I love Yosemite Valley in all
seasons of the year - but fall is my favorite.
Gone are the throngs of people that fill the trails and shops, gone is
the summer dust and hot sun ... A tranquility falls over the valley... We are
taking our chances going this late in October - it is the season of first rain
or even snow...
The first frosts have come and turned the bracken ferns from
their summer green to a brilliant bronze.
Meadow grasses have had their first freezes and have turned a tan-brown
color... And deciduous trees are in various stages of fall colors before the
leaves fall... There are Sierra maple leaves turning yellow, dogwood turning
red, oak developing a variety of yellow-orange -red...and some that have lost
their leaves entirely.
Judy and I played "hooky"
for 4 nights and 3 days, and splurged by staying in a comfortable valley cabin with
real beds and our own shower (with warm water!) ...what luxury.
The first day we thought
"well, lets take a nice easy hike just to 'warm up'... " So we choose
the trail to the top of the first Yosemite falls). I have been on the trail
before but I guess that I forgot that it has continuous switchbacks rising 1000
ft... But we are stubborn people and kept to it. Truth be told it really felt good to push
ourselves a bit and to breath more deeply (the elevation is only 4,000 feet -1220 m) - still
part of the 'lower mountains' for the Sierras).
We hiked through an oak forest and then rose into conifers higher up. To our left was a wall of granite with piles
of loose scree at the base, to our right the views of the valley opened up for
us the higher we rose. We found a great
rock with shade and a view of the valley to enjoy lunch.
Now Judy and I have a system that has developed
over the years...
She was happy to read and meditate with the great expanse before
her and I went further until I could get a view of the Yosemite falls. This is normally the largest of the valley
water falls - but due to our long drought, it was sadly diminished. I achieved my goal and enjoyed being close
to a view of the great upper Yosemite falls.
This entire trip ended up taking most of the day... And afterward we rewarded ourselves with a
trip to the pub for a nice cold beer..,.
Day 2, being a little sore from day 1, we decided to go visit an
old friend - Tuolumne meadows (8600 ft. - 2600m. ) There we found a bit of snow
on the ground - exhilarating crisp air - and grand views - but very few people (what
a change from August).
Here we did our favorite kind of hiking - striking off along
a river following game trails and fisherman trails - going where the impulse
took us - it was grand! The surrounding peaks were well snow covered and gave
us a fine view of 'beloved peaks'. We
lingered for a time beside the river just to absorb the experience into our
being...
That night it rained - but Day 3 began with long swirling plumes
of cloudy mist looping and swirling among the valley walls - the effect was
mythical! Judy slept late and I walked
through the meadows and was enthralled by this face of Yosemite that I had
never seen before -
The rain stopped for the day but the mist and coolness
remained - Judy and I walked more in some of our favorite valley floor locations. As many times as we have been there I always
discover something new and wonderful that I missed before. There are classic 'tourist' views that I have
scorned in the past - just because they are packed with visitors - but to see
them deserted with swirling mist accompaniment allowed us to see them in new
ways.
So I advise you to play 'hooky' if you can - get away from the
pressures of your life and and go to a beautiful location where you can hike
and eat well, luxuriate in nature and discover new things. It is good!
