Tioga Pass and Tuolumne Meadows

Now it pays to get up early to visit Yosemite, and clearly the locals know it. In order to see it at Dawn you need to be up at 4am. Well we were not up for that, but some of our neighbours were. And they decided to sneak out of the motel quietly, by revving up the engines of their SUV, turning on headlights full blast, cheerily carrying on conversation over the top of the vehicle which they left running while the various members of their party gathered and exchanged pleasantries. No chance of anyone else sleeping through that.

Thibault modelling the Buick's admirable capacity for luggage

We started out somewhat later than that, and after his epic driving yesterday (which he was really struggling to stay awake for by the end), Thibault made the executive decision that he wasn't going to drive all the way into the Valley today but would drive just over the Tioga Pass and we would hike from there. This seemed perfectly reasonable to me.

Now a word on the Tioga Pass, and Lee Vining. The Pass is closed all winter and doesn't re-open until the snows melt in May. (and even in June there is a lot of snow about!)

So Lee Vining also closes for the winter since folk only go there to derive onto Yosemite - so we learnt from the lovely young lady at the coffee place we frequented for breakfast. In winter she turns from coffee purveyor to ski instructor. Jobs in Lee Vining are seasonal and its a short season.

As it turned out, some of the hikes we intended to do were not really suitable because the snow hadn't melted enough. So were were recommended to do the Dog Lake Trail. This was an excellent recommendation. It was genuinely lovely and there was hardly anyone else about.

Only catch was that the start of the trail was very steep. And I am very unfit. Afterwards the lads said they were very impressed that I could do it as it was quite hard for them. However, I think basically they were impressed that I didn't expire on the spot. It was very steep and at high altitude. And I was wheezing away. But it was beautiful and the guys were good at waiting for me to catch up.

 Eventually it flattened out and we made it to the lake. It was so stunning - a glassy, fishless expanse of water.

Our very own great leader

We then did an extension to the trail to take in Lembert Dome. There are a lot of domes in the area (most famously the Half Dome in Yosemite - see tomorrow!). They are basically smooth granite outcrops that form domes - like bald heads sticking out of the forest. Being sheer granite the trees run out for lack of soil. But they are quite spectacular.

 Now from here on there are a lot of photos taken essentially from the same spot. This is partly because it was so photogenic, but partly because the lads went on to climb to the top (and to a second dome beyond which I didn't even see existed) while I decided to stay back. I would happily have made the climb, but what worried me was that patch of un-melted snow above. I could just see me slipping and it was a long way down.

A snowman, high up and on the point of disappearing

 Finally the intrepid duo returned.

Back at the bottom, well this is the Tuolumne Meadow.

So onward for a second hike. We tried Tenaya Lake. This is a long lake just beside the main road. Not much o a hike to East Tenaya Beach.

But to walk around the lake required crossing a small river which could only be done by scattered logs. And that looked like a bit too much balancing for me. So we decided to go on to a further, more obscure lake, Lukens Lake, for our last hike.

But this had a different catch. A bit further on and more un-melted snow. Basically we lost the trail. We knew we were in the right general direction and we did find he lake. But where we went wrong is a mystery.

 After that it was a drive back to Lee Vining, stopping off at a number of viewpoints for photos. Thibault was feeling generous and let us stop a good number of times. But then again, it was some of the world's best mountain scenery. And it gave Thibault a chance to gaze at some of it without worrying that he would drive us off the edge.

Another dome - just a big bald piece of rock.

These photos were taken by a Chinese gentleman who was very impressed that Thibault could speak mandarin and was determined to take some shots for us as a reward. Thibault really chuffed.

As you can see here, there is ice still even in the lake.