Mammoth Peak Trail to Mono Pass
Everyone loves Yosemite! The reality is we all areloving Yosemite to death.
Yosemite is one of the most beautiful and relaxing places on Earth. Except when it is Memorial Day, 4th of July, or Labor Day weekend and:
a third of all the inhabitants on the planet are in the park (5,217,114 people visited Yosemite in 2016)
at the same time,
looking at the exact same things.
Now you have traveled 3,000 miles to the Sierra on your one and only “Holiday” (doesn’t Holiday sound so much more relaxing than vacation) for the year!
It is Labor Day Weekend. Your camping or fishing in the Eastern Sierra and one of the items on your bucket list is to see Yosemite. Unfortunately, a gazillion other people have the same idea. You have two ways on how to visit Yosemite:
As a tourist that wants a picture of every water fall in the valley
As a sane Human Being that actually wants to have a truly pleasant memorable time
Looks Like Fun to Me.....
As a Tourist
You sleep to nine in the morning. You have breakfast. Then go straight for the valley floor to see the water falls. You and those gazillion other people are going to spend the day enjoying:
an immersion into primitive and wild environments ("not" 2 hours in to go approximately 1.3 miles)
a high degree of solitude (trying to find the sole parking spot left on the valley floor)
natural sounds (car horns and bus brakes)
natural smells (diesel)
great views (well this is a given because even when it is packed wall to wall the views are great)
Yea right. Not my cup of tea.
Your remembrance will be more of traffic, smelling car fumes, and standing in lines than beautiful nature. By the end of the day, you will come out of Yosemite more stressed than you ever were at work.
Fist Light
A Sane Human Being
It takes a little bit of work and planning but even on a busy weekend like Labor Day you can get a lot out of Yosemite and miss most, if not all, the crowds.
Here are Five Simple Steps to see Yosemite as it should be seen:
One - Get up early or Start in the Early Evening
Nothing Like Aplenglow
When I say early I mean before sunrise. Get into the park early. Pick a location in advance, preferably up in the high country like Tuolumne Meadows, Glacier Point, etc. Get there before sunrise and then plan to stay there for a while. For the next two to four hours, ninety five (95) percent of the “Tourists” will be:
Still asleep
Cooking breakfast in camp or ordering breakfast at a crowded food stand
East Side -Tuolumne Meadows
Seeing a sunrise or sunset in Yosemite is an unforgettable experience; seeing a Yosemite sunrise in quite solitude is “priceless.”
Yosemite Sunset
If you choose to go to a meadow, really early or really late, area there is a good chance that deer will be out and about. Seeing a deer up close will stop the kids whining about getting up so dang early faster than anything on earth. For the rest of the morning they will be occupied scouring their surroundings to see if they can find more deer.
More importantly you will get the chance to experience that primitive environment and with a high degree of solitude that makes Yosemite heaven on Earth.
Sunset with Deer in Tuolumne Meadows
Two - Take a Hike
After the sunrise take a short hike on one of the many trails in the park. You don’t have to hike seven or eight miles to get away from the crowds. Just a half mile or so will do. Remember by now the most of the masses are still in their camp just now washing their breakfast dishes! Walking through Tuolumne Meadows, Lyle Canyon, or the Panorama Trail (Glacier Point) are incredible. You go for as long a distance as you like then simply turn around and come back.
Three - Stay In One Spot a While
So many people rush through the park get to one of the famous scenic spots, take a picture of themselves in front of it, and then rush to the next spot. I highly recommend finding a picnic table in a quite area and sit for a while. Bring some snacks, sit back, and soak up the park; the views, the smells. You will be amazed on how much the look and feel of a single location will change as the sun rises in the sky.
Wine and Snacks at Tenaya Lake
Even better will be the people you meet. What was that saying "If you stay in one place long enough the entire world will pass you by. Well, Yosemite is a "Holiday" destination for everyone on the planet.
If you stay in the park long enough, bring a bottle of your favorite wine and some plastic wine glasses. We did this once at Lake Tenaya. A flustered lady, in the middle of a death march to see every single thing in Yosemite in one day, stopped and looked at us. She said with a big smile “You must be locals because you know how to do this right!”. We agreed. She took her picture and marched on. We on the other hand continued to enjoy our wine for a spell. Really don’t know how long that spell was because we were having such fun we lost track of the time!
Act I Tenaya Early Afternoon - Water Ripples
Act III Tenaya Early Evening - Firework Show
Four - Talk to the People You Meet
I think you will find the people you meet in the high country this early in the morning will be:
Friendly as hell, as they are not being stressed out by big crowds
Interesting, maybe hiking the entire John Muir Trail and have great stories to tell
Helpful, they probably know way more than you do about where to go and what to see
- May be from another country with great stories of foreign lands to tell
We have met the nicest people from all over the world jsut by saying hello.
Five - Get the Heck Out of Dodge Before the Hoards Arrive
Over a Hundred Cars Waiting to Get in at 12:30 PM
If you followed Step One you have been in the park for several hours now. You have
seen an incredible sunrise
were able to watch deer on a meadow
met some friendly interesting new friends.
Just like a casino if you are ahead - take your winnings, cash out, and leave before you lose it all!
Go back to your campsite or condo and take a nap (you deserve it you were up before the sunrise!) and dream of the laid back and wonderful adventure you just had.
If you are leaving the Yosemite Park going east I highly recommend stopping at Whoa Nelli Deli, in the Mobil Gas Station. It is near the intersection of Hwy 120 and Hwy 395. They have incredible food and you can sit out in a grass yard over looking magnificent Mono Lake. The other restaurant I recommend is the Mono Inn. It is a bit on the more expensive side but the view of Mono and the food are both top shelf.
In closing, a couple of ground rules about Yosemite:
It's not Disneyland, it is nature, and its wild. It is not designed for your safety. Always be prepared and careful.
Never leave food in your car. Locked cars will not stop a hungry bear.
Be careful around large streams. It is probably moving faster than it looks and is dangerous.
The falls are stunningly beautiful but they are not the only thing to see in the park.