myself
here in earlier years. I drove my '54 Buick through this
tree, and I later rode in an old Cadillac through the Wawona Tree as well.
Traffic jam
The walk back is a relentless uphill grade. I humor myself by walking it
non-stop as quickly as possible, passing dozens of visitors in the process
while being overtaken by just one twenty-something in red sneakers.
Wonderful textures around the Round Head Mushrooms
§: Well, I got my photographs, but the ones taken in June with all the
flowers and green stuff were better. Perhaps I need a rematch with this trail.
| Scenery |  |
| Difficulty | |
| Personality |  |
| Solitude |  |
