Yosemite National Park in November

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November 28

Yosemite National Park in November

The drive from Sequoia National Park was uneventful, but scenic.

We got to Yosemite National Park just as it was getting dark. We passed through the south entrance to the Park at 4:15 p.m. The rangers were just leaving the station so we just passed through without showing our pass…they put up a sign on the window at their booth stating to “pay when leaving the park”. But when we left a couple of days later through the west gate, we were just waved through…never needed to show our pass.

After getting through the park entrance, it was about an hour further to Yosemite Valley, and the perfectly located Yosemite Valley Lodge. It was a dark ride so we really didn’t see anything on the way to the Valley.

We checked in at 5:30 p.m. and fumbled our way in the dark to our room in the Azalea building of the Valley Lodge. Fortunately, Yosemite Valley was more active at night than Sequoia this time of year. After dropping our bags in the room, we headed right next door to the Mountain Lounge for dinner and drinks by the fireplace. Their Mountain Restaurant was also open, but we just wanted pub food. We stayed in the lively lounge for a couple of hours, then off to bed.

When checking in I had asked if there were rooms with good views available, and the desk person set us up with a view of Yosemite Falls. That is an advantage of visiting Yosemite National Park in November, not only were we able to get reservations, and a room with a view, but we even got to choose between first or second floor. However, being night time upon check-in we couldn’t see a thing at this time.

November 29

Hiking Yosemite Falls Trail

Upon waking up we were excited to check out the view from our balcony. We were not disappointed. It was still very cold out, so the falls were still partly frozen and not yet fully flowing. A beauty to behold, and a great way to wake up.

Breakfast at the Valley Lodge Eatery around 9:00 a.m. (Hint: the order kiosks are 2 pages, not 1…look for the arrow at the bottom).

We headed by foot to the nearby trailhead for the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail. The top half of this 3.6-mile hike to the top is considered very difficult due to steepness. Having only our small backpacks and not all of our usual hiking gear, and considering how short the days are this time of year, and so we’d likely be hiking down at dusk, we didn’t feel comfortable attempting the full hike. So, we planned on hiking half of it, to ½-mile beyond Columbia Point where we were advised by the lodge bartender the night before that we would have some amazing views.

We got to the trailhead around 10:00 a.m. At the trailhead parking area there was a ranger preparing to hike the trail half way up to cut up a reported fallen tree across the trail. We chatted with him and he confirmed the bartender’s recommended hike for us.

It was a busy trail considering it was the end of November, but really not crowded at all, especially for such a popular hike in a popular park. There was also very little snow or ice on the trail…even better! The weather was perfect…sunny and about 45 degrees. As usual, I loaded the trail on the AllTrails app on my phone.

As advertised, the trail started out quite steep with about a dozen switchbacks. We stopped several times to both catch our breath and to enjoy the regular great views of the Valley, and Half Dome, now visible in the near distance.

At about 1.75 miles we got to the first waypoint, Columbia Point. This was a nice spot to stop and take in the breathtaking view of the valley and Half Dome.

About 10 minutes beyond Columbia Point we began catching glimpses of, and hearing Yosemite Falls.  From here forward we were getting some fantastic views of the now fully flowing falls….magnificent! We noticed that as the day progressed, the sun melted ice, and the falls gushed a lot more. Most helpful however for the impressive water flow was the recent early snowfall the park received. So, though the snow may have closed some roads and trails in Sequoia and Yosemite, there was a huge plus side.

 

At about 3/4-mile past Columbia Point we found a perfect spot to sit and have a snack with a great viewpoint of both Yosemite Falls and Half Dome. This was at the 2.5-mile mark, with an elevation gain of 2,500 feet. The pic here is of that spot, with me in the shadows at the bottom of the pic.

After about 15 minutes of resting and eating here, we headed back down. We did consider continuing to the top, but we fortunately came to our senses. Plus this left the rest of the afternoon to check out the rest of the valley.

On the hike down we saw a large cinnamon black bear about 30 yards off the side of the trail. There were lots of trees and bushes between it and us so we felt safe…not sure if we were actually safe, but we felt safe. The bear was lumbering around eating, and scratching its ears. It looked right at us, but apparently, we were boring as he just kept on doing what he was doing. We couldn’t get a very good pic of it unfortunately, since Emilie refused to get closer to it for the pic, what a whimp.

We got to the bottom and so completed the 5-mile hike at about 2:30 p.m. It was the perfect length for us, and we saw all that we had hoped for.

Yosemite Lower Falls

From here we headed over to the Lower Falls section via a .6-mile foothill path. There were many more people, and school groups at the base level viewing area here.

