Yosemite

You don't have to drive far (eastwards) before the coolness of the Pacific breeze completely disappears. The car thermometer indicated 97 Fahrenheit (36 C) but the windows were kept down and the air-conditioning off because the sense of liberation - and yes, excitement - had finally returned. I suppose this is what advanced skiiers feel when they risk death by avalanche to go off-piste, just on a less heroic scale.

Eastbound

Knowing I had to return the car in a few days, the intention wasn't to drive too far, for example, to Ohio. But there must be something along the way of interest. How ironic, that the device I had spent so long deriding should now hold the answer, as Steve Jobs reiterated 45 times in his keynote speech, 'in the palm of my hands'. The iPad has many faults to its design, but as a 21st century replacement to the foldable paper map, it is a work of wonder. One click showed me exactly where I was. A pinch of the thumb and forefinger displayed everything with a 200 mile radius. And once I'd decided on Yosemite National Park, a few taps of the keyboard showed me the quickest way to get there. Pure genius.

I knew so little about this place that, even now, after being rather embarrassingly corrected, part of my brain still subconsciously pronounces the name exactly how it is spelt, in much the same way as you'd pronounce 'Marmite' or 'termite'. For the benefit of the equally ignorant, this much-treasured-yet-overshadowed-by-Yellowstone National Park (and UNESCO World Heritage Site) is in fact pronounced 'yo-semm-ity'.

I hear you. If my intention was to escape the crowds, anything UNESCO was probably not a great idea but at least it gave me something to aim for. Arriving at Mariposa visitor centre (some 40 miles from the park), I was told by the uniformed ranger that all rooms in town were completely full. Needless to say, the handful of hotels that were located inside the park, were also booked up.

This is most unusual, I remarked, how can everything be full? Breathing in just slightly longer than was necessary to indicate she had already explained this 400 times today, her answer came in the form of a question. "Have you not been watching the news?"

Well, no. Had I paid any attention to the news, I might have learned that record levels of snowmelt from an unusually cold winter had captured the attention of the nation. According to the ranger, what was going on up in the park was a once-every-50-years natural phenomenon. Helpfully, she pointed me to a hostel 12 miles up the road that might still be vacant, and wished me luck. It was spartan and a bit poorly kept, but hidden deep within the redwood forest, it was exactly what I wanted. Oddly enough, it was owned and run by a friendly old Chinese couple who had been living there for 30 years. I meant to bust out the Cantonese but they seemed content enough to take my $40 and leave me alone.


A few hours sleep and I was up at 6am, invigorated. At this time there are no cars on the road. The 30 mile drive into the park follows the course of the Merced River, along which I found a lovely spot to re-open last night's supermarket roast chicken, the remains of which now doubled up as a very satisfying breakfast.

Eager to beat the crowds, I quickly pushed on to the entrance where I obediently handed over the required US$20 entrance fee to a window. (FYI, the ticket lasts a week, representing excellent value for money.)

 It's not until you get deeper into the park that you see why the place draws so many visitors. It is visually stunning on the grandest of scales. For millions of years, the combination of geological activity and glacial erosion have carved out what is one of the most beautiful valleys in the world. The sheer cliffs are about a mile high, and not even the best photography can replicate what it feels like to be in the centre of it. 

The famous 'half dome' - carved out by glaciers.

The redwoods were magnificent.

Yosemite Valley

Yosemite Falls - 6th highest in the world

The falls, of course, are the big crowd draw. Once the taps run dry, the park empties by half. Talking to an old Texan couple who have been coming here for holidays since the 70s, I came to appreciate the fact that, ordinarily at this time of year, you get barely a trickle. Kind souls, the couple also gave me a crash course on all the best spots to see, leaving me with a golden piece of advice: "Whatever you do, don't miss Glacial Point."

Limited as my photographic skills are, I'm afraid what you see here just doesn't do justice to the real thing. Nevertheless, the couple of days that I spent here were well worth the drive.

Nearing glacial point

Beautiful hairpin turn

Stitch this shot on the right...

...with this on the left for the grand panorama.