Julia McHugh

Santamariatimes.com

June 27, 2010

From atop Sentinel Dome, Yosemite Valley is a deep trough in an ocean filled with granite waves in all directions.

At 8,122 feet above sea level, the view is of crags and domes of granite, patches of pines and scrub clinging to the rock, and a few shining slivers that are distant waterfalls. The sky is true azure blue and fluffy white clouds race overhead.

Far below, the Valley’s Ahwahnee Hotel looks like it’s made of Legos. Clusters of tiny cars clog pencil-thin roads. It’s crowded down there. But not up here on Sentinel Dome. There are a few day hikers, like us, a couple of serious photographers, and a pair of out-of-breath parents racing their kids up the last few feet to the summit.

In fact, the Glacier Point and Wawona areas in Yosemite’s high country are surprisingly crowd-free on this busy weekend. Most visitors are driving to or from the Valley. Though some parking lots here are full and there are busloads of tourists at Glacier Point itself, this region feels vast and open compared to the bustling Valley – but just as rewarding in terms of scenery and family fun.

We arrived through Yosemite’s south entrance the previous afternoon, as the day became cool and the shadows lengthened. Just past the entry is the turnoff to Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, a short drive away.

Abraham Lincoln found time during the Civil War to set aside the Grove, along with Yosemite Valley, as a protected preserve in 1864. The Grove was incorporated into Yosemite National Park in 1906.

No wonder President Lincoln took pause. They may not be the tallest, the largest in circumference, or the oldest living things — Sequoias are simply the most enormous. There’s nothing bigger living on the planet.

Just as the sheer granite cliffs rise above Yosemite Valley, these giant cinnamon-colored trees tower above the high country landscape.

My two daughters scamper up the trail, laughing in the dappled light. There are few other people around to disturb, and the sound doesn’t go far. The sound is deadened due to a thick bed of needles and leaf litter and the trees themselves. The girls skip through the Tunnel Tree, cut in 1895 for stagecoaches, and gaze upwards, jaws dropped, at the Grizzly Giant, one of the largest and oldest Sequoias anywhere.  We stay until near-dark, watching deer tentatively emerge from underbrush.

“Wah-wo-nah” is the Native American word for “big tree” and was the name given to a pioneer rest stop about midway between the Sierra foothills and Yosemite Valley. The Wawona Hotel was built at the stop in 1879 and its Victorian charm is intact, even after several renovations. Unfortunately, so are its 19th century trappings.

Of 104 guestrooms, spread among a hotel and five outbuildings, only 50 have private baths.

Though nicely decorated, our annex room was small for two parents, a teenager and a 10-year old. It felt like camping, especially scampering through chilly night air to the washroom.

But the breakfast buffet, included in the stay, made up for it: Eggs Benedict, waffle sticks in heated syrup, and fresh fruit served in a sun-filled dining room looking out on the frost-covered meadow.

Fortified, we drove to Glacier Point, arriving at 9 a.m. with the first tour busses. One of the Park’s premiere overlooks, the Valley is spread beneath granite cliffs in a dazzling panorama. Seen from here, Half Dome truly lives up to its name — in profile from this perspective — looking like a huge gray orange sliced in half.

Mountain House and Glacier Point hotels once stood here, and from the late 1870s until 1968 their proprietors performed a nightly ritual called the Firefalls. A large campfire would be built on the point jutting over the Valley and allowed to burn down. At 9 p.m., the glowing embers were slowly pushed over the cliff with a long-handled rake to the delight of hundreds, sometimes, thousands of viewers below.

Though hugely popular, Firefalls were discontinued by a new breed of Park officials who likened it to Disneyland. The hotels burned shortly thereafter and weren’t rebuilt.

A sweaty hiker is coming up the strenuous Four Mile Trail, rising 3,200 feet from the Valley floor. “Pioneer schoolchildren had to hike both ways each day to attend school,” I tell my kids, who grimace. A family, including school-aged children and a baby in a  backpack, get off the shuttle bus from the Valley and set off, one-way, downhill only. Something for us to remember for next time.

Instead, we drive back to Glacier Point Road and park in a turnout not far from the Bridalveil Creek campgrounds, to take the trail to McGurk Meadows. There’s a wide shoulder for parking, with only two or three other cars.

