Tag Archives: sentinel

Two Hikers on Sentinel Dome

Sentinel Dome Hikers Above Yosemite Valley
Sentinel Dome Hikers Above Yosemite Valley

Sentinel Dome Hikers Above Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. © Copyright 2008 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two hikers enjoy the panoramic view from Sentinel Dome above Yosemite Valley – Yosemite National Park

On this early season day back on 2008 I drove up the road to Glacier Point, stopping alone the way to make the short lateral hike out to the summit of Sentinel Dome. Sentinel is a classic viewpoint in Yosemite, and was made even more famous by the well-known iconic “Jeffrey Pine” photograph by Ansel Adams, featuring a lone, rugged, wind-bent tree that grew for years on that summit, backed by distant peaks of the high Sierra. (That tree died years ago, though its stump remains and is still picturesque… and a reminder that time passes. Another reminder for me — when I was a child my family visited this dome and that tree while it was still living.)

On this visit I took the newer trail that replaced the old (and environmentally insensitive) trail from a parking lot on the lower reaches of the dome, and arrived on the summit to reacquaint myself with the spot after a long absence. As I photographed on the summit, this young couple hiked to the top and settled in on this rock to take in the spectacular view into the canyon below.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point

Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point
Yosemite Valley from Inspiration Point. Yosemite National Park, California. April 27, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening photograph of Yosemite Valley from Old Inspiration Point. Inspiration Point was the equivalent to the Wawona Tunnel View before the tunnel was constructed, back at a time when an older route provided a road into the Valley. On this late April evening I decided to forego the usual crowd of photographers at the more accessible overlook and climb the steep 1.3 mile trail up to this beautiful spot – where I enjoyed a sunset view of the Valley alone (except for a couple of neighborhood deer) and in complete silence.

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