Yosemite National Park and it's Splendors

This video says it all!

Rock Climbing is just one way to enjoy the many adventures Yosemite National Park allows. No matter where you go, expect to find an extremest in your path as this guy dares to scale this wall. At first he seems okay, but the dangers of doing such a stunt comes alive in front of your eyes and no way out except to close them and hope for the best. To all who dare them selves, proceed with caution…

This is a video from a Hang Glider point of view. It takes guts to run off the side of a cliff. I should know, I watched my dad and uncle for years, paraglide in upstate P.A. There is a big difference in both sports but the dangers are very much the same. I get a rush just watching these guys take a leap of faith, as the wind keeps them in the sky and like a bird they guide their way in and out of thermals reaching heights of 10,000 ft.. I could only imagine what Yosemite has to offer when a person like this guy takes flight over the great national forest. From Half Dome to the valley floor the sites are amazing and from this point of view “sky’s the limit” and these guys know how to get there!

This video is not of Yosemite but I thought i would add it to share the power of the bear. There are a lot of bear sitings threw out Yosemite National Park and this video shows you that they are very powerful and show no fear towards humans in dyer situations. So be careful on your next journey to Yosemite it might be the last if you don’t follow the rules of nature…

WASHINGTON — Religious missionaries and political activists will have more freedom to speak out in Yosemite, Great Smoky Mountains and other national parks under an important appellate court ruling.

In an expansive First Amendment decision, a key appellate court struck down a longstanding National Park Service requirement that activists obtain permits before they demonstrate, distribute brochures or engage in other “expressive” activities in parks.

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Scenic Wonders is located in Yosemite West, a small residential area within the gates of Yosemite National Park. Yosemite West is conveniently tucked on the western edge of the park, just a matter of minutes from many of the park’s main attractions in and around Yosemite Valley.

Starting in 1912, the area was actually used for logging, but the logging operations in the area have long since been shut down. The trees that have grown back now reach over 80 feet tall in some areas. One interesting remnant from those logging years is the remains of the longest incline rail system ever built, which stretched across the Merced River to a height of 3,100 feet.

There are about 150 residents in the Yosemite West area, which was privately bought and developed back in the sixties. The area works to remain as in tune with the surrounding nature as possible, and as such the region remains heavily wooded and the houses are spaced far apart. Wildlife such as coyotes, mule deer, squirrels and Steller’s Jays frequent the small community year round.

One of the many perks of staying in Yosemite West is its elevation. At approximately 5,500 feet, the area remains ten to twenty degrees cooler than the Yosemite Valley floor below, making it an ideal place for Yosemite lodging during the hot summer months. It also affords excellent access to such attractions as the Badger Pass Ski area, Glacier Point, Mariposa Grove and the infamous Redwood Trees.

Yosemite Valley (pronounced /jo??s?m?ti?/, yoh-SEM-it-ee) is a glacial valley in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about 8 miles (13 km) long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome, El Capitan, and Cloud’s Rest, and densely forested with pines. A multitude of streams including Tenaya, Illilouette and Bridalveil Creeks join in the valley, and flow out of the valley’s mouth as the Merced River, which eventually flows to the Pacific Ocean. The valley is renowned for its natural beauty, and is widely regarded as the centerpiece of Yosemite National Park, attracting visitors worldwide.

The Valley is the point of entry into the park for the majority of visitors, and a bustling hub of activity during “tourist season”, with an array of visitor facilities clustered in the middle. There are both hiking trail loops that stay within the valley and trailheads that lead to higher elevations, all of which afford glimpses of the park’s many scenic wonders.Yosemite Valley is located on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains, 150 miles (240 km) due east of San Francisco. It stretches for 7.5 miles (11 km) in a roughly east-west direction, with an average width of about 1 mile (1.6 km). More than half a dozen creeks tumble from hanging valleys at the top of granite cliffs that can rise 3000–4000 feet (900–1200 m) above the valley floor, which itself is 4000 ft (1200 m) above sea level. These streams combine into the Merced River, which flows out from the western end of the valley, down the rest of its canyon to the San Joaquin Valley. The flat floor of Yosemite Valley holds both forest and large open meadows, which provide breathtaking views of the surrounding crests and waterfalls.

Below is a description of these features, looking first at the walls above, moving west to east as a visitor does when entering the valley, then visiting the waterfalls and other water features, returning east to west with the flow of water.

