This morning Dad and I drove into the valley by ourselves to hike and explore. We didn’t really have a plan when we headed out, just that we’d hike a few hikes from my “Best Easy Day Hike in Yosemite” book. As we drove we decided that we’d go out to Glacier Point and check it out and hike up Sentinel Dome and then hike to The Fissues and Taft Point.
It took us just about 2 hours to drive from our campground to Glacier Point. There wasn’t a lot of traffic, it just takes that long. We didn’t get into the Valley itself, just drove to the Glacier Point Rd intersection and turned right to go up the hill again to get to Glacier Point.
Glacier Point is a spot high above the valley where you can see everything! The most prominent features are of course Half Dome and the waterfalls! You can see both Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls as well as both Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. Sweeping panoramic of granite, water and evergreens! I took a whole bunch of pictures, all of which look a lot alike.
After Glacier Point we drove back a few miles to the Sentinel Dome/Taft Point trail parking area. Sentinel Dome is similar to Half Dome in that you can climb up and look at the whole valley. It’s different because it’s only a 2.2 mile hike and the climb up the rock is very gentle (Half Dome is a 16 mile hike with a 5000 ft elevation gain!!!!). When I came around the corner and saw the dome going up and knew I had to climb it I decided that I’d never be able to do Half Dome! Even more so when I got to a point where I realized that one wrong step and you’ll slip and fall 2000 ft to the bottom of the valley. Almost didn’t make it to the top, but I kept going and made it!
Sentinel Dome was pretty amazing – full 360 degree views! You could see pretty much everything in the whole park! I took at 360 panoramic picture with my phone, but I couldn’t upload it when I tried. (There is pretty good AT&T coverage in the park, but my dad’s Verizon phone didn’t have anything! I think so far this trip we have been in more situations where my phone worked, but his didn’t than vice versa.)
The sun was very intense! There was very little shade, not a cloud in the sky and we were surrounded by granite. I applied sunscreen before I left home, but forgot my chest area – my shirt today was more low cut than normal. Luckily Dad had some in his pack that I used – I applied it twice, but my chest and possibly my neck still got burned!
When we got back from Sentinel Dome we decided to continue on to Taft Point and The Fissues. The Fissures are deep cuts in the rocks and you can walk right out on them! There are no railings and the cliff is sheer! Definitely very “edge-o-phobia”! Taft Point is a rock outcropping that also has a very steep edge to it, although there is a railing around one tiny section.
By the time we got here I was tired and the sun was really getting to me so I went to sit in the shade and have a snack while Dad explored the view. The hike out was much better than the hike in – this was a “upside-down hike” – we went down 1st and the back up to the car.
Finally we were back at the car and headed down. It was 4:30 and we’d told Mom we’d be back at 5 – we weren’t going to make it! We stopped at the Tunnel View again and got better pictures, then we got to see El Capitan from the valley – very impressive that way! When we saw it from the top it wasn’t that impressive!
It took about 2 hours to get back to the campground, but we finally made it! Now with dinner eaten, pictures uploaded and blog written, it’s time for bed!
Tomorrow we are going to take Mom into the Valley and explore the Valley floor – probably check out the waterfalls and the Valley trail!
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| Yosemite: Glacier Point, Sentinel Dome, The Fissures |
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