It had been almost 60 years since I had been to “the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter” (John Muir).
The first time was with my family as a young boy and now well past retirement age, I was meeting former Palm Springs High School classmates for a three-day excursion to Yosemite National Park in October 2016.
We travelled from various points, one from Southern California, Richard, who picked me up at LAX from Auckland, and two from Northern California, Al and John.
We all met at the International Hostel in Groveland. The hostel lived up to its name with first time visitors from a range of countries to the US making Yosemite their initial destination. Certainly a good choice!
Groveland is the last town on Highway 120 before the entrance to this sprawling 3,027 km national park. It features great coffee shops and a rollicking saloon.
Yosemite National Park
Each morning we would drive the 40 kilometres through the Stanislaus National Forest to the park entrance.
The evidence from the 3rd largest wildfire in California’s history, the 2013 Rim Fire, which burnt an area of 1,041 km2, was painfully obvious. Everywhere you looked was still charred even after three years. It was the largest wildfire in the Sierra Nevada range ever and only contained after a “9-week firefighting battle”.
Luckily, this fire did not appear to have damaged the Yosemite Valley, so ‘normal transmission’ resumed as you crossed the park boundary.
From there, you still had a 30 minute drive to the main park entrance. The Tuolumne and Merced rivers, along with Bridal Veil and Illilouette Creeks, generate the many spectacular pools and waterfalls that dot the park.
This is a popular park with over four million visitors annually. The Visitor Centre and complex includes accommodation, camp grounds, hotels, cafes, and displays. The focus in national parks globally is balancing the preservation of wilderness areas against the impact from ever increasing visitor numbers.
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Esta historia es de la edición July 2017 de Walking New Zealand.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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Walking The Islands Made Accessible And Affordable
The Bay of Islands Walking Weekend has a huge variety of walks.
Martha Mine Pit Rim Walk
Waihi’s Pit Rim Walkway/Cycleway is a most enjoy-able walk that starts at the Waihi Information Centre and also ends there.
Queen Charlotte Track
A spectacular coastal walk among lush native bush.
Flinders Island
Rugged mountain ranges full of wildlife and flora.
Lake Okareka Wetland And Board Walk
Lake Okareka is approximately 9 kms from Rotorua and is different from other lakes in the district for the fact that it is surrounded by farmland in a picturesque setting of hills and native forest.
Mt Alford challenge
Only four of the Tower Trampers headed off from Christchurch to Mt Alford. Two of us had not done this tramp before so we were certainly up for the challenge.
Record Numbers Take To New Zealand's National Walking Trail
Record numbers of people took to the Te Araroa Trail over the summer season, with some sections of the national trail recording more than double the number of walkers anticipated.
Three Days in Crowd Paradise
It had been almost 60 years since I had been to “the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter” (John Muir).
Walk Through Wellington's History
Queen Victoria’s statue seemed an appropriate starting point for me to set off on the new Commonwealth Walkway – even if the good queen lorded it over the British Empire well before it softened into the Commonwealth.
Burkes Pass To Becks
Great New Zealand Trek… Stage 12.
