The High Country is Open!!!!

The day has finally arrived! The gates have opened and a whole new world is available to explore. I can hardly contain my excitement now that the high country is open! After months of being buried under feet of snow now it’s only buried under mud and stagnate ponds. But it’s accessible!

The high country of yosemite is definitely my favorite place to go on long hikes in Yosemite. It’s gorgeous, the scenery is amazing, the views are spectacular (views and scenery are different), and you get light headed if you hike too fast (due to elevation).

Following are some pictures of my first adventure in the high country this season:

 

 

A view from behind Olmstead Point (the parking lot down there) looking at Half Dome and Clouds Rest.

Tenaya Lake in all its glory. Look at all that granite!

Tuolumne Meadows! All flooded and looking beautiful. View from atop Pothole Dome.

Peaks around Tuolumne Meadows.

Lone tree.

 

Mount Dana in the way background.

Tuolumne Meadows still.

This is what it looks like when you exit the east end of the park. Probably my most favorite drive.

Mono Lake and the Tufas! Tufas happen when calcium carbonate from the underground fresh water system mixes with the salt water of Mono Lake. They’ve been having trouble keeping the lake at a good water level though because Los Angeles uses the underground fresh water streams as their drinking water so it has really drained the lake out. Everyone’s pissed about it.

I’m excited to start really running around my backyard again. I have a lot of backpacking trips planned for the near future and I can’t wait to get my ass out there and exploring. It’s a totally different world in the high country and everything is going to start blooming soon!