Return To Yosemite

US-395 S south of Walker, CA

And also… it’s the start of a white knuckle section of US-395 leading down to Bridgeport. My God, this was a great drive. The best bit was from Walker, a few miles south of Topaz Lake, to just north of Sonora Junction. Here US-395 runs on the valley floor next to the West Walker River and various creeks, with mountains rearing up on both sides to over 10,000 feet.

The road south hugs the mountains tightly on the right, with the river on the left. US-395 is flat on the valley floor, tracking the river that has cut this valley into the Sierra Nevada over millennia. Oh boy, did this road twist and turn like no other. It was super fast driving, around 50-60 mph, with a superb road surface to give confidence. The curves in the road grip and echo the mountain side, some tight, others not.

Needless to say I have no photos because such was the concentration required – I can’t actually remember a straight section of road of any significance through Antelope Valley – trying to take a photo would have been foolhardy given the speed I was travelling in tricky circumstances. And thankfully there were no slow-coach drivers to hold me up!

“Pull Up to the Bumper” *

It’s after this high that I encounter the Sonora Junction roadworks. The consequence of such a long hold time is that everyone bunches up to get through the piloted section, but when released at the end we are all at the mercy of the slowest driver, car or truck, with few, if any, passing lanes.

So the trek down from Bridgeport to Mono City was mostly in a long line of vehicles trundling along well below the speed limit, probably annoying everyone except the slow prick right at the front. Near Mono City some passing lines come to our relief and allow me to break free.

I am however that late, and conscious of what might be to come later in the afternoon, that I bypass the spectacular Mono Lake Vista Point turnout, just catching glimpses as I fly by. Should I have stopped for five minutes? Too late now.

I do stop at the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve: essentially a parking lot from where you can access the lake. I stop because I do need to eat lunch. Sandwich scoffed quickly, I set off again. Yosemite here I come!

Mono Lake panorama

Eight Years Later, Back in Yosemite

Through the town of Lee Vining and just after on the right is Hwy 120 W, otherwise know as Tioga Road, the eastern gateway to Yosemite National Park.

After a mile or so I can see the mountains of Yosemite in the distance. But it’s about 11 miles before I reach the Park’s official entrance, which is actually the Tioga Pass itself. This is the highest road point in all of California at 9943 feet.

Yosemite leaflet

I didn’t know what to expect on Tioga Road. The only place I’d heard about was Tuolumne Meadows, which I assumed was some greenery and fields. After a few miles drive along the tree-lined road, I come to the Meadows. And blow me, after parking in the lot when I turn around there is Lembert Dome rising up. A huge great smooth bit of granite sitting right by Tioga Road, most serenely.

There wasn’t much to see at the Meadows apart from grass and trees. I guess it all depends on when you visit: I assume the fields are full of flowers at certain times of year. But not today.

Lots of Big Rocks

I set off again and soon another large rock appears on the right – Pothole Dome. A few miles after this, there is a sign on the left for Cathedral Lakes, so I pull into the parking lot. I decide to consult the map of Yosemite I was given on entry. It turns out there’s what appears to be a reasonable walk – or hike maybe – to get to the Lakes. I give it a miss because I see on the map that further on Tioga Road skirts right by a large lake, Tenaya Lake.

When I get there, it is stunningly beautiful. On the right of the road, a huge mountain towers over the lake, its base right by the roadside. This is Polly Dome and its rock face look almost sheer from a distance. But then I spot a few figures climbing the rock. Brave souls!

Having spent a bit of time by Tenaya Lake, just a mile or so on I arrive at Olmsted Point. What a view. Just amazing. As I said, I didn’t know what to expect today but what I’ve seen so far has been incredible. This however turns out to be last major ‘rock’ viewing event of the day.

I didn’t take in how long Tioga Road is before the trip. From its start near Lee Vining, after the 11 miles to the Tioga Pass it was 17 miles to Olmsted Point. From the Point it is still another 45 miles to get to my hotel, the Yosemite Valley Lodge in Yosemite Valley. Tioga Road itself is 46 miles long.

Olmsted Point panorama

“Roll On Down The Highway” **

The drive to the hotel along the rest of Tioga Road is through a tree-lined avenue where the sun breaks through the canopy, speckling the road surface. As might be expected driving along the top of a mountain, the road twists and turns a lot as it navigates its way west. It is a testing drive but also great fun.