From this official viewing area of the lower falls, we could see three people sitting on a boulder right at the base of the falls about 100 yards away. We looked on the AllTrails map and saw an untitled short spur trail off of the paved road to the official viewing area we were at. So, like Icarus to the Sun, we went. It was very difficult to find an actual trail so we ended up scrambling rocks and boulders in the direction of the people we saw. We didn’t go as far as those people but we did get very close to the falls.

After this, we realized that we still had some daylight, so we got in the car at the lodge to explore the Yosemite Valley Loop Road. But before we ventured we got a much needed post-hike light meal at the cafeteria.  I got a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that unbeknownst to me qualified me as a “Little Hiker”!

Valley Loop Road -El Capitan, Tunnel View, Half Dome

The Valley Loop Road isn’t very long when there is nobody else there…like the end of November! We stopped first at El Capitan Meadow for imposing views of the massive 3,000′ El Capitan rock. Given it was approaching dusk, the low lying sun was hitting El Capitan brilliantly! A great time to see it.

Then on to Tunnel View for an unexpected treat. We knew it was a destination, but we didn’t know why.  Well, we knew something was up when we arrived at the pull-off (just before the actual car tunnel from where the view is named) and noticed several people with cameras on tripods. Turns out, sunset at Tunnel View is breathtakingly awsome, as the sunset light reflects bright orange off of El Capitan, Half Dome, and other majestic rock overlooking the valley. This was great, lucky timing!  We hung out here for about 15 minutes, basking in the truly stunning amber glow. This was Yosemite National Park at its finest!

Then, we drove back towards the lodge and stopped once again at a viewpoint of Bridal Veil Falls, Sentinel Rock, and Cathedral Rock. With the crescent moon hovering over Sentinel Rock this was truly one of the most picturesque things we’ve ever seen…I mean after Tunnel View, of course.

It was very cold by now but we hung out for about 5 minutes ogling…all by ourselves! Seeing the awesome force of beauty in Yosemite Valley is undeniably a lifetime experience.

After an eventful and fulfilling day, we had dinner and drinks again at the lively Mountain Lounge.

November 30

Hiking Mirror Lake

Breakfast at the lodge eatery (where we were now proud experts with the order kiosks), and checked out around 8:30 a.m. There was a hard frost overnight, so as I was checking out, Emilie went to warm the car up. A sympathetic park ranger lent her an ice scraper for the windshield…since the rental car didn’t come with one. That was very nice of the ranger.

There was time to get one more thing in at Yosemite before our 5-hour drive to Lake Tahoe. Based on timing for the upcoming drive we decided on hiking to Mirror Lake.  This is famous for providing a reflection of Half Dome and other sourrounding cliffs when there is enough water in the lake. The road was closed so we drove a few minutes to nearby Curry Village and hopped on a shuttle to the trailhead/road to Mirror Lake. We could have hiked about a mile to the trailhead but the mostly paved area was icy and slick, and so the shuttle was not just quicker, but much safer. We were the only ones on the shuttle bus.

The shuttle dropped us off at the beginning of Mirror Lake Road at the Stone Bridge. It was very, very cold, this early morning, and there was nobody around. It was kind of eerie, actually. We suddenly realized how vulnerable we were to nature…most notably mountain lions and bears…oh my!  Out of this concern, we decided to stay on the road for the one-mile hike to the lake instead of hiking the parallel wooded trail.

It was an uneventful hike for the first ¾ mile, however it was remarkable due to the fact that Half Dome was hovering right above us!

Then we got to the lake. Unfortunately the icy water made for little reflection of Half Dome perched directly above us. We tried different angles and spots along the shore of the small lake but alas, no Half Dome reflection in “Mirror” Lake.

Somewhat disappointed,we continued along the trail beyond the road’s end for about a half-mile. We hiked almost to Snow Creek along the lake before turning around. Fortunately, as morning progressed during our time on the hike, so did the reflection in the mirror because the lake’s ice was thawing. Our patience and persistence paid off as eventually we got a full reflection of Half Dome in the lake. Yeeha! We were very lucky to see this.

We encountered one other hiker at the lake.  But as we hiked back, there were more and more people, who obviously waited for it to warm up a bit before hiking. There were even two school groups…glad we hiked early…again, all to ourselves!  We ended up hiking about 3 miles. Back at the trailhead a shuttle was waiting for riders.  We hopped on and got back to Curry Village around 11:30 a.m. and began our 5-hour drive to Tahoe City to our friend’s condo.

Next: Yosemite to Tahoe, & Carson City