Gary and I spent most of our time in Yosemite Valley walking the easy trails to Lower Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil Falls, Mirror Lake Trail and at Tunnel View (just up a few hundred yards on the trailhead for a better view). But we did one major hike to Vernal Falls. This is a hike Carol & I did in 2022 and it’s pretty steep, rated hard on Alltrails. I think it’s moderate if you stop at the Falls and hard if you continue to the top. We wanted a challenging hike after such an easy time so far. Plus Gary said the top of the falls were worth the effort although he wasn’t feeling up to it today. So I continued up the trail and he headed back down. The trail above the falls is narrow, steep, and wet this time of year. Vernal Falls were flowing full force so there was a lot of mist. I used my iPhone and GoPro and kept my camera bag under my rain jacket. I felt quite the accomplishment making it the top. It has an amazing view of the valley.
Tuesday we drove to the Ahwahnee Lodge and had a wonderful breakfast in their historic dining room. Afterwards, we hiked to Yosemite Falls. It was busy, being one of the most accessible and beautiful falls in Yosemite Valley. Plus it was flowing full volume so picturesque. Again, we had beautiful blue skies and warm weather, great for hiking but not for photography. When you have such conditions, you have to be a little more creative with your camera. Long lens photography is a good option to isolate the wonderful detail in the falls and granite cliff walls. Gary also wanted to visit the Ansel Adams Photo Gallery. It was inspirational and is a must-visit location when visiting. Hiking both Yosemite Falls and especially Bridalveil Falls was a wet experience. Since we went straight from breakfast, I did not have my rain jacket. Also, I preferred not to test my Nikon gear weatherseals even though they are supposed to be great. So much of the waterfall photos were iPhone and GoPro shots & video.
Near Lower Pines Campground is the west-east traffic-free pedestrian road facing Half Dome. Gary and I had spotted some wonderful reflections of Half Dome next to the road. We figured the late afternoon light and sunset hitting Half Dome would make for some excellent photos. We were right, although again, the clear blue skies did not add to the compositions. Gary said the wispy clouds were plane contrails but at least they added some texture and color.
Gary and I broke out the bikes – his aluminum 28lb German folding conventional bike and my new Maui 40lb folding e-bike – and headed to Mirror Lake. It was a clear, warm, virtually cloud-less day so we were thankful we had some clouds the day before. Gary likes the workout of biking uphill; me, I enjoyed using the e-bike assistance on the steeper part of the road to Mirror Lake. Blue skies and bright sun are not the best conditions for photography but it’s great for biking and hiking. When Carol & I visited Mirror Lake in July 2022, the water level was really low. It was hard to find a reflection in the water during that visit as we cooled off in the shallow lake under Half Dome. This trip, all the waterfalls were flowing full volume and the lakes, rivers, and creeks were cold & clear. There were waterfalls on every cliff wall with snow melt flowing in every crevice.
We took a lunch & beer break at the campsite after a leisurely bike/hike to Mirror Lake. Then we drove up to Tunnel View in hopes of an epic sunset. Tunnel View was busy but we found parking and setup an hour before sunset. Unfortunately, the evening before, the beautiful clouds covered Half Dome. Tonight, Half Dome was visible but the sky was not very interesting. Still, with the great flow of all the Yosemite Falls this visit, we took photos till the sun set.
Another rainy day so we decided to try heading west towards Prescott. We have never travel through this part of Arizona and hoped the weather would improve. It didn’t. Watson Lake looked like an interesting area to hike. The rock formations remind of Joshua Tree National Park. The lake and rocks are amazing and this area is an easy hike although navigating through the boulders can be challenging during a rain. I was surprised to see Frisbee Golf baskets so near the lake. I imagine you have to be pretty good not to lose all your discs in the lake. I did a short hike along the east bank. Carol was cold and burned out on hiking in the rain so she stayed in the car. Most of the photos I took were with my iPhone since I wanted to keep my camera gear dry.
We have friends who have lived in Phoenix for quite awhile and visit Sedona often. During Spring Training post-game dinner, we asked them what is their favorite hike in Sedona. They said “West Fork of Oak Creek Trail, so we added it to our list of hikes to do this trip. Oak Creek Canyon is ~5000ft just 14 miles south of Flagstaff, 40mi from Camp Verde. The weather was holding, with a slight chance of rain in the afternoon. Not a big deal but this trail has about a dozen creek crossings so any rain could affect the trail. This hike was amazing and reminded us of Utah and Zion National Park. Forested, cool to cold, and narrow into the canyon. The creek crossings were slightly more challenging because the recent rains had elevated the normally dry rock & log crossings. It did start to rain lightly but it turned to hail then snow. So we ended up hiking the deepest part of the canyon in the snow – it was wonderful. During warmer parts of the year, you can continue the hike up the creek. Hiking through the water like Zion’s the Narrows, up the narrow canyon. In March, with our gear, we were happy to just do the 3.1mi in then back. Six miles on such terrain is a really good workout.
Our second day in the Camp Verde area was rainy. We hoped the weather would improve as we drove north toward Sedona. Most of the earlier part of the day was scattered showers so we were able to enjoy some time in the late morning exploring & hiking Crescent Moon Ranch. Unfortunately, it began to rain too hard for our hike to be enjoyable so we figured we’d grab some lunch and come back. Since there is a $12/vehicle day use fee, I asked the ranger at the entry booth is reentry was possible. He gave me a dated day pass that I could show when we got back. The afternoon was clear so we were able to finish this short 2mi easy hike. The road and hiking trail to Cathedral Rock and Red Rock Crossing Vortex were closed. So we considered crossing Oak Creek here and taking the trail. But with the muddy conditions and lateness of the day, we were happy to explore Crescent Moon Ranch.
