Had a chance to visit Yosemite National Park last Monday. I had never been there before. It is simply - awe inspiring.

“In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
― John Muir

Indeed.

Some of my pics.











Not sure what woodpecker did this, but he was optimistic.


Sad part is that vast swaths of Yosemite were badly burned and the entire sides of mountains have been burned to a crisp by last year's fires.





(sorry, I meant to put these in the gallery)

Great photos, it's been a decade plus since I've been to Yosemite, but I always keep a look out for National Parks when I travel for work and try to get a day to myself to visit them.

Yosemite has my heart more than any other place on Earth.

It's been 40 years since I was there and with all the fires the last few years I don't know if I could recommend any specific spots to see but I'll try. Try the Giant Sequoia groves, and try Hetch Hetchy. Hetch Hetchy is a smaller version of Yosemite Valley and it was dammed up to provide water for San Francisco but it is still very impressive and with a fraction of the crowds.

nice photos. after that attempt at free-climbing you seem to have redeemed yourself ;-)

i have never been but your photos are convincing me i need to go.

thanks

bob

I'm a big Glacier Park fan but have visited Yosemite several times, it certainly has appeal.

Back when the FIL was still alive we would fly his 182 up in the early morning, then eat at the Awaini Lodge. Fond memories of those times.

Go back in two months and those burned areas will be alive with color. Fireweed and other flowers will soon take over.

Mom and Dad took my sister and I there 2-3 times in the early '60s. Loved it. Back when they did the evening firefalls from Glacier Point - we'd watch from the Ahwahnee Hotel. Remember seeing the ice cones at the base of Lower Yosemite Falls in the early spring. Dad and I did some backpacking in the Yosemite back country during my '70s summer college breaks.

The first time you exit "the tunnel" and see the Yosemite Valley before you...it just takes your breath away.

Wow, that's just beautiful! Makes me want to go.

Like Mr.Brooks, it's been 40 years since I've been there. It's an absolutely amazingly beautiful place! The first time I was there was part of a 2 month hitchhiking trip around the US. I got in at night and set up camp. The next morning i crawled out of my tent, rubbed my eyes, looked up, and up, and up, with my jaw wide open. I never understood the term "jaw-dropping" until then.

Until recent years, we used to visit Yosemite each year for several decades. One of the very few things I miss about CA

The valley is amazing. I’ve done a few 50 milers as a scout and as a leader. The backcountry is amazing. If you can’t carry a pack, consider car camping In Tuolumne Meadows.

When we were saying my wife and I spent a couple one- week trips there where we hiked and camped up on the rim of the valley. In high school (Boy Scouts) had a couple trips each summer (to include two week treks) into different parts of the park.

Pure awesomeness every time.

I was there last July and it was shrouded in smoke. I only got a few decent photos--couldn't see Half Dome at all, but eventually got a fair shot of El Capitan.

flashguy

Its gonna be an awesome snow melt this year!!

We just honeymooned there and Sequoia. I have many of the same pics, including unfortunately the fire damage.

I was there back around '07, and I was sadly amazed at how much damage the pine bark beetle had done. Also, we didn't see any wildlife other than a few squirrels and some unremarkable birds. Still, it was a beautiful park, and I will be back with more time to explore.

Living outside the park for a couple of years, one starts to brush the surface of the park. And the politics.

There are groups which want the park to remove every man-made structure from the Valley. Including those beautiful century-old stone bridges across the Merced.

The 2006 Ferguson Rockslide to the west nearly turned Yosemite Valley into Yosemite Lake. The Valley we see is a relatively "new" landscape. Forever changing.

quote:

Originally posted by Micropterus:

Not sure what woodpecker did this, but he was optimistic.

Pine borers and bark beetles, and not optimistic; winning. A small beetle, they're responsible in large part for the fires in your next picture.

Yosemite Firefall history

One of the crown jewels of the National Park system and a national treasure. For all the splendor the Valley has, its but a small fraction of what Yosemite offers, Spring visits can be limiting as winter snow will have closed the road to Glacier Point and Highway 120 up to Tuolumne Meadows where you can take a hike or two and see more amazing geologic formations. Unfortunately, when things warm up, the idiots come out in force, I go to the Valley yearly for work and every time, I grit my teeth at all the bad drivers, self-important jerks and the clueless idiots trashing the place like it's their backyard.

Fires have hammered the Western portion of Yosemite, last years Ferguson Fire burned the edges of the boundaries but the Rim Fire back in 2013 really did a number and threatened the Valley. Combination of hot dry Summer/Fall's, the bark beetle infestation and a bit of wind is a sure recipe.