I
couldn’t risk letting 2014 go by without a trip to Yosemite, especially in their 150th anniversary year! I’ve concluded that the number of people in Yosemite Valley in July/August is just too much for me, but as expected, this random weekend in October, while still pretty popular, was manageable and gave us a taste of what Yosemite has to offer in the fall. A partial taste since the weather was a little more on par with August with 85°F temperatures! California isn’t particularly known for our fall color, but Yosemite gives it our best shot! And while we didn’t have crisp fall air, we still got to see leaves swirling in the breeze through the Valley.
We tried to get an early start by driving up Friday night and staying at the Best Western in Oakhurst. Unfortunately, the breakfast waitstaff at the hotel restaurant had other ideas (we never were approached by a waitress – the hostess kept coming by and, noticing we hadn’t been helped, served us the whole meal. Two other parties were seated then simply left after being similarly ignored. Combine that with an offensive button worn by the lobby staff at checkout, and we’ll make this my first negative lodging review.) In spite of that, made it to the Valley Visitor’s Center by about 10:30-11.
Our late start pretty much determined which trail we were going to hit up. I had been considering the 4-mile trail up to Glacier Point, but since we were getting into the midday heat, wasn’t sure that would be a very pleasant hike. It’s supposed to have excellent views of Yosemite Falls, perhaps not quite as impressive when it’s dry, so I’ll pocket that one for the spring. Time to explore Yosemite Valley on the Valley Floor Loop.
The Valley Floor Loop Trail is a pretty self-explanatory 13-mile loop that starts around the bottom of Yosemite Falls at Camp 4 and passes a lot of famous Valley landmarks, such as El Capitan and Bridal Veil Falls. There’s an option to do a 6.5-mile half loop by cutting across to the other side using a bridge near El Capitan. As promised by the descriptions I read, we were almost alone the whole day on the trail except for when it intersected the parking areas for the major landmarks.
The only downside of the Valley Loop Trail is that it’s not that wide of a valley, so you’re never far from the park roads. On a Saturday, we could hear road noise pretty much the whole day. I will say, however, there is some satisfaction in exploring the Valley on your own two feet, even if you’re not exactly ditching civilization. Especially when you can enjoy the falling leaves and contrasting yellows and greens of the trees with the granite walls rising on either side of you!
We spent the evening in Curry Village, staying in the classic tent cabins. It may be the most expensive canvas scaffold you’ve ever stayed in, but the tent cabins have a rustic, old-school charm and are a lot easier than having to set up camp for a night. Plus, when your Fitbit reads 35,000+ steps, fresh-baked pizza and a cold, local beer (albeit at ballpark-level prices) on an outdoor deck never tasted so good! And just in case that doesn’t make up any calorie deficit, they also have delicious, enormous cinnamon rolls at the coffee stand in the morning.
Sunday,
we 
headed back to the Bay Area, taking a detour to the Hetch Hetchy reservoir to visit our friendly local water supply. Driving out to Hetch Hetchy, we could see the evidence of last year’s Rim Fire, which started the week after our last Yosemite Trip (remind me to never again say “last chance to see the sequoia grove” while driving past!). O’ Shaughnessy Dam is a place where every good Bay Area citizen can come to feel conflicted about appreciating a stable, pristine water supply while wondering what was lost when Hetch Hetchy Valley was flooded to create the reservoir in spite of John Muir’s intense opposition. There are some trails around the reservoir, but with little tree cover and even higher temperatures than the day before, we decided to head into Groveland for some lunch at the Iron Door Saloon, the oldest continuously operating saloon in CA. Important note for stamp collectors – you have to ask for the Hetch Hetchy cancellation at the Entrance Station on your way in or out of the reservoir area as there is no official visitor’s center.
