I had heard/read that mid-July was the wild flower season at Yosemite and was planning to head there next weekend (July 14) or the following weekend (July 21). I would love to hear about the wild flower conditions there if you have visited Yosemite in the past few days.
Thanks.
// Atul
I stayed tuolumne meadows July 2-4 and was very disappointed by the lack of wildflowers in the area. Conditions are dry (at least in the tuolume area) due to the small amount snowfall this year.
Still had some great hikes!
Best, Steve
when rainfall is low, as it was this year, there are few flowers.
Last year the valley floor was covered in late March.
As Steve said, Tuolumne was disappointing. Just got back yesterday. However, along the river by the lodge were some pretty healthy lupines, but that was about it.
The low Sierra snowpack moved the schedule for the waterfalls and flowers up a couple of weeks this year. Some of the more showy species in the meadows need more moisture than was available this season.
If you don't find what you are looking for within the park boundaries, try the Hoover Wilderness just outside the eastern gate.
Just east of the Tioga Resort is a two-mile dirt road to Saddlebag Lake resort, which offers water taxis to the basin on the far end of the lake. It is an extraordinarily beautiful--akin to a Bonsai garden filled with small lakes and craggy peaks . It is late for the mountain and meadow heather, but at a couple thousand feet higher than Tuolumne Meadows it typically offers a better wildflower show in a normal year than inside the park, and even without the flowers, is one of the most impressive spots in the entire range.
Thanks a lot, guys.
Did anyone see the pair of bears near the gas station at the intersection of 140 and 120? When I had visited Yosemite a couple of months back, a couple of bears had made the meadow near the gas station their home requiring the rangers to post a permanent sign asking the cars not to block the road while viewing the wildlife.
// Atul
The sow and cubs have been a fixture in the west end of the valley since late April. Fortunately, thus far, they have limited their behavior to foraging for natural food, and aside from the traffic jams, they have not caused any problems. In contrast the bears that frequent the east end of the valley are more prone to visiting the campgrounds in search of a meal, which often leads to property damage and the potential demise of the bear.
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