Central California - May/June 2009
Yosemite National Park - Tioga Pass Road 2
Tioga Pass
After
leaving Tenya Lake you begin the final ascent up to Tioga Pass. The grade steepens
and you travel thru more Alpine forest with small lakes and streams. Just
before you reach the pass you encounter another small meadow (Dana Meadows) with
spectacular views of the tallest peaks. You then reach the eastern park
entrance located right at the top of Tioga Pass (elevation 9945ft). So the trip
thus far has been a ~45mi rollercoaster ride for an elevation gain of ~3700ft
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One of the small lakes along the way. |
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Dana Meadows |
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Another shot from Dana Meadows |
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The eastern entry to Yosemite National Park at the top of Tioga
Pass. This view is looking west, back into the park. |
The Scary Part
After you
show your pass to the ranger at the gate (they are trying to catch people that enter
the park when the gate is unmanned), you begin the trip down the eastern flanks
of the Sierra. The road is not real steep, and you pass two more beautiful
lakes. Then things get really hairy! The road between the pass and the base of
the mountains drops ~3100ft in ~12mi! The road is not too narrow, and it is
relatively straight. But on one side you have rock walls and the other side is
a several hundred foot near vertical drop. And long stretches have no shoulder
on either side and no guardrail! I drove this stretch of road a total of
4 times (2 up, 2 down). The uphill drive was not so bad since you had a whole
lane between you and the chasm. The downhill ride, with the drop a foot or so
from the passenger side of the car, generally involved a high pucker factor!
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Ellery Lake on the east side of the pass. |
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A nice stream alongside the road. |
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Looking down the east side of the pass. You can see the roadway
on the left side of the image, and also the diagonal line in the mountain
running across the center. |
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Looking west, back up into Tioga Pass. |
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Tioga
Pass Road 2 |
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All
images copyright ©2009 by Al Hann All
rights reserved |
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