(9 miles--2 hours ride--1/2 to 1 day walk)
Every Yosemite visitor should spend at least one day within the valley
itself before beginning the more strenuous trail trips. There is so
much to be seen from the valley floor that weeks might be spent there
were it not for "the call of the High Country" beyond the walls. The
following itinerary includes a visit to most places of interest in the
upper (east) end of the valley: Sentinel Bridge, Indian Village, Royal
Arches, Washington Column, Indian Cave, Mirror Lake, Half Dome,
Mineral Springs, Tenaya Bridge, Happy Isles, Camp Curry and Le Conte
Memorial Lodge, in the order mentioned.
Road Trips I and VI describe the region west of the village. The
following excursion may be made by motor in two or three hours. Hikers
will find it a moderately long half-day tramp or a leisurely one-day
ramble. An early start should be made in order to see the sunrise at
Mirror Lake. It is well to ascertain the hour beforehand, for this
varies with the season of the year.
From ~Yosemite Village~ we cross Sentinel Bridge and follow the
poplar-bordered road across the meadow. Straight ahead is ~Yosemite
Fall~ and the ~Lost Arrow~, and at our right a most comprehensive view
of ~North Dome~, the ~Royal Arches~, ~Washington Column~, ~Half Dome~
and ~Glacier Point~. At the Grizzly Hotel site the El Capitan Road
(Road Trip VI) branches westward, while our route turns up the canyon.
The distant buildings to the left of the road are the Government
barns, shops and warehouses. In this group is the menagerie which will
well repay a subsequent visit. Nearer is the picturesque old cemetery
where many pioneers of the region lie at rest. A little farther
eastward on the largest open level area in Yosemite is the site of the
important old village of Ah-wah´-ne, from which the valley took its
Indian name.
Continuing along the ~Royal Arch Road~ we soon pass the new Rangers'
Club House. Just beyond, a cross road to the right leads to the
garage. To the northward, high overhead, are the silhouettes of the
~Castle Cliffs~, and at their east the deep cleft of ~Indian Canyon~
which, to the Yosemite tribe, was "Le Hammo" because of the arrowwood
which grew there. Along the precipitous cliffs of the east wall ran
their main trail into Yosemite from the north. From the valley floor
at the base of a cliff just west of the Royal Arches they first
climbed a large oak and then made their way along narrow ledges toward
the northwest. It was at this oak that old Chief Tenaya was captured
in 1851 by Lieutenant Chandler and the scout Sandino.
At the mouth of Indian Canyon is ~Yo´-watch-ke~, the only Indian
village in the valley which is still occupied. During the July
celebrations it is picturesquely alive but at other times the few
dirty o´-chums are almost repulsive. This area on the alluvial fan of
Indian Creek is the warmest spot in the valley and botanists will here
find many plants typical of the lower altitudes.
A short distance further we pass Camp 17 at the right of the road.
About a quarter of a mile beyond and on the opposite side is Camp 20.
At a road junction is a small settlement called Kenneyville, which
occupies the site of the former Indian Camp of Wis´-kah-lah. Here the
~Le Conte Road~ turns south, leading to Camps 15 and 7, and across
Stoneman Bridge to Camp Curry on the Happy Isles Road. Doubling back
to the westward is ~Sequoia Lane~, a road leading to Camps 6 and 7,
and to Yosemite Village, one mile distant.
We continue eastward, passing Camp 8, which is above the road and just
at the west end of the ~Royal Arches~. During the spring thaw the
beautiful but ephemeral ~Royal Arch Fall~ descends over a cliff at the
left. Its Indian name, Scho-ko-ya, meant "basket fall." In the next
half mile our road is flanked by the overhanging cornices of the
colossal arches. They must be viewed from afar if we would realize how
aptly they were called by the Yosemites "Scho-ko-ni," which means "the
movable shade to a cradle basket." At the left of the road and
directly beneath the arches is Camp 9. As we continue along the road,
breaks in the forest reveal intermittent views of ~Washington Column~
towering above to the left, and of the great face of ~Half Dome~
dominating all the east.
A short subsidiary road to the left now leads to ~Indian Cave~
immediately under Washington Column. The Yosemites named this retreat
Hol´-low´, but sometimes called it Lah-koo´-hah, which means "Come
out!" It is a low, broad, deep recess under a huge rock and is said to
have been occupied as a winter shelter; also when the Yosemites were
attacked and almost exterminated by the Mono Lake Piutes. The
overhanging rock is black with the smoke of ages, and far back in the
cave large quantities of acorn shells have been found.
