Yosemite Valley - September 7-11

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We finally came face to face with the reality of the ”Rim Fire” on the west side of Yosemite Park, which had forced the road closure from the east side of the park. Richard had a (hard won by lottery) reservation for all of us to climb Half Dome and Kayla had booked a one-on-one photography workshop with William Neill, a professional photographer from Oakhurst, CA. Both of these events were to happen in Yosemite Valley. So one way or another, we were determined to find a way to get tere. Which meant finding an alternate route, not an easy task.

The shortest detour was Sonora Pass which has hairpin turns, a 26% grade both up and down and very narrow lanes with no shoulders. We had been warned by one park ranger not to take this route, and take the safe and much longer trip all the way back to Lake Tahoe and around. However, another ranger called California highways for us, and the person there said he had seen logging trucks on that road. Ha! We should have listened to the first ranger. But with this last advice in hand, we decided to risk it. How bad could it be?

Kayla's cousin and his wife decided (wisely, it turns out) to avoid this route. Saying our goodbyes, and hoping that this was not really a final goodbye, hoping that by some miracle the road through Yosemite would be opened, we decided to make the epic mountain road trip. It was not long before we discovered that this route was not for the faint of heart. It's an understatement to say that the RV and its two drivers were tested to the max. And we are 4 X 4 logging road veterans of many years. But not driving a 33' RV!

In the end, we took two days to complete this detour, stopping off for a night in Columbia for showers and laundry. All along the way we saw home made thank you signs for all the firefighters working on the Rim Fire. One shop was even selling Rim Fire T-shirts. Next day we drove into Yosemite on a newly re-opened access road, right through the fire area. Some tree stumps were still burning and there were signs everywhere telling us NOT to report smoke or burning fire. And we had to drive straight through, without stopping because the fire fighters needed all the pullouts for equipment. All side roads were closed. What a terrible disaster! The fire crews were still working all along the highway. Saddened by the extensive destruction, we arrived at Yosemite Valley ready for our appointed activities.

The folding bikes were very useful around the valley and we left the RV in the camp ground, dutifully running the generator only during the allowable hours. On the first night, we rode the bikes up to Mirror Lake. On the way, we saw a bear, moseying along right next to a hiking trail, where hikers were walking not meters away, some unaware of the bruin in close proximity. Yosemite is very serious about bear control, and provides food lockers at each campsite, with strict rules about not storing food or anything that smells in cars or tents. We were OK with a big RV, but they still warned us not to leave a fruit basket in the window.

Next morning, Richard was up at 5 AM for his hike/climb to Half Dome, alone. Our original group of four was now down to just one. He cycled to the trail head, arriving at 6 AM before light, which gave a cool start to the 10½ hour 14-mile day hike with 4800 feet of elevation gain. The crux of this hike/climb is a steep granite rock ridge climb of 300 metres to the summit supported by “cables”. Issues with these cables include: exposure left, right and below, slippery granite rock under foot (runners would have been better than hiking boots), slippery steel cables (had to climb bare handed because the leather gloves were too slippery), congestion going up, congestion going down, congestion passing those going up and down. More than 200 other hikers made the cables with Richard and the summit was a zoo of cell phone calls back home. “Hi Mom, I made Half Dome”. Richard called Kayla to let her know he made it.

Meanwhile, Kayla had arisen at a much more civilized hour, cycled to the same trailhead, and leisurely hiked up to Vernal Falls with photography gear in hand, stopping to ogle the scenery and take many photographs. A great day was had by both of us, each in our own way.

The next day Kayla was up at 5 AM for her one-on-one photo workshop with William Neill. Bill is an amazing artist and we had enjoyed seeing an exhibition of some of his work at the Ansel Adams Gallery two days before, and Kayla again with Bill that day. They started at Tunnel View for sunrise. Smoke was filling the valley, and when the rays of the sun shone through the peaks, they illuminated the smoke, creating many layers of depth. They visited many different areas of the valley throughout the day, with Kayla absorbing as much as she could from the master artist.

Later that afternoon, they were in a meadow photographing Half Dome as a storm moved into the valley. The light created by the smoke was surreal, making the daylight seem like sunset. At times Half Dome was bathed in golden light. While they were photographing this phenomenon, there were a few lightning strikes near Half Dome, and one was captured by Bill during a series of images. What an exciting end to an unforgettable day.

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