Tuolumne Grove sign
During the summer of 2009, two friends and I journeyed west to Yosemite National Park to spend five days hiking along the John Muir Trail. The second day of our trip was spent acclimating to the higher elevations and exploring Yosemite National Park. This was the only day spent entirely within the park and included climbing Lembert Dome, visiting Tenaya Lake, hiking to Tuolumne Grove and driving through Yosemite Valley. The following post chronicles the third of three parts of the second day of the trip. The afternoon was spent on an auto-tour of the park including hiking to Tuolumne Grove and driving through Yosemite Valley.
When Dave and I returned from our climb up Lembert Dome and a visit to Tenaya Lake we found Jim’s rental car at our campsite but no Jim in sight (read about the climb up Lembert Dome and out visit to Tenaya Lake here). It was not a long wait before Jim came ambling into the site and we quickly decided to take an auto-tour of the Park, specifically a drive down to Yosemite_Valley. This was done largely for my benefit as this was my first visit to Yosemite National Park while both Dave and Jim had been here many times before. A stop at Tuolumne Grove was added to the itinerary to see the giant sequoias located there.
We headed west on the Tioga Road. The Tioga Road runs east-west and literally splits the park in two. The road was originally a wagon trail through Tioga Pass, constructed by the Great Sierra Consolidated Silver Company in 1883. Coincidently, the namesakes of this road and its corresponding pass have their roots back in Central New York. Apparently tioga is a Mohawk term meaning “where it forks.”
Tioga Road was an attraction in and of itself. This winding mountain road lacked guide rails in strategic locations. This led to me fearing for my life on several occasions given Jim’s admitted lack of sleep and his often excessive rate of speed for such a serpentine road.
We stopped rarely on our way to Tuolumne Grove and I was so astounded by the scenery that I never took any pictures along the way. We stopped briefly to enjoy the view from Olmsted Point and passed places with interesting names such as Porcupine Flat, Yosemite Creek, White Wolf, Tamarack Flat and Crane Flat.
Giant sequoia
It was late afternoon by the time we arrived at Tuolumne Grove. There were a few other visitors but it was not very crowded. We saw more people coming in later as we were on our way out though. The approach to the grove was easy enough as it followed a dirt road downhill through a peaceful and quiet (except for an occasional cranky child protesting the mile long walk). On the way in I was lucky enough to first hear and later spot with my mini-binoculars
Buy Leica 8×20 compact binoculars: small size, lightweight and excellent optics.
As we made our way down the old dirt road I marveled at the size of the conifer trees surrounding the dirt road. These trees towered above us and some had a girth wider than I could measure with my outstretched arms. And these were not even the giant sequoias! I think most of them were sugar pines but there were some incense-cedars mixed in and possibly other species. While working our way down to the grove I became increasingly concerned with being hit on the head by the foot long cones of the sugar pines since I occasionally heard one hurtling to the ground from high up in the canopy.
Tunnel Tree
A sign finally welcomed us to the Tuolumne Grove of the giant sequoias. The sign was completely unnecessary as it was obvious which trees were the giant sequoias as their great size dwarfed the other large dominant trees of the forest surrounding them. In addition to the size the sequoias stood out with their rough, cinnamon-colored bark. An occasional interpretive sign pointed out sequoias near the trail for those unknowledgeable about these amazing trees.
Buy A Field Guide to Western Trees.
A side trail off the main dirt road went right through a tunnel cut out of a giant sequoia. I believe the signs referred to this as the Tunnel Tree. Supposedly the tree was long dead when the tunnel was cut through it many years ago so people could ride through it. Keep in mind they did not have television or the Internet back then and they had to amuse themselves as best they could. The middle portion of the tree is hollow now allowing a clear view of the sky while you walk through it.
A little further along the trail is a downed sequoia, lying on its side. Apparently this tree was long ago knocked down by wind as its roots are largely still attached. After viewing the girth of these trees I have no doubt about whether a tree downed in the forest makes a sound regardless if there is anyone around to hear it.
The trail wound further through the grove giving plenty of views of these giants of the tree world before returning to the main dirt road. Along the way there was plenty of sequoia cones scattered about. Although the tree is massive, it only produces a very small cone. Most likely many people think the sugar pine’s giant cone comes from the sequoia trees instead of the little unassuming cone.
Root ball of a fallen giant
A fallen giant sequoia
Although I could have stayed marveling at these giant trees for much longer it was getting late so we made our way up the hill toward the parking lot. The way back was much more arduous than the descent on the way in but it was manageable. Before long we returned to the parking lot where we had started earlier.
After leaving the Grove we drove down through Yosemite Valley so I could see some of the sights. After turning onto Big Oak Flat Road we entered a tunnel through the mountainside. At several points in the tunnel there were windows I imagined were for checking out the views afforded by such a unique vantage point. Or perhaps they had some other more practical purpose.
Giant sequoia canopy
Buy a book about the history of the Big Oak Flat Road.
Finally we entered Yosemite Valley. The road weaved its way through the valley occasionally along meadows with scattered ponderosa pines. The Merced River winds its way through the valley here but it was rarely visible from the road. We stopped at several parking places where I took some photographs with my new digital camera
El Capitan was the most impressive in my opinion. The rocky monolith rose above the tree canopy dominating the landscape from where we pulled off along the road. It was so dominating it was difficult to turn away and look around at the other sights available in the area.
Another such sight I was lucky enough to see after prying my eyes away from El Captian was Bridalveil Fall. A trickle of water plummeted from the top of the valley wall cascading down onto the rocks below. A pillar of rock stood overlooking the falls to the west like a sentry guarding Yosemite Valley from any unwelcome invaders.
El Capitan
We did not linger too long as it was getting late and all three of us were becoming increasingly hungry. We pulled into the parking lot for Curry Village after 6 PM and started to peruse the many eating establishments located there.
Buy the Olypmus Evolt E420, the lightest digital SLR on the market.
Curry Village was a very busy place. This area was clearly the busiest place I had seen in the park since arriving. The crowds along the sidewalks reminded me of those at the mall just before Christmas. I definitely preferred the more remote places of the park rather than these crowded and highly commercialized areas.
Bridalveil Fall
We finally ended up going to the Curry Village Buffet for a very hefty meal. Since this was to be our last big meal before our five day hike I really stuffed myself, going for seconds AND thirds. Since it was all you can eat there was no way I was going to pass on the chance to really stuff myself silly before eating mostly dehydrated food for many days.
After dinner we walked around the Curry Village and visited the nearby gift shop. While walking about I noticed the many ground squirrels going about their own business. The squirrels stayed on the islands of open ground surrounded by the paved sidewalks. They seemed to be almost completely oblivious to the presence of the crowds of people around them.
We drove back up to Tuolumne Meadows Campground without making any major stops on our return trip. We had some minor preparations to be performed for the beginning of our five-day backpacking early the next morning. We headed off the bed early since the next day would a long and arduous hike of over 10 miles culminating in an ascent to almost 13 thousand feet between Parker and Koip Peaks.
Half Dome