Wednesday was a great weather day – clear and cool – so we drove to Sedona, stopping at the Visitors Information Center. Sedona was really busy while we were visiting since our trip happened to coincide with Spring Break. We asked the docent of which popular trail we should hike and she recommended a less crowded trail. We agreed and ended up heading toward Courthouse Butte & Bell Rock Loop. As much as we wanted to take her advice, we found parking and that dictated our hiking route.
There are plenty of things to do around Lake Havasu but most are boating or other water-sports on the lake. We wanted to hike at least once during our stay so we chose the Sara Crack Slot Canyon Trail. Sara Park is only a few miles north from Cattail Cove just off the road to Lake Havasu City. There are several good hiking trails of different difficulties. Lizard Peak Trail is more challenging than the slot canyon yellow trail.
This recreation area is wonderful with off-leash dog parks, lake access and boat launches, and a variety of trails for both hiking and mountain biking. The slot canyon portion of the Sara Crack Trail is pretty short but challenging with some small drops that require a short rappel, ladder, &/or sliding down the rock face. Unlike the soft earth walls of Anza-Borrego’s slot canyon, these canyon’s walls are smooth stone. The majority of this trail is gravel river bed which can be sidetracked by taking the Red Trail instead of staying on the Yellow Trail. Once we were through the slot canyon, we could continue another mile to the lake on the winding riverbed trail. But we chose to head back, lessening our time away from the dogs. Instead of hiking back up the slot canyon, we took the Blue Trail which climbs a few hundred feet above the slot canyon, towards Lizard Peak. It’s a great alternate route back since you climb several hundred feet and have a beautiful panoramic view of Lake Havasu. You can also look down into the slot canyon to see other hikers working their way down & where you were.
Sara Park Trailhead SignSara Park Trailhead SignSara Park Yellow TrailSara Crack TrailSara Crack TrailSara Crack TrailSara Crack TrailSara Crack TrailSara Park Blue TrailSara Park Blue TrailSara Park Blue Trail
Cattail Cove State Park Thanksgiving Potluck
During an early morning Thanksgiving-eve walk, I was told about the Cattail Cove Thanksgiving Potluck. A tradition at this campground that regulars know about. We would have heard about it too if we had stopped into the Ranger’s Office when we arrived. But since we arrived after hours, we had not made it to the campground office till yesterday. Being short-notice, we went into town to find something to bring. Not much was available so we opted for a charcuterie platter. The rangers and campers laid out a pretty impressive spread at the Cattail Cove Amphitheater. We missed having Thanksgiving with our family but were thankful to participate with a great group of rv’ers.
We wanted to hike a cooler, more forested trail so we headed up Mt Whitney Portal. The trails around Mt Whitney and the eastern Sierras here are hard with lots of elevation change. But we thought we’d give the 6mi Lone Pine Lake Trail as try.
I came to Lone Pine and the Eastern Sierras in search of fall colors to photograph. I didn’t realize the eastern side of the Sierras was high desert at ~4000ft. I’ve always pictured Bishop and neighboring towns as having lots of trees and fall colors. But you have to get to higher elevations to find trees and autumn colors in this part of California. Mammoth Lakes is roughly 8000ft so Mt Whitney Portal was our nearest option.
We started at 10am and it was cold at Mt Whitney Portal Store (8360ft). The day was sunny but unless you were in direct sun, it’s was cold. Fortunately, once on the trail, there were long breaks between shade so we warmed up quickly. In fact, the shade became a great stopping point as the day grew warm. The trail to Lone Pine Lake climbs 1771ft so the trail elevation gain over 3mi is pretty steep. Hiking from 8400-10,000ft is hard and Carol had a chest cough. We decided to turn back at ~9500ft (500ft below Lone Pine Lake). The switchbacks and climb at this point of the trail were grueling. We did see patches of fall colors and the hike was beautiful. But we were really disappointed we didn’t make it to Lone Pine Lake. It one of the few hikes we’ve been unable to complete. We’ve always been aware of our limitations, so rarely pick trails rated hard. All the forested, mountain trails in this area are rated hard so we picked one of the shortest. But the combo of hiking at over 9000ft plus the steep elevation gain, stopped us for making to the lake. It’s the journey, not always the destination, right?
After our stop at Manzanar National Historic Site, we drove into Bishop for lunch. From Boulder Creek RV Park in south Lone Pine, Manzanar is about 18mi north, Bishop ~80mi. Manzanar was a surprise, we hadn’t planned a stop but being of Japanese heritage. When I saw the sign driving north, I thought it worth the detour. We stay a lot longer than I planned and this delayed our plans to find fall colors around Bishop & Lake Sabrina. So our plans changed to lunch in Bishop then the Ancient Bristlecone Forest. The Bristlecone Forest was definitely on my ‘must-see’ list. I had seen some wonderful tree and landscape photos. We still had plans to hike Mt Whitney the next day, so we might still find fall colors there. There are two main trails at Bristlecone Pine Ancient Forest – 1mi Schulman Grove Trail & 4mi Methuselah Trail. With our late arrival and being at 10,000ft, we chose the shorter trail. The Schulman Grove Visitor Center closes early and the days are getting shorter in October. The altitude was definitely felt. The shorter trail is still considered moderately challenging and the first half mile climbs 265ft. Doesn’t sound like much but its a short somewhat steep climb at the start.
The trees are amazing and worth all the trouble to get here. Many look barely alive and their trunks are weathered from thousands of years. It doesn’t look like a forest in the traditional sense, with dense green trees. It’s an exposed forest at 10,000ft. Some areas have groves of trees but the ancient ones tend to stand alone. New growth is precious and rare – see red flag photo below.
