I asked for general advice about this trip a while back but it is close now and I know more about our plans. Any tips or suggestions would be very greatly appreciated.
We will arrive late Friday (4-Aug-06) night at Tioga Lodge in Lee Vining, CA ,right on the shores of Mono Lake. We have tentatively planned to spend the whole of Saturday (5-Aug-06) in Yosemite. Any tips on how to get all the bang we can in just one marathon day would be fantastic. I love to shoot the wildlife and Val loves to do scenery. What are the “MUST SEE” spots and what times are best for them (don’t want to drive/hike 3 hours to a waterfall only to find it should be photographed at a different time of day)? We hope to leave Yosemite in time to catch the sunset over Mono Lake back at the lodge unless there is a “MUST SEE” sunset at Yosemite. Need lots of help with this one!
We think we want to spend our remaining time Sunday (up ‘til about 2pm when we have to leave for Reno) at Mono Lake. I am going to try to get a charter boat trip on Mono for the early morning. They say the wind gets up too much for afternoon trips anyway. Is this the smart move or should we try to go somewhere else?
For the rest of the week I will have pretty much all day until 5 pm each day to go wherever I can drive with Reno as my hub of operations. I intend to get up very early and try to stick with 1 hour or less trips out to places like Pyramid Lake, Fallon and Stillwater NWR and Lake Tahoe looking for fauna and avian opportunities primarily but a scenic or two wouldn’t be out of the question. Val will be out of her meetings and have the evenings from about 5pm on so we plan to re-visit likely spots I have located on my travels.
We sure do need help making sure we don’t waste any time guessing where to go. Any help is appreciated more than you know…
Mike, Yosemite is a big park and the drive up Tioga road from Lee Vining, then around to the valley and back is hardly something you'd want to squeeze into one day and still hope to be back for sunset.
Roadside wildlife in Yosemite is sporadic. You can probably count on deer and marmots, maybe a coyote or two, but not nearly the abundance of you may see in places like Yellowstone or the Tetons.
I'm only half-joking when I say that going to Yosemite for wildlife photography is like going to Paris to eat at McDonalds Yosemite is a landscape photographer's wet dream (with some wildlife thrown in here and there).
I say take your time driving Tioga road and the valley loop. You will not be hurting for opportunities.
I agree with everything Guy says, but would suggest that you stay out of Yosemite Valley Zoo on a Saturday. IMO, Yosemite Valley just isn't a great place to be anytime between Memorial Day and Labor Day. I'd concentrate the extra time you'll gain either in the Tuolumne Meadows Region, Mono Lake, or somewhere else in the Eastern Sierra.
Mono Lake is typically better at sunrise, although that doesn't rule out making good photographs at sunset.
You might want to pick up Michael Frye's photo'ing Yosemite guide. I assume it includes the high country, but I do not own it and cannot be certain.
You're making an awfully brief trip into one of the most spectacular regions of the country. I hope it works out for you.
"IMO, Yosemite Valley just isn't a great place to be anytime between Memorial Day and Labor Day."
Even after Labor Day, in my limited experience. I was there in mid-September five-odd years ago and it was a nightmare; there were crowds throughout the Valley. I really thought that weekdays after Labor Day wouldn't be too bad--wrong.
Unfortunately I have no choice about the timeframe. I can visit during the week but only by myself because Val will be in meetings in Reno (our true reason for the trip). If Yosemite isn't worth it and the time would be better spent elsewhere then by all means enlighten me. Is the limited access to Yosemite due to the rockslide on the CA entry side going to help by thinning the crowds or hurt by just driving them toward Lee Vining?
Yosemite NP is a big park, most of it Wilderness. Yosemite Park is *always* worth it - the Valley itself may not be. Only you can decide, and unfortunately only after you've done it! See Kerry's note.
Only Hwy 140 is affected by the slide. There are still too many other ways into the Valley, so I wouldn't count on it thinning the crowd. My advice is to save the Valley for a late fall through spring visit. Now is the time to enjoy the Hwy 120 corridor through the Yosemite high country. You'll be catching it in its peak form.
Posted by Richard Wong on July 19, 2006 at 10:34 PM
Aside from the fact that all landscape photography is a wet dream, you'd be serve your time on the Tioga Pass this time of year. The valley is classic and all but during the summer forget about it. It'd be disappointing about now. Frye's book does cover teh backcountry somewhat, might be worthwhile to pick up. Honestly I'd just do Tioga Pass and Mono Lake. That's way more than enough for one day. If you're hellbent on squeezing in a lot, add something in the east side that's convenient from MOno Lake like Bodie, Virginia Lakes or Lundy Canyon.
Olmsted point on the Tioga pass road is one of those special places for late evening photography. I realize that it does not fit your agenda perfectly, but I wish that I could spend an evening there.
Don't miss the sunrise at Mono. If you've never been there you might need to scout it before.
To me sunrises are more dramatic than sunsets ( just one man's opinion!) 'I've always had actually better luck doing Mono at sunrise!. You drive about 8 miles south of LV to Hwy 120. The South Tu a area is where the best tufas are found. The lake is usually much calmer in the Am and you can get dramatic reflections with the eastern Sierra mts in the background. This light lasts about 15=20 minutes so you need to be prepared. Get there in the dark!!!!! You probably won't be alone on a weekend.
After that, I'd shoot around Mono but the light gets pretty bad pretty quick. Then I'd have a nice breakfast at Nicely's ( it's one of the few places to eat in LV and is home to many photog's!), then get over to Bodie. Bodie is over 8000'feet so watch for sunburn & UV.