Returning the short distance to the main road, we again turn eastward,
soon passing a group of excellent mineral springs at the right. The
highway now bears gradually to the north into the mouth of ~Tenaya
Canyon~ and in one-half mile ends in a "loop" at the west margin of
~Mirror Lake~. The relative darkness in this deep canyon and the
absence of wind during the early morning hours insures a perfect
reflection for almost every morning of the vacation season. Most
perfect are the reflections of ~Mount Watkins~ (the Wei-yow or
"Juniper Mountain" of the Yosemites) guarding the entrance to the
forbidden gorge of Tenaya. Unfortunately the delta of Tenaya Creek has
greatly encroached upon the mirror and has reduced it to but a remnant
of the beautiful lake which the Indians called Ah-wei´-yo, or "quiet
water." From the end of the road the Tenaya Lake and North Dome Trail
(Trail Trips 4 and 6) continue around the western shore of the lake
and up the canyon.
After the appearance of the sun over the shoulder of Half Dome, we
retrace the last half mile of our route, turning aside for a short
visit to the mineral springs. A little distance further the main road
forks and we take the left-hand branch which crosses ~Tenaya Bridge~.
A detour to the westward now takes us around and over a portion of the
lateral moraine left at the junction of the ancient Tenaya and Merced
glaciers. Near this point was Hoo-ke´-hahtch-ke´, an Indian village
inhabited up to about 1897.
A road which branches to the right offers a short-cut to Camp Curry,
about three-quarters of a mile distant. It passes Camps 11 and 14, and
the site of the Lick House, one of the inns of early days. The main
road, however, bears to the left and parallels the beautiful banks of
the Merced. Less than a mile takes us to the ~Happy Isles Bridge~.
Here the main trail to Vernal and Nevada Falls, Glacier Point, Half
Dome, Clouds Rest, Merced Lake, etc. (see Trail Trips), turns south
and ascends the ~Merced Canyon~. At the right of the bridge is a U.S.
Weather Bureau observation station. On the west side of the stream is
the old power plant and from it starts the footpath to ~Happy Isles~.
The short side trip from island to island should not be missed.
Especially are these charming garden spots noted for the beauty of
their flowering dogwoods, maples and alders. The round trip to Sierra
Point (Trail Trip 12) may easily be accomplished from this point in
one hour. A refreshment stand is maintained in the vicinity. To escape
the dust of the road one may follow the picturesque ~Happy Isles
Trail~ from its beginning near the power house to Camp Curry, one mile
westward.
Our road now bears to the northwest and rounds the imposing buttress
of ~Glacier Point~. One-half mile takes us to a spring at the left of
the road which once supplied the large Indian village of Um´-ma-taw. A
short distance beyond, our route is joined by the short-cut road from
Mirror Lake. Near this road is a cabin often pointed out as having
belonged to John Muir. It was really built and used by James C. Lamon,
a pioneer and the first permanent resident of the valley. Muir's cabin
has long since disappeared and its only existing photograph is in the
possession of Dr. Wm. F. Badé. The orchard at the right occupies the
site of Too´-lah´-kah´-mah, another vanished community of the Yosemite
tribe.
Extending for a considerable distance along the road are the tents and
bungalows of ~Camp Curry~. If we have time to stop, we may be
refreshed by a swim in the huge open-air swimming pool, by cooling
drinks at the soda fountain or by a rest beneath the great pines and
cedars.
From the camp center a road to the north leads across the Stoneman
Bridge to Kenneyville. At the right of the road is the site of the old
Stoneman Hotel, which was built and maintained in the early days by
the State of California, but which burned down in 1896. Close to the
bridge, on the banks of the Merced, was once the large Indian village
of Too-yu´-yu´-yu.
West of the Camp Curry bungalows we pass Camp 16, between the road and
the river. Near this point the ~Ledge Trail~ turns to the south and
mounts the talus slopes above Camp Curry. A short distance beyond is
the new ~Le Conte Memorial Lodge~ picturesquely set among the pines
and incense cedars where once was the Indian village of Ho-low, and
where the old schoolhouse stood until 1911. The lodge is an ideal
place to spend the remainder of the afternoon amongst photographs,
flowers, books and maps, and in a cool and absolutely restful
atmosphere. To the right of the road, where the river makes a big
detour to the north, is Camp 19. One should note the remarkably
perfect reflections in the river below the rock wall parapet during
the remaining half-mile walk to Yosemite Village.