Yosemite National Park
On this trip Ryan finally got to see Yosemite. I love this park and have been to it many times, but it's actually qutie large. This was my first time entering the park from the eastern entrance right after Mono Lake. The road leading in was phenomenal. It wound up through the mountains and stone mountains so characteristic of this area. My car would've been much happier if we hadn't been stuck behind two tour buses going 10 miles an hour.
Once insde, Ryan and I drove through Tuolume Meadows and stopped off at the meadows along with Tenaya Lake before heading down into the more populated valley. This was my first time up in teh Tuolume Meadows area of the park, and it was quite striking with small creeks winding through trees and mountains in the distance. I must put this location on my list of places to go backpacking agian.
After setting up camp, we visited one of the sequoia groves. The road was closed to traffic now, but it was aa grove with the drive through tree in it, most likely the one which my mother remembered from visiting the park so long ago. We then drove around the main valley floor and returned to the campsite to consume some PBR.
The next day involved a hike up the Yosemite Falls trail. While the falls weren't going at all, it was still a wonderful hike. I finally managed to have film once I reached the top as well, with a little help from Ryan due to one sore back. As always, I could've used much more conditioning for the ascent as well as lots more water. Two quarts left me a bit dehydrated when I came down. I still enjoyed the trail and also enjoyed being able to reach the top once again and look out over the valley from the rim.
The Photographs
My favorite photographs from this series are: