Cycling Glacier Point - May 9, 2025
For a few days each year, Glacier Point Road in Yosemite opens only to cyclists just before it reopens to cars. I’m by no means a cyclist and haven’t ridden a bike in the better part of a decade, but my friend Paulina convinced me to do this ride with her by lending me her e-bike. We had the entire road to ourselves at sunset and ate dinner under the stars and moon.
We got quite a late start and also didn’t realize the road was gated between Wawona Road and Badger Pass which added about 1100 ft of elevation gain and 5 miles one way. I made an honest effort of keeping the bike on eco mode and not using the throttle much on the ascent to Badger Pass and the brief descent to Bridalveil Creek was exhilarating. I got pretty tired on the final uphill slog and mostly relied on the throttle to get me up. Unfortunately, we made it to Washburn Point just after sunset and missing the light show, but blue hour was still gorgeous.
We cooked our dinner at one of the overlooks on the side of the road, took more photos, then made the final descent to Glacier Point where we ate and took more photos. Yosemite Valley is like a little town nestled deep in the mountains. The lights from the hotels and staff quarters cast an orange glow over the forests below. I tried to take some photos of the stars above Half Dome but the light pollution and the bright moon made things difficult. The ride was strenuous and actually has quite a bit of elevation gain (1300 ft). We made it back to the car by 11 PM and got marched back to Sacramento like zombies.
Yosemite Valley photography
I wanted to take advantage of the good weather this weekend and do some spring photography in the valley since the Merced looked like it would peak sometime this weekend. I really wanted to take a proper sunrise photo of the sunrise hitting the southeast face of El Cap with a reflection along the river but mother nature had other plans. I pulled up to the pullout and was the only car there. Maybe a quarter of the way down to the river, I spotted a mama bear and her cub deeper in the forest exactly where I was planning to walk through. Being that I was alone, I decided to retreat and see if they would move on.
After a few minutes, I tried again, this time making some noise and talking gently to alert them to my presence. I wasn’t sure if they were still in the area until I looked up and saw the mama staring at me through the trees. She didn’t seem agitated or threatened, only curious. In any case, they didn’t look interested in moving so I called it quits and went to tick off a couple of other photos I had in mind for this day.
Upper Yosemite Fall in the morning.
The Merced was high enough that some small pools of water started forming in Cook’s Meadow. Even though I’ve photographed this spot frequently, the higher water added some depth to the scene. Similarly, one of my favorite spots in front of Cathedral Rock had transformed dramatically since the last time I was there three weeks ago. Trees had on their new spring coats, grasses transitioned from yellow to green, and the wildlife was out and about.
I have some Milky Way photography planned in the valley later this month but otherwise have been really satisfied with how this winter and spring have gone as far as my photography ventures have gone!
Middle and Higher Cathedral Rocks in the morning.
—Justin
