Exploring the wonders of high-altitude Yosemite Valley

Across the valley from where I now live is a mountain range and on its slopes is a natural wonder. A high altitude valley called Yosemite Valley was carved and widened by glacial activity.  The valley is walled by tall intriguing cliffs that were also sculpted by those glaciers. Yosemite Valley and the high country around it is something to see, in person or through pictures at least.

The last time I was in Yosemite, it was a little over two years ago. I went.  I saw. I was stupefied by the perfect picture that Tunnel View was. I was wonderstruck by the height of El Capital and how very-well-chiselled and polished Half Dome looked. And then there was that beauty called Bridal Veil Falls. I even seem to have caught a rainbow at the waterfall.

Even after seeing all of that, I felt like I had only scratched the surface. I had to go again and see more of this one-of-a-kind of a landscape. So I was back in Yosemite National Park last fall. This time we made our way in through the Arch Rock entrance of the park, explored the Yosemite Valley a bit more, drove up to Glacier Point and even stayed in a cabin in Yosemite West. Could I ask for more? Yes. I still haven’t had my fill. Before I let you in on what calls for another visit, let me show you what made me tipsy from this trip to Yosemite.

Arch Rock

First things first. Here is the Arch Rock that welcomed us back into this national park on the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

Arch Rock Entrance. It’s not the best image. It was a quick picture. I wasn’t ready for this sight. And we couldn’t stop to take a picture.

(You get to this entrance if you take Highway 140 (CA 140) on the southwestern part of the park.)

Yosemite Valley’s  Top attractions

Tunnel View

First, we checked in at that view one must-see on every visit to Yosemite — the famous Tunnel View. This picture postcard view features El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridal Veil Falls, Cathedral Rocks and Sentinel Rock on the sides. And in the middle is Yosemite Valley.

Bridal Veil Fall

After marvelling at the sight of Tunnel View one more time, we headed to the attraction closest to it — the Bridal Veil Fall. This time around, there was more water coming down the steep cliff, thanks to the harsh winter we had had last year, and the few storms that hit the area in early November. If you remember my previous posts on Yosemite, you might remember the rainbow my phone camera caught while I was at this waterfall the last time. (You can see it here — Is that a rainbow? ? ) This time I looked for it but didn’t see those seven colours. But I was lucky to see something similar and much more showy at another waterfall later that day. 😉

Bridal Veil Falls falling a good 617 feet. (Visit the previous Yosemite post to see how the wind turns this waterfall into what looks like a pretty bridal veil.)

El Capitan

A while later we were on Southside Drive. And this is what El Capitan looked like that day.

El Capitan

One of my favourite sights of this monolith is from the Northside Drive where you drive directly below El Capital. From there you see how it rises from the ground and goes all the way up to 7,500 ft totally belittling you.

While we were at Cathedral Beach later in the day, I spotted that part of El Capitan that had broken off, resulting in the death of a hiker in September 2017.

Can you see the part that chipped off during the rock fall in 2017?

Cathedral Beach

For this visit to Yosemite, I’d put a couple of beaches on the itinerary. Merced River that flows down from the Sierra Nevada flows through Yosemite Valley, snaking through the feet of the granite giants. On its meandering path on the valley floor, the Merced River has been indulging in eroding and depositing silt on its curves, creating some river beaches along the way.

Cathedral Beach is one such one river beach by the Merced. The bank there was gravelly. The sights from there included the Three Brothers and the Sentinel Rock. And it was a great photo opportunity to catch the reflections of those tall rocks on the calm waters of the Merced River.

And we also had the beach almost to ourselves.

Sentinel Beach

Down the road, we made a stop at the Sentinel Beach picnic area to have lunch. Once we were done packing and loading up, I made a run to the beach and see what this point had to show.

The wooded area opened out into a beach much smaller than Cathedral Beach and there I caught sight of one the tallest waterfalls in Yosemite —the upper Yosemite Fall. But what took my breath away were the rainbow colours that danced on the spray. Stupefied, I just stood there and watched it for some time. Then remembered I had to take a few pictures to take back with me.

Sentinel Beach. (And can you spot Yosemite Falls in the pic?)

Upper Yosemite Fall.

Swinging Bridge

Further down Southside Drive, we made one more stop, at the Swinging Bridge just a stone’s throw from Sentinel Beach. It was another of those bridges across the Merced. A walk across this bridge treated me to some more great reflections of the steep rocky bulwarks, and great light to catch. And then there was also the Upper Yosemite Fall from another angle. The sun seemed to have shifted a bit in those minutes that went by, and the rainbow colours on the spray had become a bit faint. It was a picturesque sight nevertheless.

Then we decided to call it a day as we had begun our day very early. On our way out of Yosemite Valley, I was hoping we’d be able to make a pit stop at ‘Valley View’ a vista point we had missed the last time we were there. But guess what, we missed this easy-to-miss point once again and couldn’t turn back as it was a one-way road. (We caught it on day 3 at Yosemite, though. 😉 )

Must-stop on Northside Drive, Yosemite Valley

Valley View

Valley View

(Back to day 1 in Yosemite Valley …)

We were soon driving by Tunnel View and through the Wawona Tunnel to get to Yosemite West where, as I mentioned earlier we stayed at a cabin in the woods. (A thing-to-do-in Yosemite that I highly recommend. More about that, later.)

But before that, let me take you to the intoxicating sights from Washburn Point and Glacier Point that were the highlights of Day 2 at Yosemite. You just cannot miss it!

That, next.

Unbeatable views from Washburn and Glacier Points

If you’d like to read about my first visit to Yosemite —

Yosemite: A scratch on the surface

Linking to Our World