Yosemite National Park Hikes (Lambert dome, Tuolumne Grove & Vernal Falls)

Day 18 - Yosemite National Park Hikes (Lambert dome, Tuolumne Grove & Vernal Falls)

We got up pretty early in the morning and packed up all our gear, yet another clear sunny day and for a change it was not windy- it would have been a good day for a ride on the mountain

We decided on a route that took us back up the 395 and then up the Tioga Pass, that last time we had visited Yosemite National Park, in the spring this road had been closed due to snow.

The drive up the pass was very scenic, as we dropped down into Tuolumne meadows we stopped at 2 to hike up Lambert dome, then stopped at 3 to hike around Tuolumne Grove, and finally our last major stop in the park was at 4 where we hiked to Vernal Falls. The roads were not too busy and we made good progress getting between our various stops.

Our first hike in Yosemite was going to take us to the top of Lambert Dome, but we found the direct route to the top had been rerouted so we had to do a longer hike than expected, which turned out to be a great hike, winding through the trees around the back of the dome, on the way we took a spur trail to Dog lake which was extremely scenic and serene.

From Dog lake we then hiked back the way we came and then headed east around the back of the dome, and then we hiked up to the top, where there were great views.

We then hiked down from the top and eventually crossed the Tioga Pass Rd, and then hiked down along side the Tuolumne river, we just followed the river course until we cut back up to the suv.

We then drove down the 120 to Tuolumne Grove, we hiked down to walk around the Giant Sequoia tress, as you have to walk down a fair way to see the trees, there were hardly any other people around.

We then had a pleasant walk around the grove, and then we headed back up to the suv and drove towards Yosemite Village.

On the way to the village we made various stops, here we stopped to take pictures of El captain and watch the rock climbers through our binoculars.

The views and vista in the park were amazing, in these pictures you can see Bridal veil falls (which on a previous holiday we hiked to the top of), and the Half Dome in the distance down the valley.

We then drove on to The Happy Isles car park and hiked up the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls, we arrived fairly late in the afternoon so the trail was not too crowded. We got very hot and sweaty hiking up the hundreds of steps to the top of the Falls. Then after having a rest we headed back to the suv.

We then proceeded to drive out Yosemite, we took the 41 to Fresno about a 90 mile drive, on the way to Fresno we stopped in Oakhurst and bought some food from a Subway, when we got to Fresno we were lucky to got a good room at a Quality Inn as there was a Film Festival on in Fresno and most Hotels were fully booked up.

DAY 19