Mariposa Grove

The one place in Yosemite we really wanted to see was Mariposa Grove, which is a grove of sequoia trees at the southernmost end of the park. We packed the girls into the backpacks (screaming, of course--they were in no mood for a hike!) and started out on our SEVEN plus mile round trip hike!

In the summer you can drive down this two mile long road to reach the grove, but not in the winter! Lots of people had snowshoes, but we just walked in the footpath that others had made and did just fine.
Are we there yet??? It was sloooow going with all the deep snow. We had walked for almost 2 hours and saw a couple returning from the grove. We asked them how much further we had to go and they said, "You don't want to know!!!" Not a good sign. Then we got the news that once you reach the entrance to the grove, you could keep walking for another 6 miles if you want to see it all!

The girls were spotting all kinds of tracks in the snow (99% were human tracks), and we kept them entertained by guessing what kind of animal made each track. We "saw" bear, squirrel, fox, skunk, bird, mouse, and deer tracks, and had fun guessing what each animal was doing or running from when he made the tracks.



FINALLY! We made it! Check out the no parking sign!



The "Fallen Giant" was one of the largest trees in the park until it fell in the late 1800's.



In the summer you can take an open air tram through the grove. I don't regret one minute of our hike through the snow, but next time we'll be taking the tram!!!