Yosemite and Crater Lake Photo TR
I was lucky enough to have a week off of work, and a 5-day hall pass from the wifey, so I went on a road trip. We are moving away from Portland at the end of the month, so this was the last chance to see these places while they were still relatively close. The plan was PDX -> Yosemite -> Crater Lake -> PDX. Camping along the way (or in the case of Yosemite "camping."
Stopped on the way to grab a shot of Shasta.
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Mt Shasta, California by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
First view of the Park
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Yosemite National Park by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
Stayed at Housekeeping Camp, which was cool, but I don't know if I'd go back. Too much of a family vibe for solo travel. I would probably go for Curry Village if I go back. The view from the back yard was good though.
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Yosemite National Park by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
Took a stroll my first night, and ran into a new friend.
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Yosemite National Park by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
The next morning I got up about 4:45 to take the drive up to Glacier Point. Unfortunately, they had started doing prescribed burns over night, so the views got pretty smokey. Cool, none-the-less.
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Yosemite National Park by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
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Yosemite National Park by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
Spent the rest of the day just bumming around the Valley. Saw people climbing the nose on El Cap, had a drink at the Majestic Yosemite Hotel, browsed the Ansel Adams shop, ate pizza, drank beers, etc.
Morning #2 and I went up to Tunnel View. I have always wanted to see this. My parents had and Ansel Adams photo of the view in our living room forever. Unfortunately, the smoke was worse than the morning before.
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Yosemite National Park by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
But the sun did hit El Cap on the way back down.
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Yosemite National Park by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
Got back to camp kinda bummed, so I decided to do the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. I was running later than I wanted to, since the shuttles were already running, and it's the most crowded hike in the park apparently. Luckily the cold weather and mid-week in September kept it from being too bad that morning. Once I got above Vernal Falls there were very few crowds. Maybe a dozen people milling around the top of Nevada Falls.
Vernal Falls
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Yosemite National Park by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
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Yosemite National Park by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
Took the John Muir trail back down, and got the best view of the trip. That's Nevada Falls on the lower right.
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Yosemite National Park by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
Ended up being about 10 miles and 2-3k vert door to door, and a shade over 4 hours. Not a bad morning workout.
Morning #3, and I had to move on from Yosemite. It poured rain all night, so I wasn't planning on having the opportunity for photos. Woke up at 5 am anyway to find my camp stove and lighter had gotten soaked, so couldn't make any coffee. FML. So started packing up to make my way over to Crater Lake via the East end of the park since I hadn't even left the Valley my whole trip. As I finished packing, the rain stopped, and just the faintest hint of sky was visible. I thought, fuck it, might as well take one more look at Tunnel View. I'm so glad I did.
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Yosemite National Park by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
The rain had washed away the smoke, and the mountains had gotten the first dusting of the year. I was not prepared to stand around in 32 degree temps, but man, what a view.
Getting my Ansel Adams on.
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Yosemite National Park by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
The mist on the valley floor was so cool.
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Yosemite National Park by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
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Yosemite National Park by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
I fucking love this place. I feel like I've only scratched the surface of what's going on in Yosemite. Like listening to the greatest hits album of the Beatles, or the Stones, or something.
Anyway, onward. Got back on the road and found out that the road through the east end of the park was closed due to the snow overnight. Everyone was waiting around for it to melt out, but I didn't really have time to wait, so I called an audible and headed back toward Sacramento and on to Crater Lake.
The snow that had dusted Yosemite had also hit Crater Lake, and it was clear after the morning at Tunnel View that I was not prepared to winter camp. I booked a hotel in Eugene instead, and just prayed that I could see the lake when I got there. As some back story, I had been to Crater Lake a couple years earlier, but it was so socked in that you couldn't see anything. It was a huge bummer, and I have been itching to rebate it ever since. Not being able to camp there, and having another 3 hours drive after, I knew I'd only have a little bit of time there, but I would regret not going if I didn't.
I rolled in about 5:30 pm.
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Crater Lake, Oregon by Phil Herbert, on Flickr
To be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed. Maybe it had been built up in my mind too much, maybe the spotty weather had something to do with it, or maybe the morning at Tunnel View had jaded me. I spent a couple hours there, and then moved on. I'm glad I saw it, but don't know if I'll ever be back.
All in all, a great time.
