Yosemite!

It's been just over 2 years for me since I last visited Yosemite. I'll likely go back this fall.

A few shots

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Larry, Your photo of the cables up the back side of Half Dome brought back a memory… Some time after Labor Day, the Park Service takes the wooden steps and supports down, but leaves the cables in place, where they lie on the granite suspended from their anchor bolts. A number of years ago, some friends of mine and I hiked up to the staging area, in late October, after the cables were “down,” and ascended Half Dome by grabbing a cable and working our way up to the top. You need to wear heavy leather gardening gloves to do this, and proper footwear is also a good idea. One of our group had ascended this way before, and his advice was “keep your eyes focused about 7 feet in front of you and don’t look down.” Good advice. The climb was totally doable, but I’m not sure the Park Service allows ascents any longer after the cables are down. The view from the top of Half Dome is incredible, and it’s quite a large area… enough for a wedding or a 50th birthday party! ;-)

Yeah, don't look down. I forgot that most important part. Certainly applied to me. Thanks for the tips, but, for myself, I think once was enough:)
 
Was this outing with the Pentax followed by a visit for shoulder physical therapy?
LOL... It's not *that* heavy! I continued with short stops eastward over Tioga Pass to Lee Vining for the night, then the same rig at the south shore of Mono Lake the next morning, and still had the stamina for a visit to the ghost town Bodie on the north side (where admittedly I wimped out with a Bronica RF645;)).
 
I’d love to go back as well, but I hear it’s crowded. The full John Muir experience is hard to come by :)

If you venture out from the Valley proper, it's still possible to find solitude. Here's my friend taking in a sunset atop North Dome. Admittedly, it was shoulder season in late October, but we were the only people there. Sentinel Rock on the left, and of course, El Cap on the right.


2019.10.21 Roll #228-04223-positive.jpg
by dourbalistar, on Flickr


Turn 90 degrees to your left from the above vantage and you have, in my humble opinion, one of the best views of Half Dome in Yosemite. :D


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by dourbalistar, on Flickr
 
If you venture out from the Valley proper, it's still possible to find solitude. Here's my friend taking in a sunset atop North Dome. Admittedly, it was shoulder season in late October, but we were the only people there. Sentinel Rock on the left, and of course, El Cap on the right.


2019.10.21 Roll #228-04223-positive.jpg
by dourbalistar, on Flickr

Lovely shot, and you are the second person, at least, to note that it’s not necessarily overcrowded now, so I’ll believe that, even though I’d heard otherwise. My guess is probably colored by how ridiculous it’s been here at Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone this summer and last, with the two, by far, highest visitor numbers on record. Local assumption is that’s due to people not easily being able to do international travel. Most of the normally uncrowded, off the beaten path places which offer some solitude and tranquility are now crowded, and the easily accessible trails which have always been a bit crowded in recent years now look like the Bataan Death March.
At any rate, glad to hear that at least some of Yosemite’s beauty can still be enjoyed quietly.
 
Was this outing with the Pentax followed by a visit for shoulder physical therapy?

One of the best attractions of Yosemite is access. The photos shown here are of subjects which are available to easy access by nearly anyone. Many of the most impressive photos taken at Yosemite are taken from a parking lot. Of course, if you want to get away from others, that is also easy to arrange.
 
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