Yosemite National Park Day 1 - Tuolomne, Crane Flats, Hetch-Hetchy

Heading west on Highway 120 towards
Yosemite National Park

I turned west on to California State Route 120 just south of Lee Vining and was finally on my way into Yosemite National Park! I had been waiting for this, planning for this, wanting this for well over a year and it was finally happening. Yes I was grinning like a fool driving along the highway.

First, though, I had to stop at a rest area to brush my teeth after having a breakfast burrito from the Mono Market in Lee Vining. And, at the risk of being gross (not that it will stop me), I had to irrigate my sinuses. That was the first occurrence of this process on my vacation where I got to use very cold water. The overnight temps had got down to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit and my distilled water was close to that. Nothing like squirting that up your nose at 8:00 AM in the morning!

Then, after my procrastination, I climbed back into my Explorer, got my grin back on, and headed towards the park.

As my camping partner from the night before told me, the highway climbs fast once you get on it. Lee Vining is at an elevation of 6,781 feet, and by the time you travel the roughly 13 miles to the East Park Entrance at Tioga Pass, you're at 9,941 feet elevation - most of which is gained very quickly along the road.

Along the way you start getting into the mountains. You start seeing the granite that Yosemite (and the Sierras in general) are known for. You, if you're like me, start grinning even more. 


I have lived in Oregon and Washington a lot but the mountains there are not like these. One reason I like Arizona is because I can see something besides trees, which is about all you see in western Oregon and Washington. I enjoy seeing the dirt and rocks - the ground. In the Sierras you see what the mountains are made of but you also see a lot of trees. A great mix!

There are some cool viewpoints along the highway that allow you to turn off and enjoy the scenery. I hit a few of them even though I was torn by the desire to see where I was and the desire to get in to Yosemite National Park. As my visit unfolded I found that I had that problem often.

I wanted to savor the moment but I was anxious to see more. I'll say it now - my overall thought of Yosemite National Park was that I loved everything. When I saw something amazing, something that I just wanted to look at or photograph, I would end up turning my head or walking 20 feet and there'd be another amazing or beautiful view. 

Wide vistas or close under forest cover it didn't matter. There is always another wonderful view waiting. I spent 3 nights there and all it did was whet my appetite for more. I'm jumping ahead, I guess, but as I write this I have an overwhelming desire to be back in the bosom of Yosemite. 

I know I'm not the only one but I believe it affects people deeply, especially if you are in tune with nature and the beauty of that area. I suppose there are some people that could be more like Clark Griswold when he visited the Grand Canyon in "Vacation", but I couldn't and can't get enough! 

And I was still outside the park, experiencing the need to both linger and venture and wish I had at least two weeks to spend in the park.


I did continue on, driving to Tioga Pass where the park entrance is located. I drove past the various lakes and campgrounds and Tioga Pass Resort. I then made it to the park entrance.

Tioga Pass - East Entrance to Yosemite National Park

I had purchased an annual pass to the National Parks at Joshua Tree National Park. At Yosemite they asked to see some ID along with the pass. The ranger squinted at my ID and my signature on my National Park pass. I assume she was trying to ensure that the signature was the same on my Arizona driver license as it was on the pass. I don't get it - the passes are not replaceable if you loose them - they're basically like cash. 

Whoever has the pass can present it, as far as I know. And, as I'd find out a Sequoia National Park, not every park asks for an additional ID. I find it strange that different National Parks operate differently at basic levels such as how they indicate whether a vehicle has paid the entrance fee to the park. All three parks I visited did something different. 

Once I got through the park gate I felt like I'd finally made it. I was in Yosemite National Park! 

Driving along highway 120 was, as I've already alluded to, a never ending scenery fest. I had my iPhone on the windshield suction cup mount and kept clicking it. I didn't want to have too few photos!

I wonder if a better approach would be to walk the highway instead of driving it. You'd have more time to enjoy each and every detail. I wonder why I don't feel this way about the other places I go to, or why I didn't feel this way about the Hoh Rainforest in Washington. The two places have a lot in common - natural, trees, etc. I may need to revisit the Hoh again to see if I can be reset properly.

A lone Sequoia along Highway 120

I started seeing a sequoia now and then. It was relentless in the assault of beauty. I found myself hoping that the road went forever. My only regret was that my wife wasn't with me to share it. This was another thing I found I wished for a lot over the rest of my trip. I don't remember what movie I saw that had a line like that - but it sure does make an experience more profound if you're sharing it with someone you care about. 

Before I knew it, and before I wanted it, I found myself at Tuolomne Meadows. I wanted to see the meadows but I wanted the park to be more expansive at the same time. If you look at a map you'll see that the meadows are actually quite a distance from the west side of the park. I just was hoping to prolong the foreplay before arriving there.

Arriving at Tuolomne Meadows

At 8:55 AM I arrived at the Tuolomne Meadows area. There were quite a few people there by that time. 

The parking lot at the road that head north to the horse stables was full but there were a few spots left for parking along the road itself. I had to stop and get out and walk around. I didn't take my Nikon with me at this point, I just wanted to get my feet in the famous Tuolomne Meadow!

