Road to Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park
Another touristy thing that every visitor of the Yosemite National Park absolutely must do is drive up to the Glacier Point. From this vantage point one would be able to get absolutely incredible views of the entire Yosemite Valley, with the comfort of only having to make a couple of steps out of one's car:
On the way up, make sure to stop for another iconic view, familiar and dear to every Mac user. Don't worry, you won't miss it as there is a large regular parking lot and there is also an overflow parking lot. Despite all those precautions, the parking experience will be akin to finding parking next to the mall during the holiday shopping season. Well, it will be all worth it in order to see the same view you've been looking at for years, just in higher resolution. Don't forget to take a photo, you just might get a better one:
Or go for a goofy and blurry one. Everybody will be able to recognize the view anyways:
There are a couple of hikes along the road up, and since we were eager to stretch our legs, we parked next to the Sentinel Dome and walked the rest of the way up. There we visited the Taft Point:
My favorite part is once you walk out to the vantage point there is a guard rail. The first experience is to come to the very edge, hold on to the rail for dear life and gaze down thousands of feet. Then, with knees trembling and hands shaking, turn around and smile for the camera. Hey, look, we have all succeeded!
There is another vantage point you can walk to, and in-between... well, who said that tourists are babied in USA?
Of course, all your Darwin endeavors are accompanied by memorial plaques, located at every non-guarded edge... But if the Everest "corpse road" is any example, humans just don't learn from the experience of others.
Our plan was to visit the Taft Point, then walk up to the top of the Sentinel Dome, and then finally reach the Glacier Point. What we haven't accounted for was the effect that the elevation had on us. And even though T was heroically leading the way to the top, N and I did the following at every possibility (sorry, T!)
Finally, finally we managed to reach the Glacier Point! The view feels so much more precious, after you have battled the elevation sickness to get there!
Hey, look, there is Nevada Fall, the base of which we have reached half a year later:
The next day we braved the Clouds Rest - that's the point that is visible above the Half Dome! Stay tuned for that!
And there are many hikes in the area for the adventurers in heart: there is a 4-mile hike all the way from the bottom of Yosemite Valley to the Glacier Point. You can also reach the Glacier Point via the Vernal & Nevada Falls trail: I have done that 8 years ago: we had 4 people: 2 people started at the bottom, 2 people - at the top. We exchanged the car keys when we met in the middle... And there are probably many more trails that I don't know about but would love to find out :) With this, I'm signing off. Your local Yosemite tour guide :)
On the way up, make sure to stop for another iconic view, familiar and dear to every Mac user. Don't worry, you won't miss it as there is a large regular parking lot and there is also an overflow parking lot. Despite all those precautions, the parking experience will be akin to finding parking next to the mall during the holiday shopping season. Well, it will be all worth it in order to see the same view you've been looking at for years, just in higher resolution. Don't forget to take a photo, you just might get a better one:
Or go for a goofy and blurry one. Everybody will be able to recognize the view anyways:
There are a couple of hikes along the road up, and since we were eager to stretch our legs, we parked next to the Sentinel Dome and walked the rest of the way up. There we visited the Taft Point:
My favorite part is once you walk out to the vantage point there is a guard rail. The first experience is to come to the very edge, hold on to the rail for dear life and gaze down thousands of feet. Then, with knees trembling and hands shaking, turn around and smile for the camera. Hey, look, we have all succeeded!
There is another vantage point you can walk to, and in-between... well, who said that tourists are babied in USA?
Of course, all your Darwin endeavors are accompanied by memorial plaques, located at every non-guarded edge... But if the Everest "corpse road" is any example, humans just don't learn from the experience of others.
Our plan was to visit the Taft Point, then walk up to the top of the Sentinel Dome, and then finally reach the Glacier Point. What we haven't accounted for was the effect that the elevation had on us. And even though T was heroically leading the way to the top, N and I did the following at every possibility (sorry, T!)
Finally, finally we managed to reach the Glacier Point! The view feels so much more precious, after you have battled the elevation sickness to get there!
Hey, look, there is Nevada Fall, the base of which we have reached half a year later:
The next day we braved the Clouds Rest - that's the point that is visible above the Half Dome! Stay tuned for that!
And there are many hikes in the area for the adventurers in heart: there is a 4-mile hike all the way from the bottom of Yosemite Valley to the Glacier Point. You can also reach the Glacier Point via the Vernal & Nevada Falls trail: I have done that 8 years ago: we had 4 people: 2 people started at the bottom, 2 people - at the top. We exchanged the car keys when we met in the middle... And there are probably many more trails that I don't know about but would love to find out :) With this, I'm signing off. Your local Yosemite tour guide :)