We had so much fun during our Christmas trip to Yosemite that we quickly decided to make a return trip. We were a bit more ambitious this time, planning a 7 mile roundtrip to Dewey Point and back. As it turned out it was too ambitious and we had to turn back before reaching the scenic overlook at Dewey Point.

At the point where Lori gave up, I hiked around in the powder for awhile and took this photo. The trail that we had been on had been well travelled and was thoroughly packed, making the showshoes more of a handicap than a benefit as we found out on the hike back. But trecking off the trail was much easier with the snowshoes.

While we still had fun, I realized that winter hiking is much more beautiful just after a snowstorm clears. I also realized how hard it is to get photos in Yosemite these days without an airplane flying into the sky and leaving a contrail across the photo. It made me grateful that I don’t have to contend with that problem back at home in Humboldt County.

This year we visited Lori’s sister’s family in Tuolumne for Christmas. With Yosemite an easy drive from there we spent the day after Christmas playing in the snow with my brother and his daughter. We finally got a chance to use our snowshoes and took a short loop through the meadow below Yosemite Falls. The rest of the year this area is closed to hiking, but in the winter when it’s covered by a couple of feet of snow, it’s fair game.