I spent a bit of time in the area and took a number of shots with the Nikon D610 (which I'll post when I get them processed). I got some photographs of Lembert's Dome, Tuolomne River, the meadows, some boulders and pine trees. I enjoyed the area and could have easily spent days there. It's beautiful and peaceful. There wasn't a lot of water in the Tuolomne River but there was enough to allow you to think of it as a river instead of a creek.

After a bit I headed on, stopping at the Tuolomne Meadows Visitor Center. I went in but didn't stay long. It wasn't a tourist trap and didn't have any souvenirs - it had information and registration for hikers if you need it.

I came to Tenaya Lake, again it was too soon! 

Me at Tenaya Lake

Some granite across Highway 120 from Tenaya Lake

Me laying on the granite across from Tenaya Lake - wonderful!

I have watched a number of videos (mainly on YouTube) about hiking the John Muir or Pacific Crest Trails and when the people have arrived at Tenaya Lake or Tuolomne Meadows I had the assumption that they were remote locations you had to work at to get to. Here I was driving to them!

I took out my Nikon D610 and got a few photographs of the lake that I like, even for mid-day shots. I'm sure they'd be better at the golden hour but I never made it back after this brief stop. 

Tenaya Lake

From there I stopped at Olmsted Point where I got my first view of the iconic Half Dome! I had now seen three of the famous points of interest: Tuolomne Meadows, Tenaya Lake, and Half Dome! I still hadn't stopped grinning! I never wanted to leave!

Approaching Olmsted Point from the east

From there it was quite a drive to Crane Flat campground where I was staying. The drive was mainly in the pine forest. The traffic wasn't bad, and I eventually arrived at the campground.

When I checked in to the campground they had a sign on the booth saying "Bear Crossing". I commented that it didn't look like the crossing was very busy at the moment the range told me the bears had been through earlier.

I was really hoping that I'd see a bear, not breaking in to my vehicle or chasing me, but perhaps wandering through the park. It wasn't to be, unfortunately; no bear sightings the entire trip.

Campsite #410 at Crane Flat Campground

I got to my site, #410, and it was something else. It was a "pull through" type lot but it was on a hill side. The Explorer was probably at a 10 degree angle when parked. The tent site was level but the picnic table was probably at 5 degrees or more. Things rolled off of it quite nicely which does help keep it uncluttered!

Then I found out that my new tent was not a complete tent. It was designed to work with a separate canopy section which I hadn't purchased. Due to my recent viewing of outdoorsy YouTubes, I fashioned additional support out of my trekking poles and some straps I keep in my Explorer. What a bit of ingenuity! It certainly saved me from driving to a city to buy a real tent. And, there was no way I could sleep in the Explorer there due to the incline.
  

Heading to Hetch Hetchy

After getting the tent configured I acquainted myself with storing things in the bear vault, had a bite to eat, and then decided to take the rest of that day to visit Hetch Hetchy. It was about 4:30 by the time I started on my way there.

Hetch Hetchy is another valley north of the more famous Yosemite Valley. It was dammed in the 1920's after a battle to keep it natural between the city of San Francisco and environmentalists led by John Muir was won by San Francisco. 

This battle was the last major thing John Muir was involved in and he passed away while trying to preserve the Hetch Hetchy valley. It is still controversial, due to putting a dam in a National Park. I wanted to at least see it in person and this seemed like the best day to do it. I could spend the following day in Yosemite Valley proper, and the following day at Glacier Point before heading to Sequoia / King's Canyon National Park.

The road to Hetch Hetchy exits the park briefly and crosses private land. It is hilly and twisty most of the way and would be fun in a sports car. Before you get to the dam and lake you go through the Mather Camp area which surprised me at how busy it was. I hadn't heard of it, and you just kind of come upon it, a busy, large campground and cabin area with a large store in the middle of the woods. 

There was even a little lake near there with a gazebo that would probably make a great place for a wedding or summer concert series. They didn't ask me to play.

When I got to Hetch Hetchy I parked the Explorer and got out to walk around. I parked near the top of the hill in the parking lot. When I got out I could hear loud water so looked over the bank to see the outflow of the hydro-electric generator in the river.

I hadn't known, or thought to research it earlier, but the Hetch Hetchy is fed by the Tuolomne River.

I walked down to the dam and across it. I didn't take the Nikon D610 so the only images I have are my iPhone pictures. I just didn't see anything that warranted lugging the D610 and tripod around.

The dam and lake were not entirely ugly but they gave me a bad vibe just because of the history. And possibly because everything else I'd been seeing was pretty much natural and not man made. 

I walked across the dam to where there's a tunnel through the mountain. At the other end there was a baby stroller and I could hear an infant but couldn't see anyone else. That, too, was unnerving. I'd seen the people ahead of me going in to the tunnel but they were no where in sight when I got to the other end of the tunnel.

I have a few pics of the dam area here:

A view of O'Shaughnessy Dam

O'Shaughnessy Dam

The tunnel entrance from O'Shaughnessy Dam

A view of the Hetch Hetchy valley outside of the tunnel

Tunnel entrance from the lake side

From there I headed back to my campsite where I made myself some ramen noodles and sausages along with some Ritz crackers. And I had a "Half Dome" wheat beer from the Sequoia Brewing Company that I'd picked up at the Crane Flat Store. 

My first dinner at Yosemite National Park

It was wonderful and after cleaning up I crawled into my cobbled together tent and slept. With a grin still on my face!