Yosemite Blog

Here’s a great story David, one of the regulars around here, blogged about his recent trip to Yosemite to get one last snowshoe trip in before Badger Pass closed for the season. I’ll let David take it from here. Be sure to head over to his blog and his Flickr photo stream to read the rest of the story and see the great photos that go with it.

Random Curiosity: “On Saturday, after grabbing coffee and bagels, we caught the early bus to Badger Pass. We strapped on our snowshoes, took a look at the map, and chose Dewey Point as our destination. It was a beautiful day — sunny and clear — and we figured the view from the valley rim would be amazing.

We started trekking towards Glacier Point Road, following the trail that borders the parking lot. Hardly anybody was on the slopes or the trails. We were thinking it would be a quiet journey to the point, when we stumbled upon the same group of twenty-somethings we had encountered the night before. This time, all of them were sitting the middle of the trail, putting on their snowshoes.

I didn’t want to risk stomping on somebody with my snowshoes (accidentally or intentionally), so I gave the group a wide berth, trudging around them to reach Glacier Point Road. As they disappeared from sight, I started pushing our pace. I told M, ‘Let’s go. I have a feeling they’re going to Dewey, too, and I want five minutes of peace when we get there if we can manage it.’”

Photo by Random Curiousity via Flickr.

One of my friends from work was telling me about her recent stay at the Yosemite Bug resort (just outside Mariposa) and what a great time she had. Out of the blue I came across this video on Youtube of the resort. Pretty nice looking place.

We have 2 kids and I can remember the first time we took our son to Yosemite for an overnight trip. We weren’t as apprehensive as some because we’re very experienced in the outdoors but, there was still a little anxiety. Here’s a blog post from a mother about her recent trip to Yosemite to attend a family members wedding. I think it sums up pretty well what we go through as parents visiting the park.

Diary of a New Mom: “There are mountain lions in Yosemite National Park. Also, bears. Bears so aggressive that visitors are not only warned, but FINED for not removing all food, toiletries, and even car seats from their vehicles. So, let’s see, that means the bears are not only unafraid of humans, but hungry enough to rip apart a car for a snack of toothpaste and stale Cheerios? And why did no one tell me this before I brought my baby into this savage wilderness?”

Today’s Photo of the Day is a beautiful black and white from Michael Renfrow. Micheal’s photos are incredible so be sure to browse his Flickr stream and see some of the other awesome shots he’s taken.

Very nice Michael.

Photo by Michael Renfrow via Flickr.

The issue of the Ferguson Rockslide may finally come to rest as Caltrans is ready to install a more permanent solution around the slide that will allow vehicles up to 45 feet long to begin using Highway 140 from Mariposa into Yosemite again.

abc30.com: “Tuesday morning Caltrans officials announced plans to replace the temporary bridges that were put in place immediately after the slide on Highway 140 between Mariposa and Yosemite. The bridges were built at angles that prevent vehicles longer than 28 feet from crossing, which means large tour buses now take other routes into the national park.

Rick Benson/Mariposa Co. Administrative Officer: ‘We have seen since the rock our revenues have gone down 25 percent in sales tax, and that’s a real indicator that the business community in general is struggling.’

The process to find a permanent solution is taking longer than expected, so now Caltrans wants to quickly build two new single-lane bridges at angles that will allow all vehicles to cross.”