The Journey Continues:
After leaving the beautiful Autumn-colored Inyo National Forest, I climbed higher and higher on Highway 120… and into the high country of Yosemite. I entered at the Tioga Pass Entrance at the east end of the park. I was very nervous when I started this journey that this road would be closed by the time I got here. Fortunately, the first snow had not fallen.
When the first snowflakes hit the road, the Park Service shuts it down completely. At an elevation of 7,000 to 10,000 feet, you just know the high country gets buried in the snow. Depending on the quantity of snow, the road doesn’t usually open again until May or June. That is why I breathed a little easier when I got here…there was not a cloud in the sky.
The high country is mostly granite mountains and domes with hundreds of lakes doting the landscape. I spent many of my summers up here as a youth…and there are no better mountains to explore in the whole wide world. In a way, this part of my journey was a pilgrimage to my past.
As much as I would have liked to stop and hike to some of the nearby lakes, there was no time to do so. I would have to be satisfied with Tenaya Lake along the highway. But I am ahead of myself.
The first stop along the highway was Tuolumne Meadows… a large sub-alpine meadows at about 8,700 feet. Through it flows the Tuolumne River. It is surrounded by the Cathedral Range and some gentle granite domes.
The photo here is of Lembert Dome. You can see a small part of the meadows leading up to the dome. Although they are green in spring and summer, they were completely brown at this late date. That is part of the reason that this photo is in black and white. It just works better.
Notice the trees in the background. There is no autumn color at this elevation. These are evergreen trees that never lose there leaves (or needles), as compared to the deciduous trees down in the lower elevations.
I had thought I might camp up at TM (that is what us seasoned veterans call it) but all campgrounds were closed for the season. So onward and westward!
A little further down Highway 120, you run into beautiful Tenaya Lake. It is a large lake, at 8,100 feet, fed by several streams and rivers, including Tenaya Creek. At the far end of the lake, Tenaya Creek continues its journey downward through Tenaya Canyon and eventually into famous Mirror Lake in Yosemite Valley. Eventually it merges with the Merced River.
Continuing west, I came to the side road that leads to White Wolf, the very campground where I spent many happy summers with my family. While they fished, I took off on trails to some wonderful places in the high country…much to consternation of my parents. I sometimes forgot to mention that I was going hiking. I see a trail in the mountains and I want to know where it goes. That feeling persists to this day.
When I got to the White Wolf gate, it too was shut down for the winter. That was sad as I wanted to see it one more time and relive a few memories. Just too late for this party.
Back on 120, I continued the journey west. I passed over Yosemite Creek, which was a dry as bone. That meant there was no water flowing over Yosemite Falls. In my whole life I never saw those falls without water. I would tomorrow.
I continued on till I met up with the Big Oak Flat Road…which takes you out of the high country and down into Yosemite Valley. As I descended, I started running into trees with autumn colors. The lower I went, the more color I saw. It suddenly hit me…I had come into full blown Autumn in Yosemite Valley. WOW! Talk about luck. Me and my camera were going to be busy!
PS: The first snow in the high country fell three days after my visit and the Tioga Road was closed. Another lucky break.
To be continued…
(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)
To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page
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