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Thread: Hello from Yosemite!

  1. #21

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
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    San Joaquin Valley, California
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    9,599

    Re: Hello from Yosemite!

    Yosemite Lakes is up the road from me and I wouldn't recommend it. In the summer the Hwy 41 gate is gridlocked and I have a suspicion that all drivers on Hwy 41 have had their brains surgically removed ;-)

    No, really---you'll still have a heck of a long drive to get into the park on a crowded road. The only good thing about it is its close to the indian casino where the chow is pretty good (but the slots are tight)

    Stick with the Tioga Pass area if possible. Its a bit of a drive to get to the valley but for photography it is wonderful. If you want to go in on the HWY 41 side, check out Summerdale campground in Fish Camp, just outside the gate or better yet the campground along the river at Wawona (inside the park)---both are a lot closer to the "action"

    Or bite the bullet and reserve a space at Upper/Lower Pines in Yosemite Valley
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  2. #22

    Re: Hello from Yosemite!

    Isn't Highway coming thorugh Merced? I am a bit new to the area so I could be wrong. Yosemites Lake is on 120 and used to be ACI then Thousand Trails then Naco Thousand Trials I think but dont quote me it is near hetch hetchy / evergreen lodge road. I have never had a problem with traffic in 2 years on the 120 side going into the park but I know coming thourgh Merced is a complete nightmare adn I am never doing that again. Totally terrible. I the merced side 41?

    But then again in the summer I dont go into the valley much and make a right run right up to Tioga pass instead.

    OPn the brains removed I have to agree what scares the tar out of me is Tioga Pass with the tourist on it then jstu pass adn cut you right off. That I hate especitally since there are no barriers to stop you from going over the edge.

    Quote Originally Posted by John Kasaian
    Yosemite Lakes is up the road from me and I wouldn't recommend it. In the summer the Hwy 41 gate is gridlocked and I have a suspicion that all drivers on Hwy 41 have had their brains surgically removed ;-)

    No, really---you'll still have a heck of a long drive to get into the park on a crowded road. The only good thing about it is its close to the indian casino where the chow is pretty good (but the slots are tight)

    Stick with the Tioga Pass area if possible. Its a bit of a drive to get to the valley but for photography it is wonderful. If you want to go in on the HWY 41 side, check out Summerdale campground in Fish Camp, just outside the gate or better yet the campground along the river at Wawona (inside the park)---both are a lot closer to the "action"

    Or bite the bullet and reserve a space at Upper/Lower Pines in Yosemite Valley

  3. #23

    Re: Hello from Yosemite!

    John,

    Kevin is thinking of another Yosemite Lakes, just a couple miles outside the entrance on 120 on the way to Groveland. Here's the description:

    osemite Lakes Park

    Yosemite Lakes RV Park is a 400-acre property located in Groveland 5 miles from the west gate of Yosemite National Park. It is one of more than 50 membership campgrounds run by Thousand Trails, Inc. The campground is situated on a lake with a beach. It offers a full selection of amenities including a store, laundry, playground, and lodge. Campers can enjoy basketball & volleyball courts, bike rentals, mini-golf, hiking trails, kayaks, and many more activities.

    With 100 sites, including 50 with full hook ups, as well as sewer and fresh water it is ideal for those who need RV camping near Yosemite Park. Rates for the summer of 2005 at this Yosemite Lakes RV Park start at $35 per night. Other accommodations include 130 campsites, 17 trailers, 10 bunkhouse cabins, 22 yurts, 6 garden homes, and a 12-room hostel.

    Yosemite Lakes (120 side) is not a bad option if one wants to get to Yosemite Valley occasionally. Otherwise, your original recommendation, the campgrounds at Ellery Lake or Lee Vining Campground are the most appealing. There is also a the RV park in Lee Vining itself.

  4. #24

    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    California - Silicon Valley
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    106

    Re: Hello from Yosemite!

    [QUOTE=John Kasaian]Yosemite Lakes is up the road from me and I wouldn't recommend it. In the summer the Hwy 41 gate is gridlocked and I have a suspicion that all drivers on Hwy 41 have had their brains surgically removed ;-)

    both Hwy 41 and 120 will be more crowded this year. the landslide on hwy 140 may keep that road closed for up to a year, although more recent reports say it could be opened with one-way controled traffic by the end of summer.

