Tioga Pass, Yosemite

Last summer my coworker, Ethan Jones, and I had planned to ride over Tioga Pass in Yosemite. Unfortunately, difficulties came up that forced us to cancel that trip. This year the Tioga trip was at the top of my list and had decided to make the trip regardless if anyone went along with me. So when I heard Ethan and his dad, Jonathan, available and up for the challenge I was overjoyed. We had Friday, July 3rd off for the holiday, so we planned it that Friday and Saturday. We booked a room in Lee Vining and waited for the day.

We left at 8 AM Friday and headed out through Friant. We were not far from Friant when I noticed that I had lost my backrest. It was a corbin-style that fits into my corbin seat. We backtracked to see if I could find it, but came up empty. Not a good way to start a trip.

We reached Oakhurst, took a break for a cold drink, and headed on to Mariposa. It was already turning out to be a hot day and I was looking forward to riding in some cool weather. We filled up and had lunch at Mariposa. So having had delicious, nutritious meal at the local Burger King, we started for the park. We chose the Merced entrance to the park to limit our driving time in the park. The Fresno/Madera entrance would require a lot of slow driving and a trip through the valley to get to Tioga road. The Merced entrance is up the Merced river to the Yosemite Valley. It's a nice ride, but hot without any breeze blowing.

About halfway up the Merced river there is a rockslide that closed the road. It was the biggest rockslide I had ever seen. The road was completely shut down and didn't look like it could ever be opened again. We were routed over a temporary bridge, across the river for 1/2 mile, then back over another temporary bridge back to the original road.


From there we head up a steep gorge to the park entrance where we took a break. The cool shade was a welcome relief after the hot ride up the river. From there we head up a gorge to Big Oak Road turn off. From there it is another steep climb up the mountain to Hwy 120 at Crane Flat. You climb some 4000' feet in just 10 miles of road. You pass through some great scenery up along the side of the mountain. The view back over the Merced River gorge and Yosemite Valley is outstanding. There was a controlled fire burning on the mountain across the river from the road. The view of the fire was something else. It gives you an idea of just how devastating fires can be in this environment.

We got to Crane Flat where one of the three park gas stations is located. The road intersects with Hwy 120 at this point. Going west on 120 takes you back to Modesto, east takes you over Tioga to the eastern side of the Sierra's and the state of Nevada. Filled up and ready, we headed east for Tioga pass. I was leading at this point and traveling at the speed limit. The park roads are normally very good and this one was no exception, surprising for a road that is closed for most of the year.


Climbing higher we reached the tops of the mountains out into the open. What a spectacular view. Olmstead Point has to be one of the most beautiful vistas in the whole park. We could see the landmark hills to the south, including Half Dome and Glacier Point. To the North, as we rounded Olmstead Point, we had a fantastic view of Tenya Lake. This is snow melt water, but people were out swimming in it anyway. We felt the water and it is really cold.

Moving on past that we pass through the mountain domes and finally come to Tuolumne Meadows. It is a huge group of meadows that are surrounded by mountain domes. The altitude there is 8619 feet, and you feel it when you walk. We fueled up there and got something to drink. Walking the inclines to and from the store really had me sweating. And, boy, is there some mesquitoes here! Swarms of them surround you. This is because it is a marsh here during the snow melt, with the Tuolumne River running through the meadows.



We traveled a little further and finally came to the park entrance located at Tioga Pass, elev 9945 ft. After passing out of the park, we pulled over for some pictures. From here you have a good view down the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The road down this side is very steep dropping you 3000 feet in a few miles. The hillsides are much more bare and there are few trees. The road down takes you along some scary rockslide hillsides. You can see fallen rocks on the side of the road and scrapes in the road where previous slides had been cleaned up. It is definitely not something you want to happen while you are on a bike.


More to come...

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