Yosemite in Almost Winter

[Bob Miller]

We just spent most of a week in the Yosemite Valley enjoying the beauty of the park as well as the somewhat cooler weather.(17 degrees some nights)

Mid week sites in Upper Pines (only open CG in the Valley after Nov 1) are easy to get, but the campground went from about 50 campers on Wednesday, to "Full" (240+ sites) on Friday night. There is a central campground reservation office at Camp Curry as well as the www.recreation.gov site for advance reservations.

But it is a beautiful time to visit and the spring & summer crowds are all but gone.

Here's a few of the pics we shot. Click to enlarge.
1. Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View
2. Half Dome
3. Upper & Lower Yosemite Falls
4. El Capitan

[Jon in AZ]

Beautiful, Bob. Don't get to do it much, but it's nice to visit places when there are fewer people. But 17 degrees?... Brrr!

[LeonardS]

Water in Yosemite Falls this time of year? That's a real treat, usually it is bone dry about now. You must have caught it just after some showers.

Nice photos. Thanks for sharing!


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[rebeccasf]

Oh, I completely agree! It's such a beautiful place this time of year and without all the crowds. I was there a week ago right after the first big storm of the year closed Tioga Pass. There was a bear just behind my campsite one morning and the next night a couple of playful coyotes ran through the campground around 9 or 10 pm. I hiked a few miles up the Upper Yosemite Falls trail for lunch and saw a bobcat. Of course, there were the many deer constantly wandering the meadows. I've been to Yosemite many times and have never seen that many different animals in the same trip.

[Bob Miller]

Yep, it was unusual for water on the falls so late. We had to delay arrival by 2 days to let a storm clear. Chains/snow tires were still required on some roads. Tioga and Glacier Point roads are closed for the season.


1. Upper Yosemite Falls and Moi
2. A Visitor
3. Bridalveil Fall
4. Wapama Falls, Hetch-Hetchy Valley

[BASE1360]

I lived in Yosemite Valley for about 8 years, ending my residency in 2013. Yosemite from October till May can have weather ranging from spring-like conditions to full on winter snow storms. Even if you do your due diligence and keep your eye on weather systems, Yosemite Valley can be unique and often weather in the Valley doesn't conform to weather reports. At any rate, Yosemite is a great place to visit during this time of year. Just be prepared for every scenario if you want to ride out your stay. For instance, rain may lead to snow and that may lead to ice. The south side of the Valley can turn into an ice rink with ice several inches deep. In addition, when the temps rise a little bit after a snow storm, the trees can shower ice bombs everywhere. I have seen stickies dented up from falling ice but I don't recall seeing FG trailers damaged. Of course, during that time I was backpacking instead of spending time in trailers.

Thanks to the above posters for putting up pictures. I still live minutes outside the park but I cannot get enough of that scenery.

[marijke]

One place that is my bucket list. Thank you for the pics, it must be wonderful to be there without it being crowded.

[DougOlson]

We love Yosemite and were there in October, before any rain. It's nice to see some water in the falls now. We like the spring of fall times best and as you noticed, it is not crowded except for Friday and Saturday nights.

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[Roger C H]

You had blue skies. When we visited, it was overcast.

[DougOlson]

We had blue skies a couple days, then they did a controlled burn of underbrush near Bridleveil Falls in the valley and Upper Pines got very smokey at night, could not see Half Dome in the morning. Then it rained one day, so we got a whole variety on conditions. Always fun in Yosemite though. We try to go every year.

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[LyleB]

I was there the middle of Aug in '14 and the falls were bone dry. Did you do any hiking? When I was there we took off on the John Muir Trail and hiked to Bishop. FANTASTIC trail if you are a hiker.

[Bob Miller]

Nope, Our hiking daze included the Pacific Coast Trail and sections of the old High Sierra trail, but those were many years ago.


We worked on the 1st Yosemite Master Plan (1972)

[stude]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

We just spent most of a week in the Yosemite Valley enjoying the beauty of the park as well as the somewhat cooler weather.(17 degrees some nights)

Mid week sites in Upper Pines (only open CG in the Valley after Nov 1) are easy to get, but the campground went from about 50 campers on Wednesday, to "Full" (240+ sites) on Friday night. There is a central campground reservation office at Camp Curry as well as the www.recreation.gov site for advance reservations.

But it is a beautiful time to visit and the spring & summer crowds are all but gone.

Here's a few of the pics we shot. Click to enlarge.
1. Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View
2. Half Dome
3. Upper & Lower Yosemite Falls
4. El Capitan

: we got those but in the heat of the summer months a few years ago. Got kicked out of the park as no Over Night parking and as we needed gas drove back a ways to the outskirts of the park got gas and found a spot beside the road. Got up in AM then drove back to the Park for more time spent 2 whole days putting around, next came Death Valley and did we have Over heating problems there along with bad starter etc. at 119*F for a whole 9 hours in the sun but oh it was fun.
Stude

[Bob Miller]

Free advise, if any one is still following:


1. There is no gas in Yosemite Valley to discourage driving (it works).
2. Free shuttle busses run every 10-20 minutes.
3. There are gas stations near all entrances ($$$), and in the park at Wawona and Crane Flats.
4. There is a central campsite registration office at Camp Curry and one "might" get a last minute camp site reservation due to a cancellation or a no-show, but don't count on it. As mentioned, overnight parking is not allowed in the park. Use www.recreation.gov for reservations.
5. Never go to Death Valley in the summer. Even the snakes leave for a vacation...LOL

[stude]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Free advise, if any one is still following:


