spectacular yosemite
October 6, 2010 § 3 Comments
After several summers of roughing it in Algonquin Park, I’ve become somewhat of a camping enthusiast. And how enthusiastic I was when O.T. gave me news that he managed to book a campsite in Yosemite National Park in California for two nights this July.
Yosemite is breathtaking. What surprised me most is its scenic variety. It is so vast, there is simply so much to see, and camping became a mere function for rest. We set up camp at the west entrance at Hodgdon Meadow. We drove towards the east along Tioga Pass Road, one of the most picturesque stretches of scenery I’ve seen, stopping at the very serene Tuolumne Meadow and ending with views of snow-capped mountains at Tioga Pass. We drove south of Yosemite Valley through Badger Pass up to Glacier Point.
In our three days and two nights, we managed to complete 8 hiking trails and have vowed to return a few times more to complete as many trails as we can in our lifetime.
Yosemite Valley with Half Dome and Yosemite Falls in the distance.
Along the Mist Trail, in front of Vernal Fall.
Hiking the Mist Trail. A scenic moment at Vernal Fall.
- Tuolomne Meadow
Hiking up the granite rocks of Sentinel Dome and a view of the entire Yosemite Park from the top of Sentinel Dome.
Camping at Hodgdon Meadow.
paper, plate, and plane 
Hi! I enjoyed viewing your pictures of Yosemite National Park. I also got the opportunity to travel there this past summer and I have to agree that it is such an amazing pristine place to be. If you feel up to it, when you return, I highly recommend spending a few days at the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp. It is quite a hike so it requires a bit of wilderness backpacking, but is considered the most beautiful location in the entire park. I’ll probably be sharing some pictures from there on my blog on WordPress sometime soon–feel free to check it out if you’d like. I’m glad you enjoyed Yosemite!
– Nate
Hi Nate!
Sorry for the much due reply! I went through your blog a week or so ago and I think your travel accounts are stirring. I most certainly wish I had your valor for off-the-beaten-track explorations, and hope to summon up the courage in the future! 🙂 I definitely want to return to Yosemite many times over (and none of the “car camping” stuff that Hodgdon Meadow is notorious for!). I will keep posted with your blog and also promise to post more of my own travels…I hope to get some reprieve from you, as I am totally the “tourist” type. He he. ;P Actually, my travel adventures are really for food (my appreciation for architecture is just a simple excuse, but cannot be matched by my tummy’s appetite). 🙂
-Jer
Hey Jer,
No worries on the delay. I’m very glad that you enjoyed some of the stories I’ve told about traveling. I’ve been so busy with my final semester of school lately that I havn’t been able to find the time to add more, but I have so much more to tell, and will soon for sure. There’s nothing really wrong with the touristy stuff, I just truly believe that if you dare to step away from that and head more in the direction of culture-shock, or away from the crowds, you’ll be rewarded greatly. I think I found my next destination: Heading back to Alaska for St. Elias National Park, a place so remote that only a single dirt road leads there and they say that any wild animals you encounter have a 90% chance of having never seen a human before. I cannot wait! If you’re into food I was going to say that you MUST go to ROME, but as I can see from a few posts above you already have. I had some of the best food I’ve ever tasted there (as expected). That was a great trip as well. Keep the travel ideas flowing, and keep me posted on places worth seeing!
– Nate