Upper Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park, California, is one of the most spectacular sights in all of the United States. In the summer, the water flow dwindles to almost nothing, but in the spring during snow melt, the waterfall is overwhelming. Upper Yosemite Falls can be seen along the roadside at a number of viewpoints along Southside Drive. The best ones are at Cooks Meadow and Swinging Bridge, and it also can be seen along the trail to Lower Yosemite Falls.

For those with a lot of energy, it is a grueling 3 hour hike to the top of Upper Yosemite Falls. It is well worth the effort, however. The best views of the upper falls you will find a little ways past Columbia Rock, about 1.5 miles from the bottom. Also just past Columbia Rock, there is a little side trail on the right, just before you get your first view. Take it. It is a very short walk that leads to a single viewpoint of the upper, middle, and lower falls (it is the only viewpoint for the middle falls). If you continue up the trail, you will get some closer views of Upper Yosemite Falls. Then the trail continues to the top (another 2 hours of hiking). There is not really a good view of the upper falls at the top, though you can get to a scary ledge beside the waterfall, looking down to the bottom. There are awesome views of the valley from the top, and if you are there in the summer months, you can actually swim in Yosemite Creek at the top. Now that is refreshing after a grueling 3 hour hike! But in the spring, the creek is flowing far too fast.

Together with Lower Yosemite Falls (320 ft.) and the middle cascades (675 ft.), the total height of the waterfalls is 2425 ft., making this the one of the highest waterfalls in the world. It is often said to be the 5th highest, though actually there are quite a few others that are higher (unofficially). At any rate, it is easily the single best thing in a national park that has plenty of incredible sights to see. If you happen to need hiking gear please check out

The Tuolumne River (pronounced /tu???l?mi/ “To All o’ Me”, with a silent N) in the U.S. state of California flows nearly 150 miles (240 km) from the central Sierra Nevada into the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley. Beginning at almost 13,000 feet (4,000 m) in elevation in Yosemite National Park, the river flows west through deep canyons before spilling into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and being impounded in Don Pedro Reservoir. From Don Pedro Lake, the river flows through farmland in the Central Valley before finally terminating near Modesto. The San Joaquin then flows about 70 miles (110 km) further to its mouth in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Slightly larger than its counterpart in the south, the Merced River, the Tuolumne River’s upper watershed was shaped by glaciations in the previous Ice Age, which produced Hetch Hetchy Valley and the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. The river has been a source of controversy for many years, especially from Hetch Hetchy Valley. Much of its water is now diverted to San Francisco from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which fills the valley in the Sierra Nevada once compared to famous Yosemite Valley. More water is diverted from Don Pedro Lake to irrigate farmland in the Central Valley, which leaves the lower course of the river almost dry. Despite these extensive water system developments, the Tuolumne is still a popular area in Yosemite National Park, although far less visited than the Merced River.

Firefighters are battling 3 wildfires in the foothills of Mariposa County. The biggest, called the Oliver Fire, is threatening homes and has people on alert that they may have to evacuate. That fire is zero-percent contained and has already burned more than 600 acres as of Monday night.
The fires were sparked by lightning over the weekend. People in the Ponderosa Basin . The Telegraph Fire had charred more than 18,000 acres, or about 25 square packing up belongings and getting ready to move out if the order is givenmiles, since it broke out on Friday when wooded slopes ignited amid hot, dry conditions that have plagued California for months. The fire was completely uncontained Sunday.

“There’s no fire history in the past 100 hundred years. That’s one of the reasons this fire’s been able to burn so erratically,” said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, on Sunday.

The wildfire led officials to order the evacuations of 170 homes under immediate threat. About 2,000 homes faced at least some danger from the fast-spreading flames, according to fire officials. Some campgrounds outside the park also were evacuated. No injuries were reported.

Most of the evacuated homes were in the town of Midpines, located along Highway 140, about 12 miles from the park. But Berlant said the southern edge of the blaze was as little as two miles from Mariposa, a town of about 1,800 residents.

The highway, which leads to one of two entrances on the west side of Yosemite National Park, remained open Sunday, according to the California Department of Transportation. But park officials said visitors traveling that route could face delays caused by firefighters transporting equipment along the roadway.

Flames towered as high as 100 feet on Saturday but had scaled back Sunday as temperatures cooled and winds calmed, Berlant said. Though the fire continued to expand, its spread was slowed with the improved weather, he said.

Temperatures were over 100 degrees and there was low humidity on Saturday. The National Weather Service said Sunday afternoon conditions were sunny with temperatures in the high 90s.

About 2,000 firefighters were battling the fire and hundreds more were headed to the scene along the Merced River west of Yosemite, one of the nation’s most visited national parks.