Read Reid's Blog

Spent the weekend in Yosemite with my parents. They had never been to Yosemite before, mostly due to my Dad’s impression that Yosemite could never compare to how Ansel Adams depicted it. We had some cooperative weather and melting snow to make for some spectacular sites, so I think we came close to how Adams depicted it. The views are so amazing that anyone can take nice photos. Our first stop on Friday was a hike to Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias:

From Yosemite 2009

Since this part of the park was closed to cars, the normally busy grove was nearly empty, allowing for some quiet hiking and unobstructed views of the giant sequoias. This set of trees is called “Bachelor and Three Graces”:

From Yosemite 2009

On the way back to Yosemite Valley, some dark clouds provided some contrast for Tunnel View:

From Yosemite 2009

Lower Yosemite Falls the following morning:

From Yosemite 2009

Merced River:

From Yosemite 2009

Mirror Lake:

From Yosemite 2009

A few not so great things about going to Yosemite in March: since the snow is melting, plenty of paths were full of mud or slush. Curry Village’s parking lot was under construction, so the lot itself was a giant puddle. Additionally, the nice high school band that performed during dinner turned out to be a nuisance late in the night, since the canvas tents don’t shield much more than a pindrop from your neighbor. But, that’s the camping experience, right?

Anyway, heading up to Yosemite in March offered some amazing falls that are otherwise dry by the end of the summer. For example, Tunnel View from September 14, 2008 looked like this:

From Yosemite – Vernal/Nevada Falls & Glacier Point

I got a year pass to Yosemite, so hopefully this means I’ll be able to take at least one trip up Half Dome and do a backpacking trip to someplace like Young Lakes.