I was sneaking in a fall color hike in Yosemite Valley before a storm could blow the leaves off the trees, but where to go? I picked Mirror Lake to see delightful dogwoods, beautiful big leaf maples, wonderful willows and outstanding oaks. Oh, and those reflections of them all in magnificent Mirror Lake! Where: Yosemite National ParkDistance: 8.24 Miles (Depending ...

Checking out dogwood blooms and waterfalls in Yosemite Valley is an annual thing for me but I sure didn’t expect to meet a bear while hiking on the Mirror Lake Loop Trail. Where: Yosemite National ParkDistance: 7.25 MilesDifficulty: EasyElevation Range: 3,983′ – 4,285′Date: April 30, 2021CALTOPO: Curry Village to Mirror Lake Loop TrailDog Hike? Maybe I maximized my dogwood viewing ...

There was a really good reason why I headed up to Yosemite Valley when I did. A nice storm came in and the timing for it moving out would be a perfect time to be in the valley. Maybe if I was lucky, I would see clouds swirling around the high places on the rim. Where: Yosemite National ParkDistance: About ...

Our plan was to take a blooming Dogwood adventure in Yosemite Valley. First stop were the Half Dome Village dogwoods, then the Mirror Lake Loop dogwoods and the finale was the pink dogwood near the employee housing but we also had a few surprises along the way with a trail issue and some romantic critters. Where: Yosemite National Park Distance: ...

I had been chasing fall colors at higher elevations on the eastern side of the Sierra, but I was curious what those fall colors were doing in Yosemite Valley, so I took a little drive to see how they were shaping up. I arrived before the sun came up and it was pretty smoky but there was still a lot ...