Recently spent some time in Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. First stop, Yosemite. Did a hike to Half
Dome. Permit required, as they allow 300 people max per day on the summit. The final 400 feet of elevation
involves the cables.
I started the hike early and got to the cables before the heavy traffic. The cables were pleasantly uncrowded at 10am.
Stayed on the summit of Half Dome for about two hours. Here I'm standing on "The Visor" (upper left corner of frame).
Sort of like the Bondcliff overlook as far as being THE place to get your summit photo taken.
On my way down at about noon, I hit the masses on their way up.
A few days later, the goal was to catch the sunset on the South Rim, specifically at Glacier Point.
Off-duty Ranger practicing his craft at Glacier Point.
A few sunset shots from Glacier Point.
Next stop was Sequoia National Park. Sequoia has some plant life that is slightly large. Free photography
advice when visiting "The Giant Forest"...if at all possible, go there on an overcast day in the hopes of
getting soft even light. The intense sunshine created some harsh shadows and led to some truly sucky
contrasty photos. This advice of course applies to any floral photography, but doubly so when you've
traveled 3,000 miles to see the place.
The General Sherman tree is the largest living tree (by volume) on Earth. It is simply awe-inspiring.
Lots of folks do the 1 mile round trip walk to the Sherman tree and see nothing else in The Giant Forest.
What a shame. There are so many other trees to see along beautiful easily walkable paths. Around every
hill or bend in the trail awaits another amazing tree or stand of trees.
Hiked along Crescent Meadow in Sequoia. I tend to find too many bear encounter stories peg the needle on the
BS meter. So rather than run the risk of being one of those people, I'll simply leave it at this. We saw
three bears within a 30 minute span, and although none of the encounters was particularly close or
(apparently) dangerous, having a two-year-old strapped to your back in a child carrier backpack...hmmm...let's
just say it heightens the experience a bit.
Overall, Yosemite and Sequoia are everything they're cracked up to be.
Dome. Permit required, as they allow 300 people max per day on the summit. The final 400 feet of elevation
involves the cables.
I started the hike early and got to the cables before the heavy traffic. The cables were pleasantly uncrowded at 10am.
Stayed on the summit of Half Dome for about two hours. Here I'm standing on "The Visor" (upper left corner of frame).
Sort of like the Bondcliff overlook as far as being THE place to get your summit photo taken.
On my way down at about noon, I hit the masses on their way up.
A few days later, the goal was to catch the sunset on the South Rim, specifically at Glacier Point.
Off-duty Ranger practicing his craft at Glacier Point.
A few sunset shots from Glacier Point.
Next stop was Sequoia National Park. Sequoia has some plant life that is slightly large. Free photography
advice when visiting "The Giant Forest"...if at all possible, go there on an overcast day in the hopes of
getting soft even light. The intense sunshine created some harsh shadows and led to some truly sucky
contrasty photos. This advice of course applies to any floral photography, but doubly so when you've
traveled 3,000 miles to see the place.
The General Sherman tree is the largest living tree (by volume) on Earth. It is simply awe-inspiring.
Lots of folks do the 1 mile round trip walk to the Sherman tree and see nothing else in The Giant Forest.
What a shame. There are so many other trees to see along beautiful easily walkable paths. Around every
hill or bend in the trail awaits another amazing tree or stand of trees.
Hiked along Crescent Meadow in Sequoia. I tend to find too many bear encounter stories peg the needle on the
BS meter. So rather than run the risk of being one of those people, I'll simply leave it at this. We saw
three bears within a 30 minute span, and although none of the encounters was particularly close or
(apparently) dangerous, having a two-year-old strapped to your back in a child carrier backpack...hmmm...let's
just say it heightens the experience a bit.
Overall, Yosemite and Sequoia are everything they're cracked up to be.