1. There is no gas in Yosemite Valley to discourage driving (it works).
2. Free shuttle busses run every 10-20 minutes.
3. There are gas stations near all entrances ($$$), and in the park at Wawona and Crane Flats.
4. There is a central campsite registration office at Camp Curry and one "might" get a last minute camp site reservation due to a cancellation or a no-show, but don't count on it. As mentioned, overnight parking is not allowed in the park. Use www.recreation.gov for reservations.
5. Never go to Death Valley in the summer. Even the snakes leave for a vacation...LOL

: to another location but occasionaly we stop and stay a little longer we were in Yosemite in Sept. still fairly warm saw lots of dear, etc.
Did you know that the water SF drinks comes from Yosemite. Yep some smart fellow sitting in his office in SF looked at the future and said to himself were going to run out of drinking water, so he started traveling around the country to see where they could find good water for the future. Yosemite was the place he picked so a damn was built with a pipeline from there to SF put in place.
Death Valley blew our fail safe rad cap it imploded down into the rad a I used up around 5 gallons of my back up water to the camp ground.
next morning we got up and picked the pieces out of the rad and put our local cap back on. Off to the Visitor Center arrive go in and get info about DV then hop back into the Elite MH Class C and no go so get help from their Mntce to jump truck still no go so I know it is starter. Phone Good Sam our Saviours and a fellow comes from Pahrump with a Battery I tell him not battery and he agrees with me once he tries his hand and says not battery but he says it is your starter so off he goes and now we get Good Sam on phone and they send someone else from LV he takes about 4 1/2 hours to get out to us but is okay have some shade and a breeze under the awning. Finally around 5PM were back on the road as it was the starter that was gone and we headed for LV but got dark so pulled over alongside the road in Nevada for a much needed rest and sleep cooled off that night so nice nights sleep.
made LV next day and parked at our favorite location Sam's Casino as cheap there for 3 nights stay.
Took my wife to the old part of LV to see the night show up in the canopy and to see how strange people can be on the ground.
2 hours of that and she was ready for the MH again.
Stude

[Bob Miller]

You apparently don't know the back story behind Hetch-Hechy and the O'Shaughnessy Dam, one of the greatest travesty's in National Park History.


In creating that dam, the S.F Water Department filled a valley that was said to have been even more beautiful than Yosemite Valley itself. Three other locations were made available, yet they were all ignored.


Here is one of many links on that sad story, that is credited to leading to the creation of the National Park Service a few years later.


https://www.archives.gov/legislative.../hetch-hetchy/




None less than Sierra Club founder John Muir himself led the battle to save the Hetch-Hechy valley, a loss that many attributed to his death in 1914.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir


Of the destruction of the Hetch-Hetchy Valley he said:


“Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks, the people’s

cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by

the heart of man.”

http://vault.sierraclub.org/john_mui...e_hamilton.pdf


I am a native San Franciscan, and few and far between is the San Franciscan that is proud of what was done to destroy that part of Yosemite, when so many other options were available.


And yes, as always, we visit the Hetch Hechy Valley when we go to Yosemite. To not do so, to not gaze upon it, to not see it's beautiful waterfalls still spilling forth, is to just accept all that was lost. This is, indeed, the Trinity Site of natural beauty in America.
History

[stude]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

You apparently don't know the back story behind Hetch-Hechy and the O'Shaughnessy Dam, one of the greatest travesty's in National Park History.


In creating that dam, the S.F Water Department filled a valley that was said to have been even more beautiful than Yosemite Valley itself. Three other locations were made available, yet they were all ignored.


Here is one of many links on that sad story, that is credited to leading to the creation of the National Park Service a few years later.


https://www.archives.gov/legislative.../hetch-hetchy/




None less than Sierra Club founder John Muir himself led the battle to save the Hetch-Hechy valley, a loss that many attributed to his death in 1914.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir


Of the destruction of the Hetch-Hetchy Valley he said:


“Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks, the people’s

cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by

the heart of man.”

http://vault.sierraclub.org/john_mui...e_hamilton.pdf


I am a native San Franciscan, and few and far between is the San Franciscan that is proud of what was done to destroy that part of Yosemite, when so many other options were available.


And yes, as always, we visited Hetch Hechy Valley when we went to Yosemite. To not do so, to not gaze upon it, to see it's beautiful waterfalls still spilling forth, is to just accept all that was lost. This is, indeed, the Trinity Site of natural beauty in America.
History

: and I hate to see the places get destroyed, for us to have water, power, roads, etc. etc. and then they built all those big ugly transmission towers to move the power along to wherever, then the wind turbines that are killing thousands of birds every year for what? but us to have power to read by. I wonder when the birds are gone how much longer it will be for us? Yes they are doing it right now again in Canada for the Site 3 dam saying were running out of power, Heck that power is going to be sold to the Hungry USA not to us Canadians whose taxes will end up paying for it?
Yes where ever we look Big Power and Money will hurt us in the end.
Thankfully Canada has not gone nuts installing all those big ugly Wind Turbines, blocking nice scenery! But I guess it will come someday.
Stude

[Bob Miller]

Looks to me like it's a win-win situation
Where Canada's surplus energy goes - Canada - CBC News


And it appears that house cats are a bigger threat than wind turbines to birds
Wind turbines kill around 300,000 birds annually, house cats around 3,000,000,000 : TreeHugger


But this thread is about Yosemite, not Canada anyway.....

[stude]

Sorry I forgot all about cats as one rarely sees them and if they are alley cats do not stay long around our house as I catch them and hand over to the local SPCA. I know they can never retrain them. Yep they kill birds like crazy just anywhere there is a cat that means a lot less birds the next year and I wonder when people will learn this and stop raising cats. Same goes for those large motorized Turbines.
Stude

[Mike Magee]

I remember the place from my visit in 2011. There isn't that much to see in Yosemite...


A few small hills and valleys...


Some puny trees...


I wonder if I will ever get to go back there.