If you are going into Yosemite I can guarantee the valley will be very crowded. The high country. The wildflowers should be going good this time of year. Try the reflection shot on Mirror Lake from the east end.
I would also check out the beaver pond up the road at Lindy Canyon, just north of Lee Vining. Lot to shoot there to. If you get really bored (only kidding)you can drive south on 395 about 1 1/4 hrs to Bishop ( check out the Mountain Light Gallery ( the late Galen Rowells place) then turn east on 168 and drive up the mountain about 15miles or so and you will run into the Ancient Bristle Cone Pine Forest. This is a full day trip so you probably wont have the time.
How many days did you say you are there....... you will definitely not want to leave and will really want to come back.
Some more details on this area can be found on my web site --check out the workshop area and click on the fall in the Eastern Sierra Workshop. There's a brief description of the area.
Have a great time..... you are making me envious. This area my my 2nd favorite area to shoot in the world
Discussion
10 repliesWe will arrive late Friday (4-Aug-06) night at Tioga Lodge in Lee Vining, CA ,right on the shores of Mono Lake. We have tentatively planned to spend the whole of Saturday (5-Aug-06) in Yosemite. Any tips on how to get all the bang we can in just one marathon day would be fantastic. I love to shoot the wildlife and Val loves to do scenery. What are the “MUST SEE” spots and what times are best for them (don’t want to drive/hike 3 hours to a waterfall only to find it should be photographed at a different time of day)? We hope to leave Yosemite in time to catch the sunset over Mono Lake back at the lodge unless there is a “MUST SEE” sunset at Yosemite. Need lots of help with this one!
We think we want to spend our remaining time Sunday (up ‘til about 2pm when we have to leave for Reno) at Mono Lake. I am going to try to get a charter boat trip on Mono for the early morning. They say the wind gets up too much for afternoon trips anyway. Is this the smart move or should we try to go somewhere else?
For the rest of the week I will have pretty much all day until 5 pm each day to go wherever I can drive with Reno as my hub of operations. I intend to get up very early and try to stick with 1 hour or less trips out to places like Pyramid Lake, Fallon and Stillwater NWR and Lake Tahoe looking for fauna and avian opportunities primarily but a scenic or two wouldn’t be out of the question. Val will be out of her meetings and have the evenings from about 5pm on so we plan to re-visit likely spots I have located on my travels.
We sure do need help making sure we don’t waste any time guessing where to go. Any help is appreciated more than you know…
Roadside wildlife in Yosemite is sporadic. You can probably count on deer and marmots, maybe a coyote or two, but not nearly the abundance of you may see in places like Yellowstone or the Tetons.
I'm only half-joking when I say that going to Yosemite for wildlife photography is like going to Paris to eat at McDonalds
I say take your time driving Tioga road and the valley loop. You will not be hurting for opportunities.
Guy
Mono Lake is typically better at sunrise, although that doesn't rule out making good photographs at sunset.
You might want to pick up Michael Frye's photo'ing Yosemite guide. I assume it includes the high country, but I do not own it and cannot be certain.
You're making an awfully brief trip into one of the most spectacular regions of the country. I hope it works out for you.
Even after Labor Day, in my limited experience. I was there in mid-September five-odd years ago and it was a nightmare; there were crowds throughout the Valley. I really thought that weekdays after Labor Day wouldn't be too bad--wrong.
Thanks for the advice so far...
Only Hwy 140 is affected by the slide. There are still too many other ways into the Valley, so I wouldn't count on it thinning the crowd. My advice is to save the Valley for a late fall through spring visit. Now is the time to enjoy the Hwy 120 corridor through the Yosemite high country. You'll be catching it in its peak form.
Don't miss the sunrise at Mono. If you've never been there you might need to scout it before.
To me sunrises are more dramatic than sunsets ( just one man's opinion!) 'I've always had actually better luck doing Mono at sunrise!. You drive about 8 miles south of LV to Hwy 120. The South Tu a area is where the best tufas are found. The lake is usually much calmer in the Am and you can get dramatic reflections with the eastern Sierra mts in the background. This light lasts about 15=20 minutes so you need to be prepared. Get there in the dark!!!!! You probably won't be alone on a weekend.
After that, I'd shoot around Mono but the light gets pretty bad pretty quick. Then I'd have a nice breakfast at Nicely's ( it's one of the few places to eat in LV and is home to many photog's!), then get over to Bodie. Bodie is over 8000'feet so watch for sunburn & UV.
If you are going into Yosemite I can guarantee the valley will be very crowded. The high country. The wildflowers should be going good this time of year. Try the reflection shot on Mirror Lake from the east end.
I would also check out the beaver pond up the road at Lindy Canyon, just north of Lee Vining. Lot to shoot there to. If you get really bored (only kidding)you can drive south on 395 about 1 1/4 hrs to Bishop ( check out the Mountain Light Gallery ( the late Galen Rowells place) then turn east on 168 and drive up the mountain about 15miles or so and you will run into the Ancient Bristle Cone Pine Forest. This is a full day trip so you probably wont have the time.
How many days did you say you are there....... you will definitely not want to leave and will really want to come back.
Some more details on this area can be found on my web site --check out the workshop area and click on the fall in the Eastern Sierra Workshop. There's a brief description of the area.
Have a great time..... you are making me envious. This area my my 2nd favorite area to shoot in the world
Regards,
Jack
Might as well stop at Vern Clevenger's, too!