Olmsted Point -

August 7, 2003

July 15, 2004

August 27, 2007

September 25, 2008

Olmsted Point, 2004

I make it a point to visit Olmsted Point whenever I am in the Park. It is probably my favorite place at Yosemite (or at least close to) and has been since I first laid eyes on it in 2003.

Olmsted Point - 2003

That visits vividly stands out in my memory. I'd just driven up to the Park from Kings Canyon National Park with the intent of driving through from the western Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east and Mammoth Lakes. I'd entered the Park down near Wawona and had driven very slowly in a convoy northwards on California-41 to Yosemite Valley. I was not in a good mood when I reached the Valley - I lack patience and hate driving less than the speed limit and hate driving behind drivers that won't pull over and let faster cars by them when the state law says they should if more than 4 cars are following them. The Valley was congested and crowded and many of the cross streets which connect the one-way roads were closed due to a "prescribed burn". Which meant that everyone was slowing down to take a look. Or stopping, getting out of their cars, and taking a look. And visibility was poor and everything smelled like smoke. It was a long, slow trip to exit the Valley and take the road from the Valley up to Tioga Road.

I was so not in a good mood when I finally reached the Crane Flat Junction at Tioga Road.

Once on Tioga Road (also known as California-120), I headed east towards Tioga Pass and the eastern exit of the Park. It took me about 30-40 minutes of driving along Tioga Road before I reached Olmsted Point. I came around a corner and There It Was! All of sudden my bad mood just vanished. Here was this astonishing view in the high Sierra mountains. And all this fantastic granite in all shapes and sizes - slabs that looked like checkboard pieces, boulders just strewn around the hillsides, mountains and hillsides composed of mostly granite with a tree or two thrown in. I was in AWE!

There is a short scenic trail you can take to a point which overlooks Tenaya Canyon, and from which you can take some great pictures of the backside of Half Dome, Clouds Rest, and the Canyon itself. From the parking area, you can see Tenaya Lake to your left/east.

Olmsted Point - 2004

In 2004, on the last full day of my camping trip, I caught the Tuolumne Meadows Shuttle from the campground over to Olmsted Point and hiked down from there to Tenaya Lake. It was an easy hike (which I needed at this point in my trip) - it was pretty much all downhill. I had a very enjoyable day all the way around!

Olmsted Point - 2007 & 2008

Half Dome from Olmsted Point, 2007

In 2007 and 2008, I took time on my way out of the Park to visit once again. I have loads of pictures at and from Olmsted Point. I suspect I will collect more the more I visit the Park.

Clouds Rest from Olmsted Point, 2008

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