In December, when I booked a couple of nights of lodging in Yosemite National Park for the middle of January, I was excited to get some use out of the snowshoes that I brought to Southern California with me. I was also excited to see Yosemite Valley with a beautiful cover of snow, and to take photos of waterfalls that were dry during my last visit to Yosemite. As time got closer to the trip, I started reading reports of how it was the driest winter in decades so far, and there had been all but no snow, and there would be no more snow by the time I went. At first I was bummed out and almost canceled the trip, but then I started hearing about how Tioga Pass, through the “High Country” was open later into the winter than it ever had been. I started to become more positive about it. This meant that places usually inaccessible without LONG treks in the snow were easily accessible, so I got excited, and headed up there. I skated on Tenaya Lake (8000 foot elevation), checked out Tuolumne Meadows (about the same elevation), and had a great day.
I wandered up and down the Tuolumne River, which was low, slow, and icy.
Tuolumne River – click image to be transported there
I loved the contrast between the beach and the ice at Tenaya Lake
I sat on a rock in the Tuolumne River and took it all in
