Our Latest Yosemite Trip

In May of 2008, Stan made a passing comment, “When are we going to Yosemite again?” That’s all the encouragement Katie and I needed to search for campsite reservations! We managed to find what appeared to be a cancellation for three short weeks in the future. Most sites book 5 months in advance, so we felt lucky. We grabbed the reservation and invited Ryan and Shane to join us.

On Monday, June 2nd, we left Tehachapi at about 5:30 a.m. We had to stop for our traditional McDonald’s junk food breakfast! It’s only a short 3-hour drive from Tehachapi to Oakhurst, which is just outside the Park. After gassing up (at $5.09 per gallon – yikes!), we made it to the Park entrance to use our “Park Pass” that Katie and I had bought back in March. Erik had work to do here at home and Ryan had college work to turn in, so they weren't able to join us. And, Scott couldn't really get here from Texas for this trip.

We got to the campground about 10 a.m. and had about two hours to spare before we could occupy our campsite. We drove to the Village and had hamburgers for lunch and just enjoyed the cool morning air. Even though June is considered summertime in Yosemite, it still felt like Spring. The deciduous trees were green again and all around was the sound of robins and rushing water. For this year, the peak time for waterflow was about a month ago, but many of the falls were still flowing at a high rate. We hadn't been to Yosemite at this time of year before - we'd either go earlier in the Spring or later in Summer or Fall. This was the PERFECT time to see Yosemite at it's best!

After setting up our camp (site #207 in North Pines Campground in the Valley), we decided to go check out lower Yosemite Falls. We hiked to the base of the Falls where we met two LDS families from Spanish Fork, Utah. We'd brought snacks with us, so we stayed for awhile to enjoy the scenery near the falls. Back at camp, we had chicken fajitas for dinner and a quiet evening of reading and sitting around the campfire.

The next morning (Tuesday, June 3rd), we drove up to the Glacier Point road to locate the trailhead for Taft Point. This was a trail I'd taken as a teenager and then introduced it to Stan last summer. The reason for the large gap between the two visits was that I didn't feel safe taking young children on the hike! Each of the fissures and most of the Taft Point area had serious dropoffs with no guard rails. I thought it best to not worry about children falling off the edge!

This is the view from the Taft Point and Sentinnel Dome trailhead.

There was still some snow on the trail. We had to find a safe way to cross some of the sloshy areas. Katie and I had brought walking sticks so that helped with crossing the snowy areas as well as the stream crossing we had to make.

Getting to Taft Point and the Fissures isn't too bad of a hike - coming back is another story! It's quite a hike back up, especially the first 150 feet of climbing. But the hike is so worth the effort!

This is the view UP the trail on the way back.

Notice the people at the railing at Taft Point.

One of the five fissures.

While we were waiting for Shane and his friend, Daniel, to join us at Glacier Point we took several pictures of Half Dome and Nevada and Vernal Falls. We had a few squirrels and chipmunks to entertain us while we waited.

On Wednesday, Stan, Shane and Daniel were wanting to take a hike. We encouraged them to hike to the bridge where you can see Vernal Falls. They decided to go to the top of the falls, which is a tough, misty hike. These are their pictures!

The view of the falls (and the surrounding mist) paints a beautiful picture and it's what Yosemite is all about.

Daniel standing on the tough steps that lead up to Vernal Falls. The guys were TIRED after this hike!

We went to Curry Village that night for the buffet dinner and then Katie, Shane, & Daniel played Phase 10 (a card game), while I sketched in my sketchbook and Stan warmed himself by the fire he'd built. We stayed up late talking about old times and the good memories we have of the baseball/softball years - and other camping trips. I wish Scott, Ryan and Erik could have been there! The next morning, Shane & Daniel had to leave earlier than us to avoid LA traffic. Breaking camp is always a tough thing to do. The place that had been home for a few days became empty again.