For each of us, there are places that beckon; places to which we return again and again. No, not the necessary ones – home, work, markets and the like – but rather destinations where we find special pleasures, even though we know them well. One of mine is Yosemite Valley, tucked deep in the Sierra Nevada. The fact that Yosemite Valley is an international attraction assures I have plenty of company, but somehow never seriously distracts from the magic of the place.
Prior to 2022, the last time I visited Yosemite Valley was early spring 2005, a somewhat ill-starred trip that included car trouble and a scary drive into the valley through a snowstorm. This year I made up for lost time with two trips to Yosemite; an overnight visit in early May and a two-night stay in mid-October.
For most of us in Northern California, the route to Yosemite Valley is the same. Whether we get there via Highway 5 or Highways 280 and 205, we usually take Highway 120 from Manteca. The drive is flat and relaxing at first, then hilly (in a couple of spots, really steep), curvy and not-so-relaxing as it gains altitude before descending into Yosemite Valley. Highway 140 from Merced is an attractive alternative, being flatter, less prone to snow and more scenic as it follows the Merced River into Yosemite Valley. Unfortunately, Highway 140 also adds 45 minutes to the drive. Highway 120 was my route – mostly – both trips.
The drives on Highway 120 offered stark reminders of recent wildfires. The area east of the Rim of the World turnout was completely burned through since my last trip, as was an area on the western edge of Yosemite Valley.
Both trips took place during the “shoulder” seasons, before the flood of humanity that inundates Yosemite between late May and late September. As crowded as Yosemite Valley was on the weekend days of my visits, it is difficult to imagine the mob scene in summer.
My spring visit illustrates how crowded Yosemite Valley has become. Arriving around noon, I drove up to the famed Tunnel View. Bad idea. Both parking lots were packed, with cars waiting in line to get into the larger lot. I grabbed a clear spot – not designated parking, but not blocking anyone – in the smaller lot, ran across the road to shoot three or four pictures, and got out of there. Roadside parking on Southside Drive near Bridal Veil Falls was similarly packed.
For the duration of this stay, I left my car in trailhead parking near Curry Village. Lamon’s Orchard, which shades this parking lot, is very possibly the oldest relic of European settlement in the park; it was planted in the 1860s. Some Yosemite Valley historical locations – like the site of John Muir’s cabin near Yosemite Falls – are marked with plaques. Lamon’s Orchard isn’t one of them.
My main goal this spring trip was to hike the Mist Trail, which winds past Vernal and Nevada Falls. It did not go well. For various reasons, I only got a bit past the top of Vernal Falls before turning back. Still, I conquered the slick, uneven Mist Trail stairs both ways (no easy feat), enjoyed views of both falls and shot some good photographs. My favorite shot duplicates almost exactly a photograph from 140 years ago: the one difference is a good-sized tree that now graces the right side of the frame.
I spent the night in a tent cabin at Curry Village, specifically Tent 420 (despite the number, no special amenities were offered). Tent 420 was not luxurious, but it offered privacy (though not quiet), heat, and proximity to the common bathroom and shower facilities. Also close was Seven Tents Pavilion, a relatively new dining facility (it wasn’t there my previous visit). Dinner at the pavilion was unimpressive, but breakfast was good, highlighted by scratch-made oatmeal. There also is a Peet’s in the building, sadly open only from late spring to early autumn.
Leaving Tent 420 for breakfast, I noticed a section of light-colored granite on the sheer cliff below Glacier Point, probably the source of the 2008 rockfall that damaged Curry Village and caused some injuries. Rockfalls are surprisingly common in Yosemite Valley; 47 were documented in 2021.
As this was an overnight trip, I made only a couple of stops in Yosemite Valley the second day before heading home. Yosemite Falls was spectacular from the spring snowmelt. I looked in vain for a tall, slightly arched oak that appears in nearly every photograph of Yosemite Falls from the 1860s to the 1920s: whether it succumbed naturally or was removed during a widening of the access trail, it is no longer there.
Across Northside Drive from Yosemite Falls is Cook’s Meadow. Looking east towards Half Dome, there is a huge oak that stands out against the pines beyond. A couple of miles west, the El Capitan Picnic Area provided a pleasant stop, though not a great view of the monolith. A turnout a mile farther offers a cross-valley view of Bridalveil Fall.
