My 200th Post (Thanks EF)

[BlackMagicPanther]

It's taken me a long time to actually hit the 200 post milestone, and I wanted to say my thanks to EF and post a few pics that I don't think I would have gotten had I not improved my health and hiking abilities by joining here and getting some advice. All of the pics by me were taken with a Sony DSC-H1 with a UV Filter:

This first one is not by me, since I was the guy climbing the cables to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite. I am the one laying down taking a picture of my friend who was taking a picture of me from Little Dome, while I let a bunch of people head down without me in the way. I am only using my feet to keep me from sliding off the mountain.


This next one is the Illilouette Fall which is also in Yosemite. The hike down is easy, but the rest of the hike that I did that day would not have been possible if I wasn't here:


This next one is the top of Nevada Fall, which is where I ended up hiking to on the ill fated hike that was supposed to be just to the previous photo. I went about 4 miles further than I should have, again thanks to EF:


This next one took some rock climbing ability to get the shot of the Emerald Pools through the trickle of water almost 20 feet off the ground in Zion National Park:


It's back to Yosemite with this photo. This hike is not that difficult, but this picture is something almost no one ever would see. This is a prescribed burn of Yosemite Valley taken from Taft Point:


Most everyone who visits Yosemite takes a picture of Yosemite Falls, but it's not everyone who gets the angle from the Four Mile Trail. It's one of only a handful of locations that you can actually see all four parts of the fall:


This is the beautiful Dog Lake in Yosemite:


This little lake is about a mile off trail, and was a big surprise for me, since it doesn't appear on the maps on the way to Cloud's Rest:


This is by far my favorite hike. This is the backside of Cloud's Rest looking back at Tenaya Lake, which is the trailhead. From this vantage point, you have a 360 degree view of pretty much every boundary of the park. I can't think of a prettier place that I can hike to:


These next two are from my Vegas trip in September. Neither hike is especially strenuous under normal conditions, but it was 108 degrees out when I made these hikes. Both were a lot of fun.
The first is from the Valley of Fire, featuring petroglyphs that are prehistoric. Some of them were definitely a "I did it" motif with pictures of a guy making the climb to the top of high rocks:


This one is the bottom of Red Rock Canyon. It took some scrambling, jumping and out and out scaling to make this climb. Of course after this picture I turned around and 5 feet behind the rock I'm in front of was an offshoot on to the main trail:


The last one is my most recent hike to Inspiration Point, which I posted about in the Hiking/Mountain Climbing forum. This is not from Inspiration Point, but below it, in it you can see from left to right: El Cap, Cloud's Rest, Half Dome, Sentinel Dome, and Bridalveil Falls. I've hiked all of them but El Cap, and that is one the agenda for this year:


Hiking is my passion. Pictures are my goal. Training is my tool to make those come to fruition, and this place sharpens my tool.

[tooncesthecat]

Absolutely spectacular pictures! I envy your trip to Yosemite. Maybe I'll get there someday. Congrats on your 200th post as well

[ghost_wolf]

Great shots! i understand your feelings about this place now. Amazing.

Got some pics from Inspiration Point you've talked about in "disappointing" thread?

[RunningMan27]

Those are awesome pictures! There are very few things that rival hiking in somewhere and taking as many pictures as possible...especially in places like you shot above.

[BlackMagicPanther]

Originally Posted by ghost_wolf

Great shots! i understand your feelings about this place now. Amazing.

Got some pics from Inspiration Point you've talked about in "disappointing" thread?

Unfortunately, you can't really get pics from Inspiration Point, since the treeline has enveloped pretty much all of the views. Here are the pics of the concrete slabs that once constituted the campground:

This is the very first view as soon as you pass through the trees of Inspiration Point:


You'll notice how the trees are all pretty small and more than likely in the 70 to 80 year range. So, about the 1910's and 20's this probably would have some great shots available. The only things you really see are the mountains and one angle of Bridalveil Falls.

Here's the second view:


And this is the now blocked by a tree road that used to be open decades ago:


Toonces, Yosemite is worth a trip to California by itself, but we have some other great parks here. I have been to only a handful of them, and have to admit that I love all of them. If you do come to Yosemite, there is one thing that I will advise you on. You have to choose what you want to see. Coming the last week in May or the first week in June is the absolute best for the highest flow from the waterfalls in the valley and Hetch Hetchy (which has two beautiful waterfalls that are basically next to each other that most people never even bother to see). However, Glacier Point Road may not be open depending on how much snow the park got. If it's not, you would miss my personal favorite view in the park, Nevada and Vernal Falls with Half Dome and the Clark Range together in the same shot is breath taking, no matter how many times you have seen it. It is also virtually guaranteed that Tioga Road would be closed at that time. It has a lot ot offer. So, if you are looking to see as much of the park as possible with a good flow in the falls the last week in June through all of July is your best bet.

There will be a lot of people during that time. The best thing to do if you want to see the valley is find a place to park and take the free shuttle. Get there early to get in as much as you can. If you stay the night, bears do break into cars if there is a scent of food, so proper food storage is the best bet. Rangers ticket people whose cars are broken into. Spending a week in the park is the only way to see as much as you can without being an obsessed Yosemite fanatic like me, who wants to see every inch of the park. I consider myself very fortunate that I am only 3 hours away, and I kick myself that I only started going 3 years ago.

[lizzyb]

Wow!! These are utterly amazing shots. To me there is nothing more awe inspiring than nature itself.....and I love capturing it on 'film' as well.

How sublime it must be to satisfy BOTH yens so to speak...hiking, and capturing that prize view....thank goodnes for digital SLR's!!
And thank-you for sharing your views with us!