Ride to the Yosemite High Country (14 photos)

[taosports]

The road to Yosemite

http://www.michaelmaloneyphotography.com/bmw/sonora_tioga/logo.jpg

I heard that Tioga Pass, an east-west cross Sierra route through northern Yosemite National Park had finally opened this weekend after a long winter closure - just the excuse I needed for a fun day ride. And what a ride it was...422 miles roundtrip from my home in the San Francisco bay area in perfect riding weather.

Rather than an out and back trip on the same road, I decided to ride up Sonora Pass, just north of Tioga Pass and drop down the eastern side of the Sierras to Highway 395. From there, I went south to Mono Lake and then west up Tioga Pass Road into Yosemite.

Weather was perfect for riding in my BMW air vent jacket and summer pants. The central valley was in the low 90's but even though there was snow on the passes, I never needed to pull out more layers.

Since I was limited by time (this was a day trip), I didn't shoot as many photos as I would have liked, but here are a few I hope you'll enjoy.

Sonora Pass rises to an elevation of 9,524 feet and the road to the top is full of fun twisty curves that many years ago was traveled by wagon trains.
http://www.michaelmaloneyphotography.com/bmw/sonora_tioga/two_up.jpg

At the summit, the snow was still thick along the road, this tree bent over from the heavy winter snowfall.
http://www.michaelmaloneyphotography.com/bmw/sonora_tioga/side_tree.jpg

I dropped down to the eastern side to mostly flat and straight Highway 395, dodging bugs at 75mph. Splat!
http://www.michaelmaloneyphotography.com/bmw/sonora_tioga/bugs.jpg

Even tried a self portrait pointing the camera at my mirror.
http://www.michaelmaloneyphotography.com/bmw/sonora_tioga/mirror.jpg

A view of Mono Lake, just beyond it to the right is the road up Tioga Pass.
http://www.michaelmaloneyphotography.com/bmw/sonora_tioga/mono.jpg

Mono Lake covers about 65 square miles and is over 1 million years old -- one of the oldest lakes in North America. The Mono Lake State Reserve was established to preserve the spectacular "tufa towers," calcium-carbonate spires and knobs formed by interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake water.
http://www.michaelmaloneyphotography.com/bmw/sonora_tioga/tufa.jpg

Mono Lake is home to the second largest California Gull rookery in North America (Great Salt Lake is the largest). This California gull was comical to watch, running along the shoreline with beak open catching as many alkali flies as it could.
http://www.michaelmaloneyphotography.com/bmw/sonora_tioga/seagull.jpg

From Mono Lake, I took a right hand turn and headed for the Sierras again for my return trip up Tioga Pass and through Yosemite.
http://www.michaelmaloneyphotography.com/bmw/sonora_tioga/tioga_bike.jpg

Snow and ice still cover most of Tenaya Lake, located in Yosemite at 8,150 feet.
http://www.michaelmaloneyphotography.com/bmw/sonora_tioga/lake.jpg

View from Olmsted Point - surrounded by dome-shaped granite rock. Through a weathering process called exfoliation, the granite peels away layer by layer like an onion. The granite was formed and compressed beneath an older mountain range of softer stone which gradually eroded, leaving the granite domes. Note : This is upper Yosemite, not the crowded Yosemite Valley that most tourists visit.
http://www.michaelmaloneyphotography.com/bmw/sonora_tioga/peaks.jpg

Another view from Olmsted Point. Makes you glad you weren’t around when these boulders landed.
http://www.michaelmaloneyphotography.com/bmw/sonora_tioga/trees_rocks.jpg

This hardy tree, a Jeffery pine I think was able to find enough soil and nutrients in a crack in the granite to survive.
http://www.michaelmaloneyphotography.com/bmw/sonora_tioga/tree_in_rock.jpg

As I was taking a break before leaving the park, I heard voices coming from above me. If you look closely, you can make out three climbers on this granite wall.
http://www.michaelmaloneyphotography.com/bmw/sonora_tioga/climb.jpg

I posted this on the "other" board but can't forget my friends here. Hope you enjoyed the photos!