This is a sun-dappled stroll through pine woods to a glorious high Sierra meadow and brook. It’s an easy hike, only about two miles round trip, but any excursion at 6,000 feet can still challenge those not used to the elevation. We didn’t see anyone else on the trail.

A rustic cabin marks where John McGurk lived in the 1890s while grazing sheep. Its low lintel enchants the youngest daughter. “This could be our summer house!,” she exclaims. “Yeah, right,” sneers the teen. “If we were Hobbits.”

The trail continues another three miles to Dewey Point, but we decided instead to tackle Sentinel Dome. Trailhead parking is just a few miles down the road, and has a primitive bathroom. The trail starts off through forest and meadow before joining an old dirt road to the dome itself. It wasn’t difficult to traverse the north side, but everyone was breathing hard at the top, given the altitude and exertion.

The crown is quite large and gently curving. Just a few people are here, in this popular National Park.

Nothing appears to be higher, save Half Dome, and the cawing ravens that float on the wind.

……………………

Mary Forgione

Travel.latimes.com

June 18, 2010

The waterfalls are pounding and the cables that lead hikers up the face of Half Dome are open at Yosemite National Park. Los Angeles Times writer Julie Sheer spent some time exploring peak season for Bridalveil, Vernal, Nevada and Illilouette falls, and let’s just say hikers should be prepared to get soaked. Of course there’s still snow around too — like in the backcountry, along the main road to Glacier Point and blocking the trail to Sentinel Dome.

The cables to the top of Half Dome, which usually are in place Memorial Day weekend, finally went up Wednesday so that hikers can summit the 8,800-foot granite rock face. Cable permits are required this year on Fridays through Sundays and holidays (details).

Those exhausted by their adventures — and other park visitors, too — can relax and take a look at the souvenir-hunters who came before them as part of a new exhibit called “View & Visitors: The Yosemite Experience in the 19th Century” at the Yosemite Valley Museum. The show includes a register from the Cosmopolitan Bathhouse and Saloon in Yosemite Valley that recorded the signature of each guest who passed through from 1873 to 1884 — including

Presidents Grant, Roosevelt, Hayes and Garfield.

The hefty book, with more than 800 pages and 18,000 signatures is on display along with photographs, paintings and early souvenirs. The free exhibit continues 10 am. to 4 p.m. daily through Oct. 31.

Veronica Hill

CaliforniaTravelExpert.com

June 14, 2010

The historic and beautiful Ahwahnee hotel in Yosemite Valley will welcome 32 of California’s best winemakers for its 29th annual Vintners’ Holidays event series in October.

Celebrating excellence in winemaking in the breathtaking setting of Yosemite National Park, the eight sessions of Vintners’ Holidays are held between October 31 to December 2, 2010.

From terroir to table, participants in each session will have personal access to meet the winemakers, learn about the latest trends in viticulture, taste the wines and enjoy a five-course finale candlelit dinner prepared by Executive Chef Percy Whatley in The Ahwahnee’s grand Dining Room. Whatley, who recently won “best meat dish” at the prestigious Bocuse d’Or USA competition, prepares a seasonal American menu with local and organic California ingredients.

Since its inception as a small gathering of winemakers and hotel guests in the winter of 1982, Vintners’ Holidays has become a premier destination for wine aficionados and winemakers.

The 2010 season will welcome boutique producers such as Tres Sabores to such widely-recognizable names as Mumm Napa and Robert Mondavi Winery.  New wineries this year are Ancient Peaks Winery, Carol Shelton Wines, Franciscan, Freeman Vineyard & Winery, Hidden Ridge Vineyard, Hovey Wine and Selene Wines.

“Fall is always a wonderful time of year to visit The Ahwahnee and Yosemite National Park as the foliage changes color and the fireplaces are roaring in the hotel,” said Chance Jorgensen, general manager of The Ahwahnee. “Vintners’ Holidays is such a fun, interactive and historic event that we’re proud to have produced for almost three decades.  It really offers guests an inside look at wine and the ability to enjoy some of the best wines in the country in a beautiful and cozy environment.”

Open to novices and connoisseurs alike, Vintners’ Holidays includes the opportunity to sample rare and limited-release wines.  Each session includes a “Meet the Winemakers” reception, educational tasting seminars and five-course gourmet dinner that compliments the presenting wines in The Ahwahnee Dining Room.

