Yosemite Blog

The snow is still really deep but plowing is progressing. Still no projected opening date.

NPS:
Tioga Road
Starting: 6.8 miles from Crane Flat (at South Fork Bridge)
Ending: 7.1 miles from Crane Flat
Distance plowed: .3 miles
Snow depth: 8 feet

Glacier Point Road
Starting .9 miles from Badger
Ending: 1.4 miles from Badger
Total distance plowed today: .5 miles
Snow depth: 10 feet

It’s been a very wet year in the Sierra building a very high snowpack. Mono Lake, Yosemite’s eastern neighbor and a wonderful sidetrip during the summer months when Tioga pass is open, received 144 percent of average signalling one of the wetest winters in years.

The Inyo Register: “The state Department of Natural Resources uses several snow surveys to arrive at its figures, and it figured that the Mono Lake Basin finished the snow season with a snowpack packed in the mountains at 144 percent of average. The DNR concluded the Owens River drainage snowpack was at 175 percent of average for the year, with final totals from two snow survey sites yet to be completed.”

Here’s the perfect gift to show your mother or wife just how special she is and how much you appreciate her. The Yosemite Association is offering Mother’s Day in Yosemite. Mothers who attend will get a champagne brunch at the Ahwahnee hotel, a special gift, and an interpretive tour of Yosemite Valley.

Yosemite Association; “Held during the height of Yosemite’s springtime grandeur, the day will begin with a sumptuous champagne brunch at the world-renowned Ahwahnee hotel. After brunch, Yosemite Association interpretive specialist, Chrissy Knight, will lead a leisurely walk in Yosemite Valley, relating fascinating stories of Yosemite’s remarkable women, past and present. This will be an excellent family friendly outing, and opportunity to learn about Yosemite’s cultural heritage amidst the breathtaking backdrop of Yosemite’s famous granite landmarks, cascading waterfalls and brilliantly colored wildflowers.

All Mother’s Day Celebration attendees will receive a complimentary gift set that includes an embossed Yosemite logo bookbag and copy of the book “Pioneers in Petticoats: Yosemite’s Early Women” by noted Yosemite historian/author Shirley Sargent.

Admission price to attend the special Mother’s Day Celebration is $136 for Yosemite Association members and $160 for non-members. The all-inclusive pricing includes The Ahwahnee Brunch and champagne toast, gratuity, tax, guided interpretive walk and commemorative gift set. Advanced reservations are necessary and can be made by calling (209) 379-2321 or online at www.yosemitestore.com.

Special accomodations are available for attendees of the YA Mother’s Day Celebration including free camping at a YA shared campsite in the Valley, or by booking a room at Yosemite Lodge set aside especially for this event. Hurry, rooms at the Lodge are limited. This is a great opportunity you’re not going to want to miss.

There’s something new in the Valley and it’s a good thing for all concerned.

Stockton Record: “A noisy bus engine is about the last thing an exhausted camper wants to hear after crawling into a sleeping bag.

Yet, that’s just what many a camper has heard over the years at Yosemite National Park’s Upper Pines campground. There, some campsites are just a stone’s throw from the road between Curry Village and Happy Isles — and clearly within earshot of the lumbering old diesel shuttle buses that roam Yosemite Valley as late as 10 on some nights.

Park officials say campers won’t have to deal with that noise nuisance much longer, thanks to the arrival of a new fleet of ultra-quiet hybrid-powered shuttle buses.

The new diesel-electric hybrids will be phased in over the next two months to replace the old diesel buses. When all the hybrid buses arrive, supposedly by mid-June, Yosemite will be the only national park with an all-hybrid shuttle fleet.

A few of the new buses, which cost about $500,000 each, already are being used, and visitors like what they see and hear, park officials say.”

I, for one, can say I’m excited by the new buses. The old, smoke belchers seem totally out of place in the Valley.

The first poll on Yosemite Blog is officially over and the results are in. It seems that many of you in our quickly growing readership enjoy the Yosemite Falls trail over the Half Dome Trail, Mist Trail, Four Mile Trail, and John Muir Trail. Click on the graphic below and you’ll be able to see a full size version.

The new poll is already up over in the right hand column. Go ahead and vote. This weeks question, “If you only had one picture left in your camera, what would you take a picture of in Yosemite?”

Thanks again for participating. I had a great time tallying the votes and watching as the votes came in.