Travelogues
2021 Yosemite Trip

Friday, June 17

Tuolumne Meadows 

Today, we escaped the heat by driving up to Tuolumne Meadows. Sixty miles and 5,000 feet in elevation change meant temperatures were 20 degrees cooler. It was a beautiful day at Tuolumne Meadows. There were even a few clouds. Our first stop was the bridge over the Tuolumne River to shoot a herd of deer. Since the campground wasn't open yet, there were very few people around. The deer we grazing along the river close to a group of willows for a quick escape, if needed. They certainly had a beautiful home.

 

Deer

We continued up the road to a small tarn that we've named Tioga Tarn. It's only a small, shallow tarn, but it's one of my favorite places in the Sierra. We shoot here every time we're in the area. It gets bonus points for being right next to the road, but this year it exacted a price with every shot we took. We had bug spray in the Explorer, but I didn't want to quit shooting while we had good light. Then it became a game to see how many mosquitoes I could kill with one swat. My record was 6.

After a short hike across Tuolumne Meadows, we set up to shoot sunset from the hikers bridge over the Tuolumne River. Besides another family on the bridge, we shared the river with a small herd of deer and a yellow-bellied marmot. It was a gorgeous evening, but the mosquitoes were ravenous. Once again, we chose not to use bug spray, and we paid dearly for it. Carol returned to the Explorer, but I kept shooting as the sunset light kept changing. I didn't stop shooting until I reached the road.

Lembert Dome Deer Crossing River
Yellow-bellied Marmot Clouds Over the Meadow

I have a lot of favorite places in the Sierras, but Tuolumne Meadows will always be at the top. In the past, it was because of all the great hikes that originate around the meadows or up into Tioga Pass. Climbing Lembert Dome was always a "must do." Elizabeth Lake, Budd Lake, and the Gaylor Lake chain were great destinations. When I tent camped or camped in my van, the Tuolumne Meadows Campground was always the first choice. Now that we can't do the harder hikes and don't have the flexibility of camping in a smaller vehicle or tent, Tuolumne Meadows is a place to wander rather than camp.