From Taft Point on Glacier Point Road

Another day of superlatives, one that was supposed to be easier on the legs than yesterday but turned out to be just as hard.

In the morning we went to Mariposa Grove to see the giant sequoias. We lost over an hour of time driving 4 miles towards the car park only to be turned around and told to go back to where we started and take the shuttle bus instead. This would not have been too bad except that we had to wait 45 minutes for a bus that was supposed to come every 15 minutes. There were many disgruntled people waiting for the bus. Why not put out a board on the road at the shuttle stop and say the car park is full rather than letting people drive all the way up then all the way down? The shuttle had a commentary but sitting at the back we couldn't hear a word clearly. The National Park excelled themselves today.

When we eventually arrived at the Grove, it was worth it. These are very special trees, huge, wide, tall, very old and very resilient to anything that is thown at them, including fire.

We followed a trail that took us past many of the best specimens including the Giant Grizzly, Californian Tunnel Tree and the Clothespin. It was a difficult decision not to post one of these magnificent trees for today's blip.

The return journey on the shuttle was much more efficient and we were back in Wawona in no time, ready for for lunch before setting off for trails along the Glacier Point road. We were thinking of doing 3 trails, finishing us up at Glacier Point itself, perhaps to see the sun setting over the Half Dome.

In the end we walked only two; the Taft Trail and the Sentinal Dome Trail. This is where the plan for an easier day came off the rails. The Taft Trail was ok, about a mile to the overlook shown on today's blip. But we decided to get to the Sentinal Dome Trail around the rim of the valley. It was a spectacular walk, culminating in a very stiff ascent to the summit of Sentinal Dome which topped out at 8,100 feet. The views from the trails were spectacular with sheer drops of several thousands of feet. You'll note the people in the top left of the shot. There was just a set of iron railings preventing a change in altitude from 7000 feet to 3000 feet!

Despite the distance, the ascent and the errors of navigation it was well worth the effort to get to get to the top of Sentinal Dome. The whole of the Park was laid out before you, the Valley, all the peaks and the iconic Half Dome. It was a real problem deciding on which shot to blip. You could also see the smoke from the fires that are burning in the east of the park. They look insignificant against the scale of the park but must be quite substantial. All afternoon helicopers were flying back and forth to the fire area.

On the way back down Glacier Point road we passed the scene of an accident that must have only just happened. It seems a car had gone off the road on one of the bends and tumbled over the cliff edge. You could see the ropes of the rescue workers going over the side of the road.