Another trip with my dad. They’d had a super low snow season, but we got caught arriving right after a surprise and mystery dump.
March 3, 2018
The bad: uncertainty over whether we were going to make it. My dad insisted on renting a car — this was before my 4Runner journey began. The good: most people couldn’t, or decided not to, make it. Driving in, we began to catch some snow as we approached the main town outside the park. By the time we were in the park the roads were covered and visibility was low. Eventually we caught up with a sedan, who honestly was flying — at least until we made it to a downed tree blocking the road. Homie was there in a t-shirt and flip-flops.
Luckily it wasn’t the largest tree (we’ve also seen one of the big ones crush a car parked in the valley). We couldn’t get it to budge, and there was no cell reception, so we broke off some of the branches sticking up. In our rented Tahoe we drove over it, careful and with a prayer, and made it. Come to find out the sedan tried the same — it took quite a bit more umph, but it managed to do so, though I’m not sure both bumpers came out the way they went in.
With the weather, we spent a night in the Yosemite Lodge, but were able to move to the fancy one because there were so many cancellations. My previous trip to Yosemite was during a holiday weekend, so it was refreshing to see the park virtually empty, with the added bonus of the snow.
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Yosemite Valley stays open year-round, but winter is a different animal. Storms can close Highway 41 and the other approaches with little warning, and the Park Service requires chains (or 4WD with chains along) when conditions call for it — they don’t care what you’re driving. Carry chains, check the road status before you commit, and have a backup plan for when a tree or a closure beats you.
When to go: for an empty valley and snow, go midweek right after a storm clears, like we did. For the waterfalls, go April through June with the snowmelt. Summer is the crowds.
Lodging: the “fancy one” is The Ahwahnee. It’s expensive and books far out, but storm cancellations are exactly how you back into a room like we did.
