Housebound and Yosemite Redux

Tunnel View - still spectacular! Image courtesy of Adriayn Smith-Lee

This is day seven of shelter-in-place for us Californians. Plenty of time to reflect and remember, in between the times we emerge from our hovels blinking at the light. I'm recalling a recent trip to Yosemite my daughter organized - and the new realities of global warming. The park is now closed to visitors, by the way. We drove down to the southern entrance, Oakhurst; a first, since I've always come from the north end before. The fields in the valley were white with almond blossoms under an iron-gray sky. The drive from Sacramento was easy and brief (I can't say the same for an episode of minor food poisoning at an unnamed diner along the way).

Image courtesy of Adriayn Smith-Lee

Ah, Yosemite in mid-February - we expected snow (the south entrance is closer to Badger Pass, the ski area) with the appropriate bundling and booting; what we got was dry and warm - an average of 60 degrees. Snow was actually being brought in to nearly-deserted Badger Pass. We found one trail with a little rapidly melting snow on it and took a short hike the first day.

Image courtesy of Adriayn Smith-Lee

Image courtesy of Adriayn Smith-Lee

We had hoped to take the Mariposa Grove trail to see the redwoods, but the parking lot and trails were closed. Nikki booked us a couple of nights at a place called the Narrow Gauge Inn, right next to a little steam train attraction called the Sugar Pine Railroad in Fish Camp (18 miles north of Oakhurst, and a good hour south of Yosemite Valley). The railroad was closed, of course, until May, as was the restaurant and bar at the Inn. In fact, many of the roads surrounding Yosemite and other attractions were closed until May, including the Wawona Hotel, her first choice. Nearby Tenaya Lodge was open at the time, however.

Image courtesy of Adriayn Smith-Lee

Image courtesy of Adriayn Smith-Lee

Nik's favorite chair at the Ahwanee

On the way north to the park, we stopped in at the tiny Fish Camp General Store on the west side of Hwy. 41, hoping to score some lunch; tt looked to be built out of an old railroad car. The charming young man who ran the place was not expecting a lot of business, judging from the sparse shelves and dust on some of the packaging.
The park itself was open, and crowded as usual, but dry as a bone. We had dinner at the cafe in the Ahwanee. The hotel is as grand and historic as ever, overpriced and not terribly crowded. As we took in the sights, there was some water coming over the falls; we drove on the circle road, taking in most of what we've seen on our last trip several years ago, and returning to the Inn at night.

The next day, we decided to go south from the Inn, into the Sierra National Forest toward Oakhurst. We had a hankering to wander around a cute little gold rush town; alas, we drove around Oakhurst in vain; it's a commercial center. We drove up to the village of Ahwanee, expecting, perhaps, a little more history. But there was no there there. What we did find was The Hitching Post (Hwy. 49, Ahwannee - on the west side of the road, you can't miss it), a funky restaurant with incredible food and equally incredible prices. I had the fish and chips (risky ordering fish inland, no kidding - living dangerously) for $14, and it was the BEST, hands down, that I've had in a couple years. Real fish, really breaded there, really made there, and huge portions. My daughter had a sandwich that was equally amazing. This is the sort of place that only locals know; when I complimented the woman behind the cash register (it definitely seemed family owned), she seemed surprised and said, "y'all come back!". I would airlift this place to Marin if I could.

On the way back from Oakhurst, we drove out Rtes. 222 and 224 to Bass Lake. Many of the people who settled around the west end of the lake had some bucks. We saw a fairly ordinary-looking property that turned out to be a 3-bedroom with a boat berth for over $1.5 million (reduced!). It might have been worth it at some point, but the lake was so low all the wooden walkways to the boat berths were sitting on dirt. No snow = no water in the lake. Bass Lake is a man-made reservoir; we drove up to the dam and took a walk on the gravel path. There were a few shops and a fancy restaurant (Ducey's) in the strip of buildings that made up the town, but most places were deserted on this sunny, dry day.

Edge of Bass Lake. Image courtesy of Adriayn Smith-Lee

On the way back, we stopped at a place recommended by the Inn: Corlieu Falls, about two miles south of the Inn, 16 or so miles north of Oakhurst. It's a short, steep hike rewarded with a series of full, beautiful waterfalls; a reminder that there are plenty of places outside Yosemite that are worthwhile. If we had known about the Scenic Byway (Skyranch Road off Hwy. 41, to St. Rte. 7 to Rte. 81, then Road 225 to 274 past Bass Lake) at the time, we might have taken it, especially since it passed Nelder Grove, another stand of giant sequoias. It's a three-hour drive at least, so a real time commitment (mostly in the car).

Corlieu Falls. Image courtesy of Adriayn Smith-Lee

On the way home, we both concluded that we've seen enough of Yosemite. It's become nature's Disneyland. The sad part is, since our last visit in 2015, the weather has warmed up even more. Very little snow then, but it at least was cold(er). Since the Sierras supply most of California's water, this is very bad news indeed.

Image courtesy of Adriayn Smith-Lee