Sentinel Dome - Secret Jewel of Yosemite Valley

Any postcard from Yosemite Valley has the Half Dome glowing in the orange light of the sun. I am always lost with the beauty of the valley, that I have never stopped to think from where this beautiful shot was taken. Every hiking guide talks about the adrenalin rush from Half dome hike or the splendor of the Upper Yosemite falls. Travelguides mention Glacier point as one of the best vista point. However, not a single place did I see Taft Point and Sentinel Dome. So much, that at the visitor's information center, the guide was searching for these locations in the map.

Where do I begin to explain the beauty of Sentinel Dome. It's the only one spot in the valley, with a 1.1 mile hike, you get to see the entire Yosemite valley in its full grandeur, an unblocked 360 degree view, Half dome glowing at sunset. You can't but drown in the marvel that the glaciers have craved over the years. Yosmite valley, with its different peaks, the varying heights, the varying architectures, a photographer's dream, a painter's inspiration and nature at its best. All of these visible only from the Sentinel dome.

Now why is this better than Half dome, well, you can watch the splendor of half dome from the peak of half dome can you? As far as Glacier point, well you don't get the 360 degree view.

As far as the hike, if you snooze, you can so easily miss it. Its on Glacier point road, about 5-10 miles before glacier point on hwy 41. Its shares the parking lot with Taft point. We did a circular loop hike, from the parking lot to Taft point and took the route towards Glacier point. This route from Taft to Glacier is a very scenic route with some breathtaking views of the valley. The last mile to Sentinel Dome has some medium grade switch backs, and the last 200 meter is steep. So watchout for those kids. We completed the hike with a 1 mile hike down from Sentinel back to the same parking lot, a total of 5 miles. But if you wish, you can finish the entire hike in 2.2 miles.

I have read about and hiked so many trails in Yosemite but I wonder why no one ever mentions Sentinel Dome, easily the best kept secret and a jewel of Yosemite.

For me, it was the best hike ever, not just because it was my first hike with my 9 month old daughter on a backpack, but we got to see the Yosemite valley as nature intended it to be.

Del Valle Camping Trip

I needed some brave or stupid act to get me back to blogging. This time it was hard to say, if the current act was brave or stupid. We decided to camp with our 8 month old. As part of our travel ritual, we made elaborate plans, to the detail of when, where and how we will have dinner, when we will hike where and so on. A little detail we forgot, some one who can yet walk, or talk, or crawl or even sit up by herself decided to throw a curve ball, or should i say multiple curve balls at our plans.



First with the details, we camped at the beautiful place called Del Valle. This definitely is one of those well kept secrets in bay area for camping. If you like camping, definitely check out this place, its in livermore, in the middle of mountains, and by a beautiful lake. The campsite is not by the lake, but is very comfortable and is between 2 small mountains. The night we camped was 95% full moon night, so the white light in the darkness brought out the beauty of the mountains , the stars made the clear sky glow in the dark, and the quietness in the air made it a spectacular night. The next morning decided to compete with the night, the very light blue morning horizon with a tinge of yellow and orange, slowly crawling behind the mountains, the air filled fragnance of nature, the birds singing the morning alarm and the trees dancing to the these tunes, made us stop in our tracks, forget our plans and instead just sit and watch. So spell bound we forgot our cameras and let ourself sink in this beauty.



Every camping close to nature offers something unique, spectacular that its almost spirtual. For me, it was the location, at the base between 2 mountains, with the quietness that was very relaxing. Ofcourse some of the fringe benefits were the lake, offering a variety of water activities and most important of all, this was just 40 miles from home.



As to the specific act of bravery or stupidity, Neepa actually enjoyed the camping, well either that, or she was happy to get out of the boring home routine. Just as any child would, the nights was an experience for her, the darkness made her more of a mommy's girl. But the bristling sounds of the night, didn't bother her much, we wonder if these were the rattle snake by the bushes, or the yellow bugs, or the dangerous ticks, or maybe just the sprinkler across our camp site, we would never know. As to our grand plans of a boat ride, hike to the falls, walk along the lake, all took a walk, when Neepa wanted to, well, do the ususal things an 8 month old would do. But all in all, it was a great night's experience, sure would recommend this place to folks, either as a camping trip or a day's trip at the least. We sure hope to be back, and the next time do the hike and boat rides, God willing, or should I say in our case, Neepa willing.