Saturday, May 26, 2018

Mirror Lake Trail - Yosemite National Park


We continued our March 2018 visit to Yosemite National Park with an easy, short hike to Mirror Lake. The trail begins at shuttle stop #17 at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley. The only way to reach the shuttle stop is to ride the free shuttle bus or ride a bicycle. The trail follows a paved service road from the shuttle stop for 1.0 miles to Mirror Lake. From here, you can return via the service road, extend the hike to circle the lake, or return by way of the Valley Loop Trail. We hiked up to the northern end of the upper lake, about 1.2 miles from the shuttle stop, before returning on the Valley Loop Trail back to the vault toilets about ½ mile from the shuttle stop and completed the hike on the service road. Vault toilets are also located at Mirror Lake. We walked a total of 2.3 miles to complete the loop. We wore our MICROspikes® for almost all of the Valley Loop Trail and removed them when we returned to the service road. This is a beautiful hike in late winter and spring when Tenaya Creek is flowing, but the lake disappears by mid- to late-summer.

Topographic map with GPS route

View from the shuttle stop

Service road and trail

Tenaya Creek

North Dome (7542')

Tenaya Creek

Lower pool

Vault toilets

Mount Watkins and Ahwiyah Point above Tenaya Creek

Ripples in the lower pool

Reflection Rock

Boulder dam between the pools

Ahwiyah Point and Half Dome (8835')

Mount Watkins reflected in Mirror Lake

Half Dome

Returning on the Valley Loop Trail

Typical trail conditions

One of several sets of stone stairs

Boulders line the trail

Moss was growing everywhere

Another view of Half Dome

Signs of deferred maintenance

More stairs

A small meadow was fenced out

Flagstone appearance

This would be difficult with out traction devices on our boots

More stairs

Trail summit ~4160' elevation

There's a trail here somewhere

More trailside boulders

Fog rolls in

A small portion of the lower slopes of Half Dome

Moss even grows on the north side of this boulder

Footprints in the snow

Weaving through the boulder maze

More stairs, but down this time

More of the maze

North Dome

Trail descends between the boulders

Almost back to the service road

Entrance to Yosemite National Park requires an entry fee of $30 per passenger vehicle for a 7-day pass. The price increases to $35 per vehicle on June 1, 2018. Any of the America the Beautiful passes may be used instead.

The park website is https://www.nps.gov/yose.

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