Yosemite in Fall Colors

On Sunday, October 27, we started our camping trip to Yosemite.  We drove in the South Entrance through Wawona, and down into Yosemite Valley, where we found our campsite in North Pines Campground.  We pitched our tent under the VERY TALL pine trees.  Because our campground is at the eastern end of the valley, the cliffs of Yosemite loomed above us on three sides:

Once we set up camp, we decided to take an 11-mile hike around the Valley Loop Trail, which traverses the main part of the valley and parallels the main road.  Setting off on the trail, we crossed Merced River where Tenaya Creek joins it.  The green of moss on the rocks in the riverbed joined with the blue of the water to make a brilliant contrast with the yellow, orange and brown leaves:

As we hiked west along the north part of the loop, we encountered huge granite boulders that have fallen from the cliffs above.  Luckily, we didn't witness any boulders crashing to the valley floor:

We hiked further westward and passed the historic entrance to the Ahwahnee Lodge, built in 1927 and designated a national historic landmark in 1987.  It was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood, who also designed the famous landmark lodges in Zion, Bryce and the Grand Canyon.  Here's Kathy exploring the original stone gated entrance:

The day was a brilliant, sunny, warm day, which was perfect for seeing the late autumn colors on the valley floor.  We were probably a week or so past the prime, but nevertheless, the fall hues were warm and inviting.  Here is a view of Lower Brother across Leidig Meadow:

The trees were so tall, we had to strain our necks to see to the top of them.  Most of the tallest trees were Ponderosa Pine.  Here's David trying the yoga "tree" pose in front of ponderous friend:

All along the north valley floor - especially near Camp 4, where climbers camp while they scale the cliffs, we saw groups of climbers practising and learning new skills:

Looking back across Leidig Meadow, we caught a glimpse of Half Dome:

Some of the bridges provided exceptional scenic views.  Here's one of Sentinel Rock over Merced River:

Almost no matter where you are in the Valley, you can see Half Dome.  Here it peeks out over Merced River:

Kathy formed her own tree buddies.  Here she is, measuring a particularly large Cedar to see if it's roomier than our RV:

As the afternoon started turning to evening, the sun fell lower and the shadows grew longer.  In the yellowing evening light, the trees' fall foliage seemed even more golden:

At the western end of the loop, we hiked past El Capitan.  In the photo below, if you enlarge it, you can see some tents hanging on the cliff, to be used by climbers scaling the cliff:

Crossing to the south side of the valley floor, we walked into the shadow of the southern cliffs.  The sun and cliffs threw dramatic shadows across the meadows:

Cathedral spires, lit by the lowering sun, held court over the Merced River:

As we hiked back eastward along the south side of the valley floor, the sun turned the cliffs into ghost-like presences:

Much of the Valley Loop Trail is asphalted, which we weren't particularly happy with, although it appears the NPS is deliberately letting sections of it go "back to nature" and turning it into a sandy or gravelly trail.  As "unnatural" as the asphalt was, in places we discovered the cobblestones that were first laid for the trail when it was presumably the original carriage road around the valley floor:

We made a stop at Swinging Bridge to look eastward up the valley.  The sun, descending in the west, cast our shadow out toward the river:

Toward the end of our hike, we were returning to our campground, and we found our old friend, Half Dome, looming above to the southeast, purplish in the setting sun:

Across on the north side of the section of the valley where we camped, Washington Column, on the right, and North Dome, behind it, glowed golden in the ripening light:

Walking back into the campground, we found that we had new neighbors, who were just setting up camp with their camper van and a nice cabana.  Fred and Carol are from the San Francisco area, and they were camping with their sweet dog Hopi.  We made friends with Hopi and introduced ourselves to Fred and Carol, and briefly compared notes about our travel itineraries.

Then it was back to our campsite for a hot, scrumptious dinner.  Night fell all too early and, after some wine and some stargazing, we crawled into the tent.

We knew that showers were due in late.  Around 10:00 p.m., the winds started roaring down the valley floor.  They mainly blew the treetops, but we could hear the roaring above us.  In the wee hours, the rain started to fall.  Waking briefly to note the wind and rain, we anticipated a rainy breakfast and hike the next day.