Day two at Yosemite National Park was spent mostly driving. We chose the southern route to Glacier Point via highway 41. Just the drive to the point (without stopping) would have taken nearly four hours (round trip). I'm sure I mentioned in an earlier blog about the crowds in Yosemite NP; well, being Friday, the crowds got worse and the traffic much heavier. Some cars drove way too fast for the twisting and winding roads while others were the basic tourist trying to figure out which side of the road they wanted and most of the time, they wanted the center. There was also a band of Coachmen(class C) RV's traveling together that went beyond the allowed route (max length 22') and all had total disregard for other visitors on the roadway. In equal respect, there were people in cars that ignored parking signs and parked where large buses and RV were to park...again, most of the crowd showed no respect for other visitors and drivers. The crowdedness and inconsiderate tourist placed this park on my "no need to visit again" list.

Since most of the day was spent stopping at pull-offs to see Yosemite NP from different directions and exposures, we only hiked one small trail near the southwest part of the park called Inspiration Point (at the Tunnel View pull-out). We did see deer, a few other hikers but no other wildlife.

Just before reaching the Glacier Point Overlook, we stopped at a very wide pull-out and saw the most spectacular view of where we had been the day before - part of the John Muir Trail and Vernal Falls; and, beyond Vernal Falls was Emerald Pond and beyond that was Nevada Falls. You could see most of the trails we had taken and see the powerful water as it beat the mighty rocks below each fall. In addition, there was a direct view of Half Dome across the canyon. As we looked over the edge of Glacier Point we could see that we were actually standing on the sharp cliff above where we had parked the day before. Oddly, we had tried to see the top of the cliff when we parked and even took pictures but it didn't appear to us that there was anything up there - boy were we wrong.

While we were there we met Ranger Rose; we chatted for a while and found that he had been at the park for only five years and had hiked about half of the peaks but said his partner, who had been there 20 years, had hiked every one of them. I was impressed since he seemed a little "unconditioned". He continued to educate us about the Glaciers of Yosemite - three, in fact. He said many environmentalist and geologist have estimated the glaciers would be completely melted in twenty years. Also, something that I might have learned in school but had forgotten - about 400 years ago there was a mini ice age and with that event the glaciers - or rather glacierets - have been a source of water for many, including the city of San Francisco. While I had a chatty Ranger, I asked about the bear population and if they were as agressive as all the signage indicates. He said there are about 400 bears in the park and no, they are not agressive to humans but rather just look at us as they go on their way; but, they can smell very well and will make every effort to get at the smallest morsel. The park started an an agressive campaign about food and food storage in hopes to reduce the bear-human contact. He went on to say that if you had a roast beef sandwich in your hand, a bear would walk over and take it from you. My thought was if it's only a roast beef sandwich between me and a bear, it's his. His time and tidbits of information was generous but I'm not convinced that there is a bear in every three square miles of the park.

The ranger did talk briefly about the child that fell over Nevada Falls and said they probably wouldn't find his body until fall when the water level goes down. What was so alarming was that there have been several deaths and lots of injuries from people falliing from and around Vernal and Nevada Falls over the past year. But once again, there are signs warning everyone not to climb on the rocks, not to swim in the waters above the falls and that you are responsible for yourself. After all was said and seen, we set our sights on one last look at El Capitan before exiting the park.

On a previous visit to the park, we watched three climbers scale the southern face of El Capitan; today, there were three more climbers on the western face of the mountain, just a little more than halfway up the face of the cliff. After watching two of them stand fearlessly on a small ledge while the lead climber set the next line, we knew their idea of adventure by far exceeded our definition of excitement. It was now time to call it a day and head back to camp.