Читать книгу 50 Best Short Hikes: Yosemite National Park and Vicinity онлайн

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This collection of attractions does not all exist in one location. The park covers nearly 1,200 square miles and ranges in altitude from below 3,000 feet along the Tuolumne and Merced River valleys to summits that top 13,000 feet. More than 800 miles of trail cut through the landscape, making a great number of hikes and diversity of landscapes accessible to anyone who wishes to park the car and explore the wilderness. Approximately a quarter of these trails are within 4 miles of a road, stretches that can be covered on a short day hike as defined in this book. This book includes 50 of my favorite excursions in and around Yosemite, chosen to introduce you to all of Yosemite’s wonders. Although all are less than 8 miles round-trip, they range considerably in difficulty, length, and environment. I hope there are many that you find inviting.

ACCESSING YOSEMITE

Just 214 miles of roads cut lines across Yosemite’s vast wilderness landscape. Five roads enter the park from the west: CA 140, CA 120, Evergreen Road, Cherry Lake Road, and CA 41, with only CA 120 extending across to the east end of Yosemite National Park. CA 140 follows the Merced River Canyon east from the town of Merced, past Mariposa and El Portal, and into Yosemite Valley. CA 120 climbs steeply out of the San Joaquin Valley, passing Groveland and approximately straddling the Tuolumne River–Merced River drainage divide as it enters Yosemite at Big Oak Flat and climbs to Crane Flat. At Crane Flat, the right-hand fork, Big Oak Flat Road, descends into Yosemite Valley, while CA 120, or Tioga Road, continues east to Tuolumne Meadows, Tioga Pass, and eventually Mono Lake. Evergreen Road is a spur off CA 120 that descends to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir just before the Big Oak Flat entrance station along CA 120. Cherry Lake Road is a second spur off CA 120; no walks from this destination are covered in this book, as the windy drive to Cherry Lake and nearby Lake Eleanor is lengthy. Similar scenery may be found at more easily accessible locations. And finally, CA 41 approaches Yosemite from the southeast, passing through Oakhurst and entering the park adjacent to Mariposa Grove and Wawona. It continues north, descending into the western end of Yosemite Valley. The only other spur of consequence is Glacier Point Road, forking from CA 41 at Chinquapin and traveling east to Glacier Point, always just a few miles from Yosemite Valley’s southern rim. US 395 lies east of the park and connects to CA 120 in Lee Vining, 12 miles east of the Yosemite boundary at Tioga Pass.