2014 Road Trip - Yosemite to D.L. Bliss

Yesterday, we passed the burn area of the Rim Fire which was caused by man both to and from Yosemite. Part of this fire was just across the street from our campground. California has had a dry year. Near our campground, we are warned of extreme fire danger. I’m not sure that I have been out in high danger before. All of this raises a question. Why did our campground neighbors leave with a fire going? I saw smoke and headed over to examine. After seeing flames, I headed back for water which I dumped on the fire.


When we reached Yosemite, we decided to pass on groves. We were at Mariposa yesterday and primarily included the groves as an option if we didn’t do much else. The problem was that we forgot to look at the location. They were way to close to the entry. A backup plan should not be the first thing.

On our short list of stops we wanted to make was Lukens Lake. I kept bird counts. We walked just past the lake before heading back.

Our next target was Soda Springs. I screwed this one up. I was looking at an old map, and the trail we used was not how we were supposed to get there. We aborted the walk.

At this point, several thoughts occurred. For starters, the no hiking for the sake of hiking rule developed due to our slow early pace should not be put on hold in warm weather for the sake of Yosemite. Most of our areas of interest were hikes. We could have looked for a waterfall, but all so far have been trickles. That seemed like a waste. Another issue we were having was that the eastern portions of the park weren’t as scenic. We decided that it would be better to get a head start to the less hot North instead of finishing the day at Yosemite. Also, it might be nice to have a little time further North.

We needed another stop, so we went to Taylor Creek. I was lazy and didn’t take out my big gun until the viewing area on the creek. I also didn’t take extensive notes. Our primary purpose of this stop was an aquarium-like setup along a diverted portion of the creek. This means we saw fish today.

Between Soda Springs and Taylor Creek, we encountered Crows, Chipmunks, Juncos, Steller’s Jays, Ospreys, Common Mergansers, Mallards, Yellow Warblers, and Robins.

UPDATE 1: I have added pictures from Yosemite National Park and an eBird checklist from Lukens Lake.

UPDATE 2: I have added a picture from Inyo National Forest.

UPDATE 3: I have added pictures from Lake Tahoe Basin Management Area.