Day 7
Friday August 21,2020
From Mammoth Lakes, it’s an easy drive north along Hwy 395 to the turnoff to Yosemite National Park. Daniel suggested pulling into the truck parking area of the gas station on the corner. From there, you get a nice clear view of Mono Lake…usually. One day earlier, a lightning strike had started a fire. By the time I arrived, it was all but contained. The smoke still remained.
Since I was traveling from the east, I’d take Tioga Road. At the entrance gate, I had to produce a pre-paid pass for access. It’s good for one week. Here’s the rub, if the start date doesn’t match, it’s useless. Once you’ve provided the proper pass and shown your ID, they cross reference with your phone number. Then the ranger gives you a pink pass to put inside your windshield. This is done with a two foot pole with a clamp at the end. Park maps are self serve from a box on a post ten feet forward. At no time do you actually contact the staff.
It was midmorning when I passed the entrance gate, so I decided to work in a trail. But first, the smoky view of the park from Olmsted Point, named after Frederick Law Olmstead. Yes, the same guy who designed New York’s Central Park. Olmstead was chairman of the first Yosemite Valley Commission
Further up the road I came to the Porcupine Creek Trailhead. Numerous trails leave from here. I was interested in the North Dome Trail, not for the dome itself, but a side trail to a unique geological feature.
The first .7 miles are an easy down slope on what was once a paved road. Remnants of the pavement are still visible.
Eventually, a side trail to the right brings you to a nice overlook.
After a few trail intersections, you come across the sign for Indian Head Point. It’s only .3 miles, but a steady climb to a stone outcropping.
On the backside is a natural arch. What makes this one unique is that it’s granite, not the usual sandstone. There isn’t another like it in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. So yeah, well worth the three mile hike to get here.
I thought about continuing up the trail another two miles to do North Dome, but decided against it. It was my first day in the park and the trail is listed as steep and strenuous. I didn't want to overdo it on my first day here. Besides, I really wanted to get to the lodge before dark.
Back on Tioga Road, and I had forgotten just how long it is. Eventually, I did make it to the end of the road and the turnoff for El Portal. I had tried getting into the main park lodge, even going so far as calling about possible cancellations. Instead, I would up in another Park Service Facility called the Yosemite View Lodge. Not a bad place, but I would have preferred being inside the park.
The front desk seemed the usual for 2020. Plexiglas screens and hand sanitizer dispensers. They also informed everyone checking in that there would be zero service during their stay. If you needed anything call the desk. Otherwise, no one would be entering your room until you leave. A actually like this and often leave the Privacy Please placard on the door anyway. This was the first time I had seen the dual cups of pens. One was clear marked sanitized, the other unsanitized. Grab a clean pen, sign in, put it in the other cup.
Which brings me to a hotel pet peeve. You can jack up the room price a couple of bucks, but wifi should be included. They charge $10 a day. I tried getting on using my credit card. It locked up both my tablet and phone. I called the 800 number from the room phone and in the end we just cancelled the order. If it wasn’t for the wildfires, I would have considered going the entire stay without. Freedom?
Sunset from the lodge...
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