Had to check out of our hotel this morning, so we'd planned to drive the park from west to east, stopping to hike along the way. The next 2 nights we'll stay outside the park -- since this was a last minute trip we couldn't get more lodging in the park. I would recommend that the last night of your stay in Yosemite be outside the park if you have to leave early -- it's a good hour's drive that you save being outside the park. At any rate, we headed up to the Tioga Pass Road. We stopped and did a 1.5 mile roundtrip hike to Lukens Lake that involved uphill, downhill, and doing so at 6,000 ft. elevation. Wearing backpacks, mine filled with camera equipment, Kathy's filled with food & water.
Back in the car we headed on the "long and winding road," stopping again at Olmstead Point for another view of the park. We'd driven through the forest and arrived in the granite zone again. There's a lookout right off the road, or you can take a path down from the parking lot for addition views. More beautiful views, lots of photos. We then headed to lunch, which was spent at Tenaya Lake (photo above). I will keep that picture in my head the rest of the year as a I eat my lunch at my desk, envisioning our picnic lunch and the gorgeous views there.
Back in the car to see Tuolomene Meadows and drive to Tioga Pass...where we turned around and headed back the way we came. We stopped at the end to hike 2.5 miles roundtrip to Tuolomene Grove to see the Giant Sequoias. Mostly downhill with a photo op encounter of a mama deer and her two babies! Ended up at the "Dead Giant" which has a hole cut into it that you used to be able to drive cars through. And back uphill....and uphill...and uphill to the car. Hiking at elevation -- whew!
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