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Zusatztext "Beginner or experienced hikers alike will appreciate Wenk's tips on keeping hikers and their families safe! the park's natural predators! and helpful weather information." West Sacramento Press March 2012 Informationen zum Autor Since childhood, Elizabeth “Lizzy” Wenk has hiked and climbed in the Sierra Nevada with her family. After she started college, she found excuses to spend every summer in the Sierra, with its beguiling landscape, abundant flowers, and near-perfect weather. During those summers, she worked as a research assistant for others and completed her own Ph.D. thesis research on the effects of rock type on alpine plant distribution and physiology. But much of the time, she hikes simply for leisure. Obsessively wanting to explore every bit of the Sierra, she has hiked thousands of on- and off-trail miles and climbed more than 600 peaks in the mountain range. Many of her wanderings are now directed to gather data for several Wilderness Press titles and to introduce her two young daughters to the wonders of the mountains. For them as well, Yosemite is rapidly becoming a favorite location. Until recently a resident of Bishop, California, Wenk is currently living in Sydney, Australia, with her husband, Douglas, and daughters, Eleanor and Sophia. There she is working as a research fellow at Macquarie University and enjoying Australia’s exquisite eucalyptus forests, vegetated slot canyons, and wonderful birdlife—except during the Northern Hemisphere summer, which she continues to spend exploring the Sierra. Klappentext This guide contains 50 accessible, easy-to-follow day hikes for Yosemite National Parkand Vicinity. Leseprobe 1 Lookout Point Trailhead Location: Hetch Hetchy entrance station Trail Use: Hiking Distance & Configuration: 2.8-mile out-and-back Elevation Range: 4,750 feet at the start, with 560 feet of ascent/descent Facilities: A water faucet is located to the side of the buildings just to the right of the entrance station, but no toilet is at the trailhead. Highlights: Fall colors, views to Hetch Hetchy, and a feel for the foothills Description This short hike leads to the summit of a small granite dome from which you can view Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and its surroundings—one of the few at this elevation that provides an expansive vista. Take the walk in the late afternoon for the best lighting. Also wonderful are the fall colors: the orange oak leaves and tall yellow grass. The Route Departing from the southern edge of the ranger’s compound, locate a small trail disappearing south into a stand of tall incense cedars and Jeffrey pines. Just beyond is an unmarked X-junction where you turn left; straight ahead leads to Lookout Point by a much longer route. Heading left, you now parallel a broad turn in the Hetch Hetchy Road—a little frustrating to watch the cars as you walk, but there is no parking where the trail finally diverges from the road (0.5 mile from start). The trail switchbacks up a slope that was burned once about 20 years ago, and sections again in 2008; tall black snags dot the landscape, intermingled with black oak trees that escaped. A small stream flows through here in spring, providing moisture for an excellent wildflower display. In fall it is a landscape of tall yellow grass, seed heads, and coloring oak trees. Where the slope ends, you enter a nearly flat and quite lush valley. The narrow trail continues between burnt trees. Ferns, tall scrubs, and seedlings thrive, all growing rapidly with the forest canopy removed. Soon you reach a T-junction (1.1 miles), where the trail straight ahead leads to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, while you take the left-hand fork to climb up Lookout Point. The trail leads first north and the...