On this occasion, its swirling mist lived up the name given Bridalveil Fall by the native Ahwahneechee: Pohono, “spirit of the puffing wind.”
My Yosemite trip in October was more leisurely and more luxurious. Two nights at Yosemite Lodge allowed time for some exploring and the room definitely was nicer than the tent cabin at Curry Village.
My wife joined me on this trip, so challenging hikes were out. I spent a portion of that first afternoon wandering Leidig Meadow, across the Northside Drive from Yosemite Lodge and Camp 4. Now I understand why 19th century Yosemite photographers often put the Merced River in the foreground of their pictures; the river provided open vistas of the rock walls and waterfalls.
Typical for this time of the year, several Yosemite Valley waterfalls were dry, and the Merced River was running low and slow. My main goal this trip was to see autumn colors, but that was not to be. Oaks and maples on the valley floor remained green in mid-October.
We took the two-hour valley bus tour Saturday morning. As during my spring trip, the valley was crowded. The bus had to wait at the Tunnel View until some “entitled” visitors moved their cars from designated bus parking.
Bus parking near Bridalveil Fall (where a new parking lot and trail are under construction) and Gates of the Valley was easier.
I discovered in the week before this trip that reservations at the best Yosemite Valley restaurants – the Ahwahnee Dining Room and the Mountain Room at Yosemite Lodge – can only be made through Open Table and best be made more than a week in advance.
We mostly dined at the former Yosemite Lodge Cafeteria, now renamed the Yosemite Lodge Base Camp Eatery. Ordering food there is done on kiosks, but the food is decent (in the case of the black bean veggie burger, really good) and affordable. Tables along the sides of the building were a nice touch for those concerned about eating indoors during these covid times. There also is a Starbucks at Yosemite Lodge, but it had already closed for the year.
We had one dinner at the Mountain Room. This restaurant has improved markedly since my last meal there. Definitely fine dining. One couple we met during our stay said they preferred it to the Ahwahnee Dining Room – high praise indeed.
In the afternoon, we walked from Yosemite Lodge to Yosemite Village, the valley’s main commercial and administrative hub. The area around Yosemite Falls has been completely renovated in recent years. Gone is the parking lot, replaced by restored native vegetation, new interpretive exhibits, a new shuttle stop and new restrooms.
The walk – indeed this entire visit – emphasized how much Yosemite Valley is an international destination. I passed tour groups from Japan, France and Germany. I heard conversations in Russian, Spanish and Italian. The one language I did not hear was Chinese, perhaps due to that country’s strict covid travel restrictions.
While in Yosemite Village, we visited the Yosemite Museum and the Visitors Center; the former focuses on Yosemite’s Native American history, the latter focuses on its geologic history. Degnan’s Kitchen and Loft had a line out the door and then some, but the Village Store provided a welcome snack fix.
After my wife headed back to our accommodations on the Yosemite Park Shuttle (very crowded), I continued to explore on foot. At the information tent near the Yosemite Museum, I asked the ranger how to find the site of Hutchings Cabin, where Yosemite’s best known 19th century innkeeper lived. She was not sure, but suggested I look near Hutchings Orchard. Following her instructions, I passed through the cemetery, skirted the athletic field (yes, an athletic field in Yosemite Valley, complete with a baseball diamond) and eventually found a scattering of ancient apple trees fronted by an open area that likely was the cabin site.
I also took the meadow trail towards Sentinel Bridge to grab some photographs of Half Dome.
Most Yosemite Valley trails in meadows have been converted to boardwalks in recent years to limit erosion and foliage damage. The initiative seems to be working; the meadows were in better condition than in the past.
On the drive home, we changed our route slightly, taking Smith Station Road south from Highway 120 to Coulterville. A portion of this route was the one John Muir took on his first trip to Yosemite Valley (the route Muir traveled to the valley was soon supplanted by the Big Oak Flats Road and the Mariposa Trail). The road is a true country lane, the type that encourages slower speeds and sightseeing. Coulterville is a historic gold rush town that – despite losing many buildings to fires in the 19th century – has retained its charm. It is fun place to explore, plus it is home to the Coulter Café and General Store, whose hamburger is worthy of a major detour.
Trips to “places that beckon” don’t have to be perfect to be wonderful. Such were these Yosemite outings. As wonderful as they were, Yosemite continues to beckon. And I will not wait 17 years before my next trip.
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