So in an effort to keep it to a reasonable size, I have decided to break this into 3 separate posts, one for each of the days of the trip. Plus, I hope to put together a bonus post of choice hand picked black and white conversions…
The plan had been set months in advance to visit one of the most popular national parks, Yosemite. After hours of researching an itinerary, we were finally on our way Wednesday and didn’t have to return until Sunday. This would give us almost 3 full days to explore the park! Due to the popularity, lack of available camping and cost of lodging in the park we decided to reserve a hotel room outside of the park in Mariposa. Unfortunately, this meant having to make the one hour drive back and forth each day in the dark to catch daybreak and sunset.
A bit of history… Yosemite became a national park in 1890 after extensive lobbying efforts from great naturalists like John Muir. The State of California, however, retained control of the areas encompassing Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove. John Muir and the Sierra Club continued to lobby the government to add these areas to the national park. In May of 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt camped with Muir for three days in Yosemite. It was on that trip that Muir convinced Roosevelt to take these areas back under federal contral from the State of California. In 1906, Roosevelt signed the bill that added them to the Yosemite National Park.
The name Yosemite (Yohhe’meti or Yos s e’meti) was originally used by surrounding Native American tribes to refer to the tribe that lived in the valley. The name roughly translates to “those who kill”. The other tribes feared the Yosemite people, led by Chief Tenaya. They were composed of renegades from a multitude of different tribes and reverred for thier strength and power.
The Yosemite people called the valley Ahwahnee which translates to “large mouth” and called themselves Ah-wah-ne-chee, or “dwellers of Ahwahnee”. “Large mouth” refers to the appearance of the U-shaped valley walls as viewed from the the village of Ahwahnee, which was located on the valley floor. The U-shaped valley itself was created by the scouring and carving of glaciers in past ice ages.
No doubt the park has also been immortalized by the images of Ansel Adams black and white photographs. A big reason I wanted to visit with my camera. To try my hand at it, put my own take on it, get my Ansel Adams on! These are iconic locations that have been over photographed, but what photographer in their right mind doesn’t want Yosemite images in their portfolio!
We entered Yosemite over Tioga Pass from the eastern side of the Sierra near Mono Lake and the little town of Lee Vining. I had forgotten just how enormously imposing Mt. Dana (13, 061′) is, looming above the highway as you drive up the pass to the Yosemite high country. We stopped at a small lake near the pass, Lembert Dome and Tuolumne Meadows before stopping at Tenaya Lake to soak in amazing the views. Then onto Olmstead Point where we got the first distant vision of Half Dome towering over The Valley below. From here it was at least an hour drive to reach The Valley floor. Before entering The Valley there was a pullout with a jaw-dropping view of Half Dome and the upper reaches of El Capitan.
We had chosen to visit Yosemite in late October partially from my reasearch, which stated that it was a better time of the year to avoid the crowds. But on the downside, they said the autumn color in The Valley was nothing to write home about and the waterfalls would be dryfalls. As you will see, we found the crowds to be few, the color to be stunning and only Bridalveil Falls to be flowing.
The half day we had was planned to primarily be a reconnisance of The Valley to find locations I wanted to photograph with the morning light the following day. As we reached The Valley floor, the first bright fall color was sighted along a portion of the Merced River. I, of course, started to become giddy with excitment as I grabbed my gear and scrambled down the slippery slope to capture the color reflecting in the river with the Cathedral Rocks peeking above the trees!
The drive through The Valley is mostly one-way… The South Side Road goes east, and the North Side Road goes west. We took our time heading east through The Valley, stopping at Bridalveil Meadows to capture El Capitan. Then a short hike to an unnamed location on the Merced River looking for more original looking compositions of El Cap only to not find any. We stopped at Cathedral Beach and captured some great reflection images… mental note filed, this could be nice in the morning!
We continued on past the Valley Chapel into The Yosemite Village and browsed the Visitor Center, gift shop and of course the Ansel Adams Gallery. Some beautiful amazing images and prints made from his original negatives! I felt good to come away with a book of 400 of his images for $27!
Then making our way back west on the North Side Road we passed under El Cap… Ohhhhhh myyyyyy goodness! That rock is freaking huge! My jaw dropped, mouth gaping open and drool seeping out and dripping from the hairs on my chin… Well maybe not that last part, but you get the idea. We just had to hike off towards the base of the cliff for an even closer look, as if we were having any trouble seeing it already right?
We finished the day with a beautiful golden hour sunset at Valley View/Gates Of The Valley. The light was perfect and I captured some fantastic images of El Capitan and the Cathedral Rocks reflecting in the Merced River amongst the tufts of grass and boulders.
With the sunlight no longer falling on The Valley, it was time for the hour drive to Mariposa for the night. What a day it had been! We have had such an amazing time and captured so many amazing photographs, I would be happy if that was all there was to this trip… But no, we had 2 more full days here!
So, in the words of John Muir… “The mountains are calling and I must go”!
