Today was to be 3 relatively easy hikes to Taft Point, Sentinel Dome and Glacier Point and back in time for tea, well that was the plan anyway. These trails are high up on top of the southern rim of Yosemite Valley, each with different aspects but nothing prepared us for what can only be described as the most beautiful and awe-inspiring views.
Taft Point trail was a pleasant mile or so through woods and granite boulder strewn landscape eventually leading to a spit of cliff jutting out about the valley some 3000 feet below. The sun was shining brilliantly and there was not a cloud in the sky and there were not that many other people when we arrived. The cliff edges made for some stomach-churning moments try to look below and obviously there was much taking of photos going on. Some of these episodes required lying flat on our stomachs to get close to the edge for the best shots into the valley. The highlight was the very point of the headland which jutted out as an overhang and had a rather thin barrier to minimise accidents but didn’t seem to stop some people tempting fate! It was at this point that it became evident that the only one of us that didn’t need to grip the rails tightly was Sabine. Still we all got to the barrier and the view was quite something else. We seemed to spend the next hour wandering around the headland taking in the views and wonder of it all and, obviously, taking piccies.
After a brief lunch we headed off for Sentinel Dome, another mile-long trail but by this time the sun was high and quite hot. The trail was a little trickier especially for Linda who was protecting her ACL and as a consequence we took a little longer but were rewarded with a sighting of an eagle which appeared to be taking in its surroundings, looking for food or was just bemused at the stream of people struggling in the heat. When we arrived as the huge granite monolith that was the Sentinel, the sound of a cooling breeze was evident and as we climbed the last few hundred feet to the top it became quite welcomed. What a view! 8000 feet up and the whole valley in sight. The geology and geography were quite evident and it kind of put humanity into perspective, very humbling. A bit of a ‘totes emosh’ moment when asked did it meet my expectations!
An equally hot trek back to the car was followed by a short drive to Glacier Point. This was more of a ready-made viewing area with a small amount of walking. Again, the views were really spectacular along the whole of the valley right around to Vernal Falls which was on or list for tomorrow. What was astounding was the fact that even from this vantage point you could only see less than one quarter of the entire National Park which is 1,169 miles 2(3,471 km2 ), 95% of which is designated wilderness. The wildlife here, like elsewhere in the park, is a bit human friendly so squirrels persistently followed in hope of a titbit and we were privileged to get within 10m of a lynx who was after the fat squirrels. The visit here was more relaxed and we even managed an ice-cream at one of the few commercial outlets in the park. A nice end to a great day even though we ended up more rednecks than a Kentucky rodeo!