Yosemite 2026

[Greg]

Time to revel in my Christmas present. We are heading out Wednesday to stay in the Awahnee for two nights. We will just be doing day hikes around the valley.

In order to guarantee we don't see any snow, I put chains on the Starship to make sure the chains fit.

[Drunk Monk]

Yay! Yose!!!

[Greg]

I have purchased my NPS Senior Lifetime pass. It does not have a picture of the Orange Shitgibbon on it. I actually have the digital pass in my Apple Wallet plus I've ordered the physical copy.

[Drunk Monk]

 a picture of the Orange Shitgibbon on it

gross

[Greg]

I have packed too much crap for a two day trip.

[Greg]

The trip has started. First stop, breakfast in Oakhurst.

[Drunk Monk]

lLooking forward to fresh pix...

Beware of mountain lions...

[Greg]

We stood at the base of Yosemite Falls by ourselves, no one else, for ten minutes.

[Drunk Monk]

Sweet!

The rest were probably eaten by mountain lions.

[Greg]

Same thing happened at Vernal Falls Bridge and Swinging Bridge. Lots of fat mountain lions this winter.

[Greg]

What a fabulous day. There is no one here. It boggles the mind. There is no snow on the ground so it's easy to go around. Usually there would be a couple of feet, but not this year. We hit all the Valley hot spots. We went to the base of Yosemite Falls. We found Galen Clark's bench which had a heretofore unseen by me view of the falls. We did the climb to Vernal Falls bridge. We were going to turn around because we didn't have any water and all the faucets had been shut down for the winter. Then we learned the gate that blocks the Mist Trail was opened. So on we went to the base of Vernal for some nice shots. But those stairs suck. I was 4 pointing it on the way down through some sections.

We traveled around the valley after that. We stopped at two spots to view Bridalveil Falls. Because of the suns arc it won't be illuminated, but we did our best.

Now we are in our suite at the Awahnee on the 6th Floor. We have a whole living room to ourselves along with our bedroom. If we peek out the windows, we can see Half Dome. We ate dinner in the dining room which is always good. Now, we are going to collapse from too much food and too much exercise.

Fun fact, the 6th floor of the Awahnee started out as a ballroom then became the living quarters for the Tressider family. The Tressider family at one point owned all the concessions in the Valley. It was only in the late 1970s that they divided the floor into suites. However, rumor has it that when the President of Delaware North came through he had the whole suite reserved for his use. He also had the entire staff line up outside the building for inspection.

Tomorrow, we climb up to Columbia Rock and OMG point. It's at the top of lower Yosemite Falls.

[Drunk Monk]

Yay for fat mountain lions!

Such a treat to have the park to yourselves. Enjoy!