Yosemite is gorgeous, with a caveat

I have watched countless hours of Travel Channel specials, including the ones that review America’s Parks.  Almost always, Yosemite comes in second on the list, right behind Yellowstone.  With that being said, my expectations for Yosemite were to be one step below Yellowstone.

Yosemite

I could see its potential, but on this day, during this time of year, it was a bit of a let down.

There were so many people cluttering the roads and walks that it felt more like a city than a park even though the people were all campers, tourist, and hikers. I got out of the car less than most parks because there just wasn’t the jaw dropping moments that I have come to expect from highly rated parks.

My favorite park scenery has been the waterfalls, rivers, and mountain views. Yosemite takes great pride in their waterfalls so I began hunting them down.

Alas, I found a sign for Bridalveil Falls.  It’s supposed to be one of the more spectacular falls in the park. I parked the car and headed up the hiking trail. The trail had signs warning of wet steps, falls mist, and to get ready for a falls experience of a lifetime.  My anticipation grew exponentially along the path.  I find waterfalls to be very inspiring and couldn’t wait.

As I neared the viewpoint, I could hear the falls beckoning me.

I arrived at the viewing spot where many people have collected themselves for this breathtaking view. I rounded the rocks and turned my head to see what everybody was looking at…and….drip, drip, drip, and drip.

Ok, the “drip, drip” comments may be a bit of an exaggeration, but come on!  Where are the slippery steps and how about the drenching mist?  There was none of that to be had.

A once roaring Bridalveil is merely a trickle today.

It turns out that the rock beds I have been seeing all throughout the park were actually dried up rivers…. probably where the falls usually drain.

No roaring rivers, babbling brooks, or wondrous waterfalls.  While the waterworks are at full force in the spring from the snowmelt, they are all but dried up come fall. I wonder if some of these tourist realized what they were missing.  The dribble of water over a 500ft cliff was less than spectacular, but if this all you had ever seen, maybe you’d be apt to get that great picture in front of the giant leaky faucet too.

The mountain views were beautiful, especially if you hadn’t been in the Canadian Rockies a week earlier, but that’s about all I have complimentary to say about the views I planned on experiencing.

I will say that this park is probably much, much better in the spring.  There was evidence that many rivers had probably flowed here months ago, but then again, there was evidence that a prehistorical lake had filled the entire park too!

The park did have its beautiful mountain views and spectacular rock climbing surfaces.  The hiking trails were probably to be raved about as well, considering the city of people  with backpacks that had emigrated here.

There were also many designated camping areas throughout the park that had been repopulated with tents

If not for the stringent check in procedures for the campgrounds, I would have probably guessed that thousands of refugees and homeless people had found their way here.  It was wall to wall tents and the only thing that I could think was…..”Those bathrooms must be very dirty.”

Let’s face it, campground bathrooms don’t usually smell of lilacs and resemble a Martha Stuart special, but there is no possible way that these bathrooms could even maintain the wonderful status of “disgusting” under these circumstances.  I found myself feeling a little sorry for the nearby woods because I’m sure they were cleaner than the “regular bathrooms,” thus being more appealing to the natives. Anyways…. enough of the bathroom speculation in “Tentopolis.

valley view of El Capitan and Half Dome

I didn’t see any bears, lions, or tigers.  I didn’t even see a deer.  Either the “tent-people” got hungry or there are too many people scurrying about the grounds for the animals to feel safe enough to come out. Much like the elk observing a couple of days ago,  spent some time observing the “tent creatures” too.  I had to move on. My mission was the top and a view.

After negotiating the many merging one-way roads in the park, I began my ascension to the top.  It was your typical mountain road: Two way traffic with dangerous curves, slow speeds, and rarely a guardrail.

Why is there such a lack of guardrails on these hairpin turns of death?  Is it that the tourist are more careful here or is there not enough traffic to justify spending money to keep people from drifting off of the mountain?  Either way, only 1 out of 20 turns that should have rails do.

I’m starting to have a greater understanding for those drivers back in Wyoming that sped up and down the mountains. I, myself, am becoming quite comfortable with how much lateral force my car can withstand.  The turns seem to be a challenge for every wanna-be Formula One driver.  No longer do I pull off on the strategically placed turnouts for slow drivers.  I now wait for people to get out of my way.  There is no bigger rush than hearing your tires squeal at 40mph around a 20mph turn while looking off to the side of the mountain 4,000 feet below.

Alright, that was all a lie.  I drive the speed limit, which is better than I can say for my initial experiences. I would never be so foolish to test the limits of a car on these roads.

The view from the top was as expected. Inspiring and breathtaking.  You name the cliche and I promise you, it applied.  The infamous Half-Dome was in plain sight. You can’t go to Yosemite without seeing the Half Dome.  That would be like going to Black Hills and not seeing Mount Rushmore.

I can see from my visit to this park that Yosemite is beautiful and should be visited if given the chance, but…. only in the spring or summer.

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