27 August, 2012
Yosemite Panoramas Part 1: Meadows, Bridal Veil Falls, and Vernal Falls
Posted in : Travel Guide for Yosemite - CA on by : The Gourmez
As promised in last week’s Los Angeles panoramas post, here are the first panoramas from my Yosemite trip in July. My sister and I and my aunts’ and uncles’ families spent 4 days in the valley at Camp Curry, and it’s such a breathtaking experience. I had been in Yosemite before, but not since I was little, so it was mostly brand new for me. And our family got along amazingly well! That’s always a miracle. ,) Oh, and just a reminder, these are not the full-size photos. You want to click on each image to open a new window or tab, then click again on the image in that tab to get the complete panorama. And believe me when I say you want to do that–Yosemite is too gorgeous to let pixel restrictions stop you from viewing it!
This first one is the view coming right out of the tunnel and into Yosemite Valley. It’s one of my few early memories of the area–everyone stops to take a picture here. You are forced to by the sheer majesty of the viewpoint. Special bonus for this panorama is catching how many things are wrong with it (a lot).
The next picture was taken that evening, as Half Dome was being lit up with the setting of the sun. It’s amazing how omnipresent Half Done is when in Yosemite. This was a five-minute walk from our campground.
The next morning, we hiked the Mist Trail, and most of the family made it to the top of Vernal Falls, which is a pretty steep ascent. These are all taken from the platform area at the top of Vernal Falls.
That’s my cousin and his girlfriend ducking out of the way. This next shot is of the silver apron, the name for the white rocks that surround the far side of the Emerald Pool, which is located right at the top of Vernal Falls as well.
A few of us continued up the John Muir trail to Nevada Falls, another 2 miles higher up the mountainside. I didn’t take a vista shot from there, except for this short one of a few of the mountains.
I think I may have been panoramed out for the day at that point, though I took plenty of regular pictures of the Nevada Falls area. Just click on my link to the album at the end of the post if you want to see those.
More hiking and sights were in store for the next day! First on the list was Bridal Veil Falls.
In the late summer, most of the falls are much less full than earlier in the year, but I still loved the misty quality of Bridal Veil. The family moved on to swimming in a meadow next, and wow, do Yosemite’s meadows know how to provide a view.
I swear the colors are only touched up in that last one, not manipulated. It really was two entirely different shades of yellow from one to the other side of the path.
Here was our swimming spot, highly recommended. Keep in mind that the water is FREEZING throughout the valley, but if it’s hot enough, it’s worth it. However, do NOT swim anywhere with a current or near the falls. People have been swept away and killed by the rushing waters a few times in the past couple of years.
Wow, that’s a lot of photos, and I’m only about half done posting these panoramas. I’ll pick it up next time with views from the top of Glacier Point, Yosemite Falls, and the giant sequoias. For more pictures of Yosemite Valley and our family camping trip in the meantime, you can click here. Thanks for viewing them, and if you want to borrow any, please just let me know at becca@thegourmez.com.