Tioga Pass

Today, the day has come that we reached an important milestone on our trip: We crossed Tioga Pass into Yosemite. The pass is the highest pass in California with its summit just above 3000m and we were eager to cross it before the snow came. And what a beautiful day we had!!
It started with a frozen tent and - 5.6 degrees at 7am. However, the sun came out quickly and it warmed up. We then started the ascent: about 7% on average over 14km until we reached the top which was also the entrance gate to Yosemite. On the way, we stopped about 100 times to take photos, the landscape just blew us away. And in Yosemite, it was actually the same: so much variety of landscape, mountains, valleys, lakes... The first views of Half Dome and El Capitan!!
All campgrounds on the North side of the park were closed, so we decided to go all the way to Yosemite Valley. Once we got there, we realized that you won't get a campspot, everything was full and by reservation only. So we did what we were advised to do: Go to Camp 4, put up your bivouac and wait in line to get a spot for the next day. Luckily, it's dry and not too cold...Read more