[TorqueMonsterMT-01]

Michael,
Excellent chronical!
Those photos are extraordinary. I took that drive in a car once and your photos bring back some fond memories.

That first photo belongs in a BMW brochure.

[BobFV1]

Michael - Beautiful photos of a beautiful ride. Thanks for posting them.

[Promethean]

Magnificent pics and post. Absolutely sterling quality. :eusa_clap:

[DarthRider]

Michael -
That'swhat I'm talkin' about!
Excellant shots & ride...Betty I did that one several years ago on our R100RS and loved every minute of it. Wish my pics looked like that!
Any chance of getting some of those in our Eye Candy section?

[Ed K]

Michael... Fantastic trip and pics; thanks for posting!

[DJ Down Under]

As I was taking a break before leaving the park, I heard voices coming from above me.
I thought you were going to say they were yelling.."look out below"..as they push that big boulder at the top..:003:

Wow!..someone has a good camera and good camera skills....brillaint photo's...:eusa_clap: ...you guys are starting to put me to shame...keep it up.

Thanks for posting them...any more?

DJ

[Bones]

Tao,
Holy cow! That is some outstanding photography! It is amazing how two people can be in the same place, seeing the same thing and both have cameras. One creates what you do and the other ends up with a "where's Waldo" type photo. That is some great stuff.

By a show of hands, who thinks Tao should spend more time here at the Cafe'?
All agree.

Thanks.

Jeff

[Deans BMW]

Tao, simply fantastic photos, I was on those same roads some three weeks ago, miss it already. What did you think of the price of gas in Bridgeport?

[jamming]

Tao,

Simply stunning. Thank you.

Roger

[Sir Limpsalot]

Breathtaking! I'm certainly glad you remembered your friends here and hope you always will.
Just out of interest, what camera do you use? The picture of the gull is friggin' awesome!
Cheers,
Si

[taosports]

Thanks everyone for the most kind comments.

Dave - Sure, you can use them in the eye candy section. Can you post them or do I and which ones? Let me know - Thanks!

Dean - Yeah...that gas in Bridgeport was a real rip-off. $4.19 a gallon for premium - most I've ever paid! Glad my RV of choice is a motorcycle and not one of those motorhomes I watched filling up at that station.

Simon - I usually use a Canon 5D digital SLR with two zoom lenses that I carry in a padded Pelican case on the back of my bike. For on the bike shooting, I have 2 small point-n-shoot digitals, a Canon SD-10 or an old Canon S-45. But it's not so much the camera equipment, but rather being in the right spot at the right time with open eyes and mind.

[Moose]

Tao, Mono Lake looked much better in the pics than I remember the last time I saw it. The water level seems to be up quite a bit in comparison to 20 years ago. Any opinions in that regard?

[taosports]

Moose,

Accurate observation.

The water was being diverted to the LA basin, effectively shrinking Mono Lake. In 1978, a citizen's group called the Mono Lake Committee was formed to fight the politicos in southern California. Through their work, the lake is on the mend and growing.

http://www.monolake.org/committee/index.html

[Moose]

Tao, Yeah, when I last saw Mono Lake, Jack Nicholson and Chinatown came to mind. Glad to see all the effort over many years is finally paying off. Great stuff, thanks for the info and update on a fabulous area.

[Capt. Blackadder]

Outstanding post, Michael. :023: Skillful, tack-sharp photography remains one of my favorite things.

[Tassie Devil]

Tao,
Thanks for the excellent pics.
What a beautiful country you live in...
Breathing that air would be like drinking a glass of fine wine.
Thanks mate.

JQ

[geechie]

Absolutely freakin' wonderful pics, Michael. Thanks so much for taking the time to post them over here as well. Over here where we can say: Damn, man! Those pics are bitchin'!!

I swear I envy you all that have all that geology within riding distance. Neat stuff... plutons, and all. Over on this corner of the continent, all our geology has been eroded down to the nubbin.

Thanks again, and don't be such a stranger.

George