The Old Big Oak Flat Road Trail
Leaving the trailhead behind, you can see the remnants of actual pavement overgrown here and there as we start up.
The little rockslides start showing up.
Just a minor inconvenience getting across here with a big pack...
Up and over 'cause you can't squeeze underneath without taking off the pack, and that's a pain!
The rocks, they're gettin' bigger
At least there's still a bit of the trail here and there.
We're getting into the heavier stuff now. Can you see David up ahead?
And now we're really in it. The task is to get safely across unstable boulders that clunk and sometimes shift when you test them. The safest way is to follow the cairns. Trouble is, they're not always telling the truth. We know we want to get over to the continuation of the switchbacks on the other side of this, but you can't exactly see where that is.
I pick one set of cairns and David another. We have radios. Half an hour later he's farther upslope still following cairns, and I hit upon the trail lower down following a different cairn route. So he's gotta climb down again. Somebody pretty sure of themselves probably built cairns as they went, thinking for sure this was the right way. When it wasn't, they just left them so now other people waste time and effort for nothing.
Looking back we see a little railing and Bridalveil Falls again.
In the middle of this picture you can see a remnant of a switchback corner built up by a rock wall. So at least you can get a general idea where you're headed. Some of these rocks are six feet tall, and the corner is further away than it looks.
Take a look across the valley. Here's a stereo pair. Cross your eyes to get the third stereo picture floating in the middle. Thank goodness there's a safety fence. LOL
A preview of Bridalveil Falls.
And eventually the sun comes out.
Looking more to the right up the valley, you can see the Wawona tunnel and the place where people coming in that way get their first panoramic view.
It's been a while since the trail was carrying stagecoaches past this tree...
Not too long after this point we reach the high point at the rim and turn north to start the climb to the meadows and forests on top.
The other side of this stump offers a great den for old Bruin.
Here we are at the crossroads, and instead of heading off to the Cascade Creek area which is a common spot for camping (cause of the ware available for boiling or pumping, we keep pressing on for a while longer.
Our campsite an hour later is on the upslope but we find enough level ground.
The next morning we continue the steady climb and travel through both forests and exposed rock switchbacks.
Afternoon sunbeams really light up the trees.
The day is overcast and as it gets past noon the wind starts picking up.
Rounding the corner approaching El Capitan. We want to spend some time and explore the top features when we get there.
The closer to El Capitan, the worse the weather becomes. It's fully overcast and the wind sometimes has little gusts. Coming out onto the exposed rock and making my way toward the crest of El Cap it starts to rain lightly and it's not coming down vertical.Time for raingear since it could turn very wet very fast. Then just keep plodding. It's slowly getting darker, even though it's 3 in the afternoon.
Thirty minutes later and we're now on the top and heading toward the edge a few hundred yards away. I see a hiker leaving on the trail toward Yosemite Falls and then there's no-one else here on top at all.
It's quite tempestuous and dark for the time of day. Do you know where the sun is? This is not the place you want to be if lightning starts. The wind is picking up again and the clouds over Half Dome look pretty damn ominous, and the cloud banks are moving fast toward us. We decide to have a brisk walk partway toward the escarpment to get a true feeling of the size of the place, and then plan to get off here PDQ.
Before the weather gets any worse we pound rock and get off the dome, back into the forests. The rain lets off to a drizzle and we follow the trail toward Emerald Meadows. We agree to stop at the first decent place for a campsite, and this is just off the trail when the ground levels out from the edges of hills we've been tracking down.
We're off the trail a few hundred feet, but we're also on a game trail, and this deer lets us know it first thing the next morning. Oatmeal and coffee are on the stove and Tiddles here comes within 10 feet to look at us. She waits, who knows what for, then fiddles around for a while, and finally retreats, only to circle around the tents and continue on her path the other side.
We break camp around 7:30 and a few hundred yards downtrail the sun is beaming through the canopy and meadows appear....beautiful but way too soggy for a tent.
Some of the street signs along the route...
After a very enjoyable morning with lots of sun filtering throught the trees, we arrive at the Yosemite Falls upper gate. Now it's time to do some photography before the clouds most probably return.
"It was a dark and stormy (seemed-like) night."
My backpack is good for wet weather but some insurance helps, especially if I expect a downpour with rain coming in all directions from the wind. The thing is working like an inflated sail and makes lots of noise snapping and flapping. We lean into the wind and have to talk very loudly to hear each other over the wind even though we're not far apart.
Thick, almost irridescent moss.
Our plan is to do the 31 mile loop along the rim to El Cap, Yosemite Falls and Point, North Dome, Indian Ridge and then come down Snow Creek. The first half or so appears below...
