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Yosemite water

PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 3:09 pm
by NW
Does the water always dry up in the fall in Yosemite? I know there's been a drought in places this year but I wasn't expecting a completely dry Yosemite Valley when I went back. Look kids at the famed Yosemite falls..... er...uh... nevermind.

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Re: Yosemite water

PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 4:57 pm
by Bob Burd
That's pretty typical for October-November.
Along the Columbia River In Oregon they boast about the highest "continuously flowing" waterfall in the US (Multnomah Falls) at 621ft - specifically stated to discount Yosemite Falls.

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Re: Yosemite water

PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 5:17 pm
by NW
I guess on the plus side it keeps people from wading out in them for the "perfect picture" and being swept to their death for a bit.

Re: Yosemite water

PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 6:36 pm
by colinr
NW wrote:I guess on the plus side it keeps people from wading out in them for the "perfect picture" and being swept to their death for a bit.


I think your odds of getting to witness that are pretty slim, but they would improve by venturing through Happy Isles and up the Mist Trail to Vernal and Nevada Falls. I bet those still had water flowing, too. :wink: I hope you had more fun on the other side of the Sierra.

September (after Labor Day), often October, and sometimes early November are nice times to hike and scramble in the Sierra without peak summer crowds. Sightseeing with waterfalls in mind in Yosemite Valley is usually best May through early June (the hordes become evident much into June and beyond, but can be mostly avoided on the Panorama trail and other more obscure routes).

I recall your family being interested in desert peaks. If visiting mostly for sightseeing in well known areas, next time you might want to try coming for spring break in March or April. You would have a decent chance of hitting Death Valley before it gets too hot (nice canyon hikes, views, dunes, and some nice desert peaks), seeing the snowcapped high sierra, and taking in Yosemite Valley after the most likely time for big winter storms and as the waterfalls begin to flow more. No guarantees though for long term planning. Spring can be a wildly unpredictable time in all of those places. Also, it would be easy to spend a week in Death Valley without wanting to move on to other places. You might also enjoy Mojave National Preserve. It would be easy to spend a long time in Yosemite, too, but the snowpack can complicate or limit options, hence the crowded summer. Also, doing anything in addition to Yosemite is easier once Tioga Pass opens.

Re: Yosemite water

PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 6:56 pm
by NW
Yea last time it was just my husband and I going to join in the climb Mount Whitney parade :wink: and we stopped into Yosemite at the end of June last year. Lots of water for sure. This year this was the only time I could get off work after our Colorado adventure in May. Kids still thoroughly enjoyed Cali though. We drove from Vegas up through Death Valley (you're right about it being beautiful!), stayed at Onion Valley, altitude made my daughter sick. So we went down to Lone Pine and looked around movie lane and they got to see Whitney. Changed campgrounds to a lower one. We didn't end up hiking Barcroft because of her getting sick but when we went up to the bristlecones she was fine. She must just be a bit sensitive to it. My son was fine the whole time though. They were amazed by the Tioga Pass and Yosemite even without the water. Did some hiking, oooed and ahhed over El Cap, listened to me go on and on about climbing (they're used to that though). Of course saw the giant sequoias then went over to Santa Cruz and the Moneterey aquarium then back to Vegas. My son is all ready planning more climbs he wants to do together (he's eight) so mission accomplished. He was disappointed about not getting to climb while we were there. Basically a touristy visit and I managed not to run off in the middle of the night to climb something while they slept. Gotta do the family thing too right? It was nice to be in Yosemite without it being super crowded. The later season and hanta virus must have helped lower crowds. Plus we got there mid week. Except now that they've been somewhere far from home, when I go out on my climbing trips they will think all I do is have fun fun fun (which I do in a sense lol) and won't want to stay at the grandparents. Oh no! What have I done?!

Re: Yosemite water

PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 7:37 pm
by fedak
That is quite common for the fall season.

One time In mid-October I was descending via falls trail to get back from 120 to the valley.
The whole way down I kept passing tourists asking where the waterfall was.

Its right there: :)
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Re: Yosemite water

PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 10:56 pm
by Stu Brandel
I heard a Valley shuttle bus operator say that the Yosemite Falls stop becomes the Yosemite Wall stop by mid-summer or so.

Re: Yosemite water

PostPosted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 11:33 pm
by colinr
NW, I've had lots of whirlwind trips like that through parts of the West. There is so much cool stuff to see; it is hard to go wrong. You managed to see a lot of California's best in one trip. I'm glad to hear your family had a good time. Living here, I continue to find new places to explore and am rarely disappointed.

Re: Yosemite water

PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 12:57 am
by lcarreau
My wife and I were NOT disappointed the last time we did our Yosemite gig ...

think it was during the month of May. We would go again, but we can't afford the high price of California gasoline.

Arnold was suppose to fix it, but we all know what he was up to behind Maria's back .... :shock:

Re: Yosemite water

PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 3:46 am
by mrchad9
lcarreau wrote:We would go again, but we can't afford the high price of California gasoline.

LOL you should see it today. We are a full $1.00 above what you are currently paying.

If you have spare time Yosemite is lovely to visit in February, then a drive to the coast. And the gas will be a lot cheaper then!

Re: Yosemite water

PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 4:14 am
by lcarreau
mrchad9 wrote: "We are a full $1.00 above what you are currently paying ..."


"Had my hand on a dollar bill,
and the dollar bill blew away ..
But the sun is shining down on me and it's here to stay.

That's why I'm telling you ..
I Just Want To Celebrate ... another day of living ..."


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCiw5xUmoUQ[/youtube]

Re: Yosemite water

PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 5:38 am
by colinr
mrchad9 wrote:
lcarreau wrote:We would go again, but we can't afford the high price of California gasoline.

LOL you should see it today. We are a full $1.00 above what you are currently paying.

If you have spare time Yosemite is lovely to visit in February, then a drive to the coast. And the gas will be a lot cheaper then!


I'm usually on a bicycle or in a diesel lately. I notice diesel didn't go up yet where I live and regular is about 30 cents more than diesel now. Will diesel be on its heels? Oh well, at least I'm saving gas money by sticking to local trails between baseball games this weekend.

Concur on February being great on the coast, Yosemite, and Death Valley too. I always take a week long trip in February. A storm or several can hit and dump snow on the mountains in all those places, so...

Carry Chains... :wink:

especially if you like to venture off major highways like I do.

Re: Yosemite water

PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 6:19 am
by mrchad9
No gas will come back down. It's not going to pull diesel up... not this time. It will take a while before gas heads all the way back... it has peaked though (some individual stations might not peak till sometime between now and Monday).

Re: Yosemite water

PostPosted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 1:42 pm
by NW
The gas price was super cheap to me lol. Even the highest was cheaper then what we're paying. Gas here today is $1.35 (CDN) a litre so that's like...um...$5.07 a gallon. And I enjoy driving in the states, nice scenery. For the most part when you drive on highways around here all you see it trees. Generally you can't even see over them. Just hours and hours of trees. Nice in the fall but kind of monotonous other times of the year.

Re: Yosemite water

PostPosted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 1:48 am
by lcarreau
I live for trees ! Even though I happen to live in the desert ... :(

Most Canadians could never live without their trees ..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4amV7__XFA[/youtube]