Jayne Loves Adventures

If you’ve read the first part, you’ll know that the weather had been a bit dicey in the weeks leading up to our trip, so we had booked a tour to ensure we saw at least some of Yosemite Valley. Two days later, we headed in by ourselves.

We awoke early (again, surely the jetlag should have settled by now?) and found it had snowed again during the night. Nervous that this may put our plans in jeopardy, I made my way to the Evergreen Lodge Recreation Desk to check on the latest conditions. These guys are fantastic, they really know their stuff, and are constantly checking to make sure they have the most up to date information. They said that while the valley roads were clear, Crane Flat was icy, and chain restrictions were in place. At the current level, this meant that you had to have them in the vehicle, but they didn’t need to be on the tyres, although that could change. However, they said that the temperature was already rising, as long as we were in and out before darkness fell we shouldn’t have any problems. Emboldened by their advice, we decided to risk it for a chocolate biscuit, and we purchased chains from the shop. We would be able to return these later for a refund, minus a $15 restocking fee. I was happy with that. Now I just feel I should point out that had it been likely that we would have to use the chains, we wouldn’t have gone, but the sun was shining, the skies were clear, and all of the forecasts pointed to a warming trend, and we made a choice after taking the advice of experts. Every day is different, and conditions can vary, if you’re going in winter, listen to the experts and make your own choice based on that.

Chains purchased, car packed with blankets, plenty of water, a headtorch, waterproofs and warm clothing, we set off, dodging the potholes on the Evergreen Road, and made our way to the park entrance. We paid our fee (so cheap when you consider it’s valid for 7 days) and were given more maps. I asked the ranger to name her favourite thing to do in the valley, and she said it’s to find a spot on the valley floor and sit quietly, drinking in the beauty. I love to ask rangers about their favourite things. Often, they come up with something you’d never heard of. We said our goodbyes and trundled up and over Crane Flat, past Tuolumne Grove (I’m desperate to see the enormous trees but will save it for a summer trip), past Foresta, all the way into the valley.

The valley has a one-way system that works brilliantly, but there were several roads closed off due to weather damage, which complicated things, but also the maps are very basic. As a result we had a few ‘oh no, wrong lane, move over quick’ moments, but we were still on speaking terms when we managed to find the car park, so it wasn’t too bad! We immediately scoffed our sandwiches so we wouldn’t have to carry them. You can’t leave anything scented in the car BECAUSE BEARS! I’ve seen Yogi Bear, I know how it works. I wasn’t taking any risks!

We didn’t really have a plan as the hikes we had hoped to do were off limits, so here is what we ended up doing.

Yosemite Valley Visitor Center

The perfect first stop for any first-time visitor, this is where you will find a huge model/sculpture/carving of the valley, a shop, and the ranger desk. Big child had forgotten her cap, and since it was a bright sunny day, she decided to buy another one, but in choosing one she managed to knock over a display of books. Not fun, and I don’t recommend adding this activity to your itinerary. We then went for a chat with the rangers, and picked up the junior ranger books. These are great, they’re available in most, if not all, National Parks. It’s an activity book with various tasks to complete, usually involving the flora, fauna and history of the park. Once completed, you return to the ranger station, the children recite a pledge, and are given junior ranger badges. It’s great fun, and you can learn a lot in the process.

Indian Village

Armed with pencils and junior ranger books, we went out the back door of the visitor center to find the Indian Village. Himintheshed is partial to a spaghetti western, so was in his element. A reconstruction of a traditional Ahwahneechee village, here you can learn a little about the lives of the people who called this area home before the European settlers turned up. There are more information boards than you can shake a stick at, detailing the plants that the inhabitants would have relied upon, the social structure of the tribe, and how they lived their lives. As a result, the activity books were completed quickly. Though the village is a reconstruction, it is used for certain ceremonies throughout the year.

Their books completed, the girls went back to the ranger desk to take their pledge. The ranger was absolutely hilarious, made them promise to eat their vegetables and listen to their mother (as if) and asked about the National Park where we live.

