To Main Page Travel Page Yosemite Page

It was the end of September, 2009. We had not been to Yosemite at this time of the year before. What a shock!!!


Yosemite Falls in September		  
The Falls in May


Yosemite Falls in September		  
The Falls in May


The Lower Falls in September		  
The Falls in May

It was interesting to climb the huge boulders to the very base of the Lower Falls. To climb across the smooth rocks was quite a challenge in itself. Then looking back at the bridge where most people have a good look at the water crashing down in the spring time and knowing what the river and falls look like during all the other times we had been there, it was weird to think that water would start flowing again any second. It reminded me of an old movie I once saw in 1947 called "The Boy Who Stopped Niagara."

The Merced River was still flowing through the valley, but the water level was way down. We sat on the sandy river bottom to have a picnic lunch. Normally we would see trout swimming underneath the bridge.


  



After we had checked in at the Yosemite Lodge, Sharon and I rented a couple bicycles and toured the valley that afternoon. It was quiet and not much traffic on the road. Yet, numerous tour busses still dropped off foreign tourists who came to see the dried up falls.

 

The main reason we had come in September was to take a long hike down the Panoramic Trail. So, the following morning we took the bus to Glacier Point and started our long treck down the mountain.



The trail leads from Glacier Point down a long slope with great views of the Clark Range. As we went along we would see different sides of Half Dome, not at all the familiar face that everyone recognizes. I had taken this route two times before, but it was the first time for Sharon to take this 8.3 mile hike.

 





Several years ago I took the long hike to the top of Half Dome. I was in better shape then and had started early in the morning from Camp Curry. The route goes along part of the John Muir Trail but then goes around the back side of Half Dome. The last part involves climbing the steep side with the aid of a steel cable. I still have a small section of the original cable after it had been replaced a few years ago.

The protruding lip you see in the picture is where I crawled on my belly to the edge for an awsome look down to the valley floor. No way was I going to just stand there.


  

 

The steel trail market above points the way to Illilouette Falls 0.9 miles, Nevada Falls 3.8 miles, Yosemite Valley 6.9 miles and Merced Lake 12.7 miles. We still had a long way to go. At Illilouette Creek, just above the falls, we stopped for lunch. After that it was a long climb up to Nevada Falls and then down again. I had put my camera in the back pack so no more pictures of that part. Remain it be said that both of us were tired but proud to have done this eight mile hike. The weather had been great and the views spectacular.



We talked about taking up rock climbing next year.

 

To top of the page