East Side of Yosemite NP

After arriving in the Mammoth Lakes area we decided to get a look at the eastern side of Yosemite National Park. Leaving Hwy 395, we traveled on Rt. 120 over Tioga Pass.  The road was very curvy with steep upward grades, plus there was some construction ongoing (quite a trip).  At the park entrance, the elevation was 9900+ feet.  This entrance put us into the high Sierra portion of the park.

The drive across the park to Yosemite Valley with all of the iconic landmarks would take about 3 hours not including stops for scenery, road construction and traffic jams.  So we took a few hours just to view the eastern, Toulumne Measdows area.  

The drive into the area showed the enormity of the mountains.  

One of the main attractions on the Eastern side of the park is the alpine meadows area.  The area is filled with trails for both novice and experienced hikers.  A visitor's center is located specifically in the area for obtaining multiple day backpacking permits.  

We decided to drive further past the Meadows area.  The first stop was Tenaga Lake.  This area had great day recreation activities, as well as overnight camping.  

Our next stop was the Olmsted Point overlook.  From this stop we had a view of the lake we had just visited as well as the back side view of the iconic Half Dome formation.  Half Dome is more often seen in Yosemite Valley,  a several hours drive from Olmsted Point.  

The view of Half Dome gave an idea of the type of formations that would surround the Valley area of Yosemite NP.  Someday we will make the trip into the Western entrance of the park to experience all it has to offer.  

On the way out of the park we saw Tioga Lake as we started back through the pass. 

The expanse of the park, the multiple lakes, the enormity of the granite mountains formed by glaciers, are hard to comprehend without visiting the area.  It was a different experience than any of the other mountain areas we have visited.