Each session is moderated by leading wine experts. This year welcomes back Gilles de Chambure, M.S., director of wine education at Meadowood; Peter Marks, M.W. and vice president of education, Constellation Academy of Wine; Dan Berger, syndicated wine journalist and judge; Evan Goldstein, M.S., president of Full Circle Wine Solutions, Inc.; and Michael Stepanovich, wine journalist and judge.

“I look forward to Vintners’ Holidays every year,” said Goldstein, a session moderator and participant for more than 20 years.  “Not only do you have the best and the brightest from the California wine world in one room, but the events offer an inside look and exclusive tasting opportunity to all guests, thereby deepening their appreciation of wine and winemaking.  It is truly a pleasure and a privilege to participate.”

The 2010 schedule is as follows:

Odd numbered sessions are three nights and begin at 6 p.m. on Sundays and even numbered sessions are two nights and begin on Wednesdays at 1 p.m.

Session I: October 31-November 2 (Sunday-Tuesday)

Moderator: Gilles de Chambure, M.S.; director of wine education, Meadowood

Chris Benziger, Benziger Family Winery

Ken & Akiko Freeman, Freeman Vineyard & Winery

John Conover, Plumpjack Winery/Cade Winery

Timothy Milos, Hidden Ridge Vineyard

Session II: November 3-4, 2010 (Wednesday-Thursday)

Moderator: Gilles de Chambure, M.S.; director of wine education, Meadowood

Hugh Davies, Schramsberg Vineyards

Kent Rosenblum, Rosenblum Cellars

Jon Ruel, Trefethen Family Vineyards

Christopher Howell, Cain Vineyard & Winery

Session III: November 7-9, 2010 (Sunday-Tuesday)

Moderator: Peter Marks, M.W. and vice president of education, Icon Estates

Janet Myers, Franciscan

Julie Johnson, Tres Sabores

Clay Brock, Wild Horse Winery & Vineyards

Steve Pride, Pride Mountain Vineyards

Session IV: November 10-11, 2010 (Wednesday-Thursday)

Moderator: Peter Marks, M.W. and vice president of education, Icon Estates

Steven MacRostie, MacRostie Winery & Vineyards

Lawrence “Buck” Cobb, Karly Winery

Chuck Hovey, Hovey Wine

Genevieve Janssens & Margrit Mondavi, Robert Mondavi Winery

Session V: November 14-16, 2010 (Sunday-Tuesday)

Moderator: Dan Berger, syndicated wine journalist and judge

Dan Goldfield, Dutton-Goldfield Winery

Daniel Baron, Silver Oak Cellars

Michael Sinor, Ancient Peaks Winery

Ben Cane, Twomey Cellars

Session VI: November 17-18 (Wednesday-Thursday)

Moderator: Dan Berger, syndicated wine journalist and judge

Jason Haas, Tablas Creek Vineyard

John Williams, Frog’s Leap Winery

K.R. Rombauer III, Rombauer Vineyards

Carol Shelton, Carol Shelton Wines

Session VII: November 28-30, 2010 (Sunday-Tuesday)

Moderator: Evan Goldstein, M.S., and president, Full Circle Wine Solutions, Inc.

Rob McNeill, Mumm Napa

Tom Rinaldi, Provenance Vineyards and Andy Beckstoffer, Beckstoffer Vineyards

George Bursick, J Vineyards & Winery

Ed Sbragia, Sbragia Family Vineyards

Session VIII: December 1-2, 2010 (Wednesday-Thursday)

Moderator: Michael Stepanovich, wine journalist and judge

Susie Selby, Selby Winery

Brett de Leuze, ZD Wines

Mia Klein, Selene Wines*

Joel Peterson, Ravenswood Winery

Special two- and three-night Yosemite hotel packages for Vintners’ Holidays are available at either The Ahwahnee or Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, and include lodging, two tickets to the Gala Vintners’ Dinner, admission to the “Meet the Winemakers” reception and four wine tasting seminars.

The Ahwahnee two-night packages start at $996, and three-night packages from   $1,245. Yosemite Lodge at the Falls packages begin at $744 for two nights and $867 for three nights. Rates are based on double occupancy, subject to change, and do not include room taxes.

Tickets for the Gala Dinner may be purchased for $249 per person, excluding tax. For more information on Yosemite Vintners’ Holidays at The Ahwahnee or to make reservations, call 801-559-4903 or visit online at www.YosemitePark.com/Vintners