June Ride - Yosemite National Park, California

[dnat928]

My long weekend ride to Yosemite National Park. Met up with nine other riders (mostly on HD's), every one else was from the SF Bay area, I rode up from San Diego (9+ hour ride). Saturday, June 2nd was the ride through the park day - it was nothing less than spectacular - plus it was warm and sunny. Saw a LOT of BMW's in the park.

Prior to entering the park, a view of Mono Lake (behind Yosemite)
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After climbing Tioga Pass, to just under 10,000 feet altitude, encountered - YES, that IS snow - in California in June



A view form the west entry, Half Dome in the Background



The view from Glacier Point


From the southern entry, tried to get the waterfall in the background


Rode again then next day to a favorite mountain lake, west of Yosemite


The ride to and from this lake is twisty + hilly, through the forest road, rarely used by anybody.

Saw two bears, two coyotes and three deer, one of which was acting suspiciously - so I tooted the horn and revvvvved the engine - I could tell by his look he was thinking of bolting into the road, but he tensed up and held his position til I passed...

After each day, we had a big BBQ dinner and put a major dent in the region's supply of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

[MIXR]

You win! Your hills are bigger than ours! Nice shots. I like the one with the bikes looking up the valley. Thanks, Mick.

[DJ Downunder]

Wow!...Now that's one ride that I'd love to do...and Mick's right..we don't have anything like that down under....Thanks for the pictures..

DJ

[Buckster]

WOW! I thought the mountains in VA were beautiful. Looks awesome!

[GypsyRR]

WOW, those are beautiful photos. The waterfall is gorgeous. Do you know if there are trails to approach it from below? Must have been a wonderful ride. Thanks for sharing.

[cruiser]

Spectacular! ... thanks for inviting us along

[MikeCam]

The view from Glacier Point

That is the first time I have ever seen that angle of the falls. Spectacular! Thanks.

[sjbmw]

Wow. Thanks.

I got to get there....

[dnat928]

Thanks for taking a look...

I go there so often (4-6 times per year), I tend to forget the magnitude of the natural beauty.

And yes, there is a trail up to that waterfall (the one seen from Glacier Point). In fact, two seasons ago, I visited Glacier Point, then hiked up to that same waterfall later in the day. The trail actually goes by two waterfalls (the lower falls is tough to see from this angle). The trail aside the viewable falls is appropriately called the "Mist Trail". Some wear ponchos during the hike, but on a sunny day, it's OK to get wet from the mist since up top, aside the falls, it is warm & sunny, and feels great to arrive wet and dry off in the sunshine.

I confess, that there were countless other great views during the weekend of riding, but I was enjoying the riding too much to stop and take photos (I see the other posts here with many photos - my hat's off to you - I know it's difficult to keep stoping).

The other aspect was, with the spectaculat scenery all around, extra effort was needed to keep the concentration on the curvy roads, and avoid looking up and around.