Tenaya Lake, Tuolumne Meadows – Saturday, 6/15/24

Today, we’re going to “The High Country” of Yosemite.  Reservations are now required for entry into the park.  Doug made ours well in advance, plus we have a National Parks Pass, so we got through the ranger’s booth quickly *after* a nice chat with the ranger, who said, “I LOVE New Bern – my parents live in Greenville!”  ~small world~  🙂

Item A was not on our list.
Penstemon line the road
Yosemite Creek waterfall
Yes, unparalleled views
Tenaya Lake
Climbers on Medlicott Dome
We began our hike at the Dog Lake Trailhead (no dogs allowed)  🙂
I don’t know why the river is golden, and I’ve tried all sorts of adjustments/edits.  As the following pictures show, the water is blue, and crystal clear.  That aside, this spot is where we stopped for a picnic a couple of decades ago.
Notice the missing railing on the right.  It was a rough winter here.
Here we are at the two bridges
This is the prettiest, most serene place I’ve ever been.

Time to retrace our steps and go to Tenaya Lake for a picnic.

Lunch is delayed  – we had to stop and watch these climbers on Lembert Dome
View of Tenaya Lake from our picnic table
We stayed here several times, including our first visit to Yosemite.  Our neighbor (when we lived in Palo Alto) told me about this place, with this warning, “The road is narrow, and you’ll think you are lost, but just keep driving and you’ll get there.” (The road is 7 miles long, and a safe speed is 30 mph)
There have been many changes here (including ownership), but thankfully, the original dining room and game room remain, with a few upgrades.
This is the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which supplies most of the water for San Francisco and the Bay Area.  It holds 117 billion gallons of water.  The road getting here from Evergreen Lodge has a vehicle width limit of 8 feet, yet it’s a two-way road.  There are also very few guardrails.  We once hiked the trail to Wapama Falls but didn’t make it there after encountering a mama bear whose cub was on the opposite side of the trail.   On our way back to our car, we saw a rattlesnake next to the trail.  All things considered, I see no reason to revisit this site.  🙂
Close-up of the falls.

Tomorrow (Sunday, 6/16), we’ll drive to Wawona and the Mariposa Grove at the southern end of the park.

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