  5. #25

    Re: Hello from Yosemite!

    True about 140. At this point, they are looking at bridges across the river and improvements to the old railroad grade to bypass the slide that is blocking the road. A major project no matter what they decide to do. And that has, and will displace people to the other routes into the park. Locals are calling El Portal "El Portal Cul De Sac."
    The lack of through traffic may make camping on the uphill side of the slide a possibility. There are a limited number of campsites along the river south of El Portal. It is worth looking into.

  6. #26

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
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    San Joaquin Valley, California
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    Re: Hello from Yosemite!

    The Yosemite Lakes I was referring to is a development near Oakhurst which has a neary KOA campground---arrrgh---make that KOA Kampground. I don't know anything about the Yosemite Lakes in Groveland---thats not an area I am familiar with since usually I 'hit' 120 inside the park. My apologies!

    Wawona will still get you closer to the action as well as the Glacier Point road and Ellery Lake is also a great base coming from the East side of the park(Whoa Nellie Deli-able too!)

    All this talk about YNP has me hankerin' for a day trip, maybe tomorrow (am I insane?) but I'd like to shoot the approach to the original four mile trail just to document it. This is a trail the rangers closed many (50?) years ago. I found the approach two years ago based on what my father had told me and what the last brave guy I knew who had hiked it (maybe seven or eight years ago) told me---long after the trail was officially 'closed.' If you're in the valley, find an old timer who knows the origins of the custom of yelling "Elmer"" at the top of your lungs, across the Merced River at old Camp 16 (now called the housekeeping camp) after sundown and they can probably point the way. Its not on any map I know of unless you can find one from the 1950s or older and is now quite a scramble over the talus that has obscured the lower approach. It isn't the same animal as the current "four mile trail."

    I'd normally wait until autumn, but the 'dorff wants to go NOW ;-)

    Cheers!
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  7. #27

    Re: Hello from Yosemite!

    Hmmm.... If you are referring to the "One Mile Trail" otherwise known as "the Ledge Trail", that is a tricky area this time of year. Wet from run-off, loose rock in a very active rockfall area. Wear your pith helmet. ;-)

    Or are you talking about the top side of the trail. The trail crews eliminated some of the most interesting aspects to make the ascent easier. Union Point, near Agazis(sp?) Rock is all over grown, but the rock that was a famous landmark for Watkins, et al is still standing. That is about half-way down the trail.

  8. #28

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
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    Re: Hello from Yosemite!

    Kieth,

    I've heard it referred to as the ledge trail. Looking at Glacier Point from the valley you can see it--the ledge across the face going from left to right at a steep angle. The approach I found---if I'm correct---you start at the Camp Curry swimmming pool and walk past the old cabin. There is a trail that snakes up through the talus and I'm guessing thats it. I was running out of daylight and there were some huge boulders obscuring the way so I put it on my "return some day" list. It would make for a contrasty B&W print if I'm not mistaken.

    So its only one mile up? Thanks! I wouldn't want to make the embarassing mistake of mis-labelling my photo!

    That last person I met who had climbed it was Dr. John Peterson, a prof at Fresno City College and that must have been six or seven years ago.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  9. #29

    Re: Hello from Yosemite!

    Yup. One mile up, with a 3,324 foot elevation gain. The trail was always kind of tricky, with painted rocks (many years ago) to help people stay on the course.

    But it is a very active rockfall area and the painted rocks are covered up or obliterated by falling rock. Easy to get off the track, especially if one does not pay very good attention to how they got to where they are.

    I know there have been others, but the one boo boo I recall from my tenure in the park was a pair of energetic teenage brothers who went up it and were on their way down, lost the trail, slipped on wet rock and,... end of story. :-(

    Magnificent views, but tricky area to be.

  10. #30

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
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    San Joaquin Valley, California
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    Re: Hello from Yosemite!

    Kieth,

    Thats interesting. I thought it was a one way (up) trail because of the steepness. My Dad told me it had to be hiked side by side because if hikers went single file and one slipped....well you get the idea. I wouldn't try hiking it with an 8x10, tripod etc... but I've always been facinated by the stories I've heard. It definately wouldn't be the place to be during a rock slide!

    It must still be active to some extent because I found foot prints on the mineral soil parts of the trail until the talus took over.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

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