DAY 2
Morning
BREAKFAST: An American breakfast in die Ahwahnee Hotel Dining Room. Purchase picnic goodies and set off on the 32-mile drive on Glacier Point Road to Glacier Point, atop the sheer southern wall of the valley Some 3,200 feet above the valley, the view is of several waterfalls. Half Dome, El Capitan, and other famous pinnacles, and the Merced River snaking along. With binoculars you may see climbers making a several days' ascent to the dizzying
2,850-foot summit of El Capitan.A vertical wall of granite four times as large as Gibraltar, "El Cap" is a memento of glaciers that tore off and ground into little pieces great sections of mountain. The faint thundering sound you hear in springtime is Nevada Falls, 2 miles away.
New at Glacier Point are a 150-seat granite amphitheater, campfire programs and ranger talks, new viewing terraces, and a beautiful stone-and-timber building where food and gifts are sold. In wintertime the building is a bunkhouse for guided cross-country ski tours. The "Stars Over Yosemite" experience here on weekend nights gives you a chance to see the incredibly starry sky and the moon-washed monoliths through an astronomers telescope.
A relaxing way to get to and from Glacier Point is on a narrated bus tour that runs three times a day from the valley. You can also take a hikers' bus to Glacier Point and walk down to the valley, 4.8 miles, a three- to four-hour hike. Robust climbers trek to the top of Half Dome by hiking the John Muir Trail or Mist Trail to Little Yosemite Valley, where they camp overnight. The next day, the climb is made with the aid of cables that were permanently installed on the 8,892-foot monolith in 1919. Every year more than 10,000 people climb Half Dome.
Along Glacier Point Road are several memorable stops to make. Dewey Point, at 7,385 feet and overlooking Bridalveil Fall and El Capitan, is accessible by a beautiful 7-mile round-trip trail just west of Bridalveil Campground. According to the time of year, the path may be bordered with sky-blue lupine, Indian paintbrush, or 6-foot-tall rose-colored fireweed. Crossing a footbridge over a creek, bear left around McGurk Meadow, where mule deer graze in grasses sprinkled with shooting stars and goldenrod.
To reach Mono Meadow and Mount Starr King View, park 2.5 miles beyond Bridalveil Campground and take the trail east, dropping for 0.5 mile to the meadow, continuing to a spectacular view 1 mile farther on: 3 miles round-trip.
LUNCH: Have a picnic on top of the world at Glacier Point or on a nearby nature trail.
Afternoon
Explore some of the 800 miles of hiking trails in the Yosemite backcountry or amble along the banks of the Merced River, trying your luck at trout fishing. Lie about on a sunny beach or take a swim in the river or at the Ahwahnee. Rent kayaks, rafts, and life jackets at Curry Village. Ifyou've become fascinated by the history and geologic wonders of the park, you may wish to get in on one of the many seminars, lectures, theater presentations, and tours offered throughout the year.
DINNER AND LODGING: At the Ahwahnee Hotel.
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