Apart from when I come up behind some idiot doing 20 mph. There’s no overtaking because there are hardly any straight sections of road longer than 400 yards. Some folks realise they are holding you up and kindly pull over into what few turnouts there are. If someone won’t pull over, I sometimes pull  over and wait for a while but I always end up catching them up.

There are times when I just have to settle back and follow at whatever speed they are doing, to my great frustration. Hey ho. The road is brilliant to drive (safely) at 50-60 mph and I just wish some people would realise that.

I do however get enough sections that are idiot-free along Tioga Road to keep me generally happy. At its western end there is a left turn onto Big Oak Flat Road. This drops down the mountain side towards Yosemite Valley, and this also has some good sections. But it is a much busier road for some reason. However overall it’s a good drive to the Yosemite Valley Lodge.

“Into the (Yosemite) Valley” ***

The contrast to my previous visit eight years ago is unbelievable. Then, I couldn’t see anything and it was a bit chilly in the rain as I recall. Now there’s not a cloud in the sky and it is very warm. The weather today has just got hotter and hotter. It was 80º F / 27º C at Mono Lake. Up at Tioga Pass, because of the high altitude, it was in the high 60s but when I arrived at the hotel it was 82º F / 28º C.

Yosemite Parking Permit

I didn’t realise but the check-in and reception building is just that. All the bedrooms are located in blocks dotted around the parking lot, some quite a distance away. Luckily I am able to select a room in the nearest block, literally just across the lot, maybe 100 yards away. The bar and eateries are located next to the Reception building, so again good for later on.

The room, as horrendously expensive as you might expect ($450 a night), is, at best, basic and in need of an upgrade. I think I remember this when booking but I discover there is no air conditioning. The rooms must be awful to stay in over the summer with the heat and humidity. The weather is hot today but thankfully the room is OK. The room is also very dark with inadequate lighting. The accommodation block is surrounded and overgrown by trees so there is very little natural light. At 5 pm with all the lights on it feels like midnight.

A Tourist Trap

It is of course what it is. It’s like Yellowstone. A captive audience with little incentive for the hotel operator – it’s franchised out to Aramark, a company, and not run by the Parks service – to improve things. It should be an extraordinary experience given its location, but it isn’t. It’s a rip-off and Aramark clearly don’t care.

I knew this is of course when booking it. But I also knew to do what I wanted in terms of sightseeing this time, I’d be better off staying on the Valley Floor, almost whatever the cost. Clearly I couldn’t camp here, the other major option, and the only other hotel, the ‎Ahwahnee Hotel, was over $900 a night. Yes, nine hundred…

Later I check out the Base Camp Eatery and The Mountain Room Lounge. They are functional but sterile spaces it seems to me. I didn’t look at the Restaurant as it had too many poor reviews and complaints about high prices.

For my dinner I finished off last night’s wings that I didn’t finish at The Fox and brought ‘home’. I eat these in my room with some beer from Smith’s. They were OK.

The Mountain Room Lounge

I venture out later to the Lounge for a change of scenery. At least it’s bright in there. I saw there was a bar I could hopefully sit at when I visited earlier. I thought I could at least sup a beer or two whilst doing some diary away from my dingy, dark room.

When I walk to the Lounge it is still warm enough for just a T-shirt and shorts. Even when I left later at 10 pm it was still very warm. At the bar I watch baseball on TV and do a little diary. My beer is a General Sherman. There are two guys on my right who have obviously just met at the bar. They talk to each other for a good hour or so. I then join the conversation when I see the furthest guy is wearing a 49ers cap. He has it on backwards, but I’ll forgive him…

I say to him, “Go Niners – are you going on Sunday?” No is his answer but it is my entry to their chat, and we all start to discuss football, mostly the Niners. 49ers guy works for a property company that provides rental houses and apartments to over 25 49ers players. Including Brock Purdy, who he says that him and his wife are two of the most genuine and nice people he had ever met!

After football we all have a good and wide-ranging chat on numerous topics. It was good and nice to meet them, No names, but no problem. The bar closes at 10 pm so we all have to leave. Handshakes all round and off we go into the warm night air. I do some more diary in my room then go to bed.

* Pull Up to the Bumper by Grace Jones

** Roll On Down The Highway by Bachman-Turner Overdrive

*** Into the Valley by The Skids