Day 2 - Yosemite National Park

June 7, 2007

There's nothing like starting the morning with a Days Inn continental breakfast. Especially when the fruit tastes like it might be made of wax. (Real time note: I have Fast Cars and Superstars on television right now and Brad Daugherty is one of the hosts. I can't get into why this is awesome right now, but trust me.)

Anyway, today was my first day in Yosemite. Despite the fact that this hotel advertises itself as 14 miles from Yosemite, which is technically true, it's actually about 50 miles from Yosemite Valley, which is the heart of the park. So, after about an hour of working the transmission on winding mountain roads, I was starting to think my 3-4 day stay in Yosemite might be off to a bad start. Then, I came through a tunnel to one of the most spectacular views I've ever seen. I had no idea that Yosemite had this sort of Grand Canyon-level jaw drop power.

I continued on into the valley and spent a few hours driving and walking around, taking pictures. Mainly, I was trying to get a feel for the place before I go in tomorrow for my trip up Half Dome.

After my time in the valley, I drove up to Glacier Point which gives a wider look over the surrounding mountains and the granite landscape of Yosemite. The view from Glacier Point is the kind of perspective that makes you feel so utterly tiny. Even after seeing the granite formations from within the valley, seeing the magnitude of it all from above is shocking.
After leaving Glacier Point, I started a short hike to the summit of Sentinel Dome (8122').
It was an easy hike up a pretty gradual slope; but from the summit, the view of Half Dome (pictured) was a little intimidating. That's my goal for tomorrow. It's an 8.5 mile hike to the summit -- the last stretch is a steep, cable-aided ascent. I'm hoping to make it to the top tomorrow and then camp at the base overnight before hiking out the next morning. Then, Saturday morning I'll make the decision about whether I'm going to do Yosemite Falls as a day hike or try to add on the longer trip to El Capitan for a second night.

Something I've noticed the last two days is that there are a lot of Europeans in these parks. I don't really get it. I had no idea what to expect from Yosemite and I've lived a few hundred miles from it for 5 years. How do they know about it? And how do they get here? Fly into Fresno and drive? Can you imagine if you had never been to America and you flew into Fresno? I'd just stay on the plane and say, "Forget it. Take me back."

(Back to Fast Cars and Superstars: This is Laird Hamilton's chance to win my respect. Let's see what kind of time trial he can put together. I feel like after my last two days of curvaceous driving, I could kill on this show.)

If I write anything tomorrow, it'll probably be in a tent, so I'll post it when I get a chance.