Ansel Adams Gallery

If you haven’t heard of Ansel Adams, open another tab and look him up at once! The gallery, still family-run, stocks prints, posters, books and souvenirs, all by or inspired by Ansel Adams. They also run photography courses, photo walks, stage exhibitions and sell a few camera sundries. I would have loved to take some prints home but wasn’t sure I’d get them back across the Atlantic undamaged, so I settled for some postcards instead.

The Ahwahnee

The sun was beating down strongly, and with patches of snow still on the ground, the valley was deceptively warm. We decided to be fancypants hiker trash and wandered over to The Ahwahnee Hotel to have a drink and a nosey around. Many celebrities have stayed over the years, as well as presidents and royalty, and Steve Jobs even got married just outside. There is a restaurant, a bar, a gift shop and a sweet shop, and you can explore at your leisure. The ladies loos are upstairs, on the way we passed balconies overlooking the Great Lounge. Stanley Kubrick took inspiration from this room when creating the sets for The Shining. The hotel is not The Overlook, but it is imposing and quite creepy. I resisted the urge to shout “Heeeere’s Johnny!” but I did hold my daughter’s hand in one of the corridors and said “Come and play with us”. It would have been rude not to, given the setting.

The Ahwahnee Bar was busy so we ordered drinks and found some seats in the lobby. The bartender was incredible. He was working on his own, and juggling so many orders, yet remained calm and kind. He put a cherry in the small child’s coke as he didn’t want her to feel left out, as her sister had one in her Shirley Temple. After our drinks we had a look in the shop, poor Himintheshed nearly fainted at the prices. They have some really lovely items, many locally made, and it’s well worth a look. After that we lounged around on the lawn for a bit, enjoying the sunshine and the views of Half Dome.

Mirror Lake (or not)

As the Four Mile Trail was closed, and the Mist Trail was closed, we had settled on a short loop to Mirror Lake. We left The Ahwahnee and set off to find the trail. The map we had was about as useful as a chocolate teapot, and we couldn’t find it. We decided the best course of action was to go out the front of The Ahwahnee and hop on a shuttle bus, then we could get off at the right stop. Easy peasy, right? Wrong. The Mirror Lake Trail is on a road that is an offshoot off the valley loop, but none of the buses were going up it. I asked the driver and he said it was closed off as it was hazardous. Oh, change of plan then!

Yosemite Valley Shuttle

As we were already on the shuttle bus, we opted to stay on it and do the entire loop. Well, the modified loop anyway, there were so many bits of it closed. I expect it’s very different in the summer. The driver was excellent, not only did he call out the stops, he added little snippets of information. At one point he said “If you’re planning to get off here, don’t bother. This bit of trail is pretty boring, get off at the next stop and backtrack. It’s much prettier that way.” The small child struck up a conversation with a couple from Kansas and persuaded them that they should hike to Wapama Falls the following day. The shuttle is a great way to get around, the drivers are very knowledgeable, and it’s really nice to just park the car and not worry about finding parking spaces in various locations. The buses are frequent, so if one is full, you don’t have to wait too long for the next.

The Village Grill

Back in Yosemite Village, we opted to grab a bite to eat. The Village Grill is a fast food joint, serving the usual fare of burgers, chicken tenders, fries etc. We didn’t have high expectations, but the food was freshly cooked to order, very tasty, and reasonably priced. The staff were also great fun, laughing and joking with everyone as we waited for our food. I’d definitely go again.

The Village Store

This was our last stop of the day. We thought we may as well pop in as we were passing, and wow, were we glad we did! This shop is amazing! They carry a huge range of souvenirs, from fridge magnets and keyrings to clothing, and everything in between. It was all very reasonably priced, given the location. There is also a large food section, basically a small supermarket, that has everything you could need during your visit. There is a section of prepared sandwiches too, we’ll remember that next time as there was a wider choice than the much smaller shop at Evergreen Lodge.

Not the day we had planned, and it may seem as if we achieved very little, but it gave us a really good feel for the valley, which will stand us in good stead next time we visit.