HOME: FLOATING THE MERCED RIVER IN YOSEMITE VALLEY JULY 2011

Summer in Yosemite: the traffic! the crowds! the screaming of "Elmer" in the campgrounds!  Though summer is not Yosemite's most idyllic season, the range of activity for people from all walks is great.  Hiking, biking, swimming, rockclimbing, camping, horseback riding, and the best way to spend a hot summer day - rafting.  Once the snow melts and the river level lowers, the three mile stretch of Merced River from Curry Village to the Yellow Pine Campground becomes a lazy meander perfect for a half day float trip.  Don't own a raft?  No problem, the concession company rents four-person rafts for a per person fee.  Bring a cooler of cold drinks, put in at Stoneman Bridge and bring your sun hat for a hassle-free way to spend the day in Yosemite.

The views of Yosemite's icons, Half Dome and Yosemite Falls, provide a different perspective from the water.  Any sign of thunderstorms will shut down the raft rental operation, and though we spied ominous clouds above Half Dome, today's rentals were curtailed by the traffic back up in Yosemite Valley.  Rental rafts are ferried back to Curry Village by truck, and due to the extended wait for traffic in the Valley, rentals were limited.  So on a busy summer Saturday, we had the river mostly to ourselves.  Though plenty of people bring their own rafts/kayaks/canoes (like us), the majority of river vessels stems from the raft rental operation.  This section of the Merced River is filled with wide sandy beaches for swimming and sunbathing.  Sierra Nevada rivers sparkle with flakes of pyrite (Fool's Gold) and since the river flows downstream from the site of the historic Old Yosemite Village (you can see relocated buildings in the Pioneer Yosemite History Center at Wawona), you often see sherds of white ceramic crockery.

 

At the Yellow Pines take out we loaded the raft onto our truck, and suffered the slow crawl through traffic back home.  Fortunately we were relaxed and sun-warmed from our river trip and lucky that we have such a great opportunity right outside our front door.

Junket Rating:

Curry Village Recreation Center (raft and bike rentals):  Junk in the Trunk!

Comments

[Doudoune Moncler Femme]

UGG Boots Sale,
UGG Jimmy Choo，
UGG Nightfall Boots，
UGG Classic Mini 5854，
UGG 5804，
Christian Louboutin Heels
Christian Louboutin Boots
Jimmy Choo Sale
Manolo Blahnik Sale

[The North face]

Thanks for sharing these interesting information here,but I think pics here could be more beautiful since article part is perfect already! I sincerely hope to see more amazing pics! Cheer up! I will be back soon!The North Face Borealis

[canada goose discount]

Naturally like your website but you need to check the spelling on several of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very troublesome to tell the truth nevertheless I will certainly come back again.

canada goose website

[replica longines watches]

-replica longines watches Rolex is the largest single luxury watch brand by far, producing about 2,000 watches per day, with estimated revenues of around US$ 3 billion in 2003.
-Rolex SA is a Swiss manufacturer of wristwatches and accessories. Rolex watches are popularly considered status symbols.

[new era caps wholesale]

Dear friends, thank you for visiting our website ,we are an international trade company, which specializes in New Era Hats Wholesale.We wholesale New York Yankees Hats at competitive price, providing a huge range of Wholesale new era hats of different teams, such as Arizona Cardinal, Atlanta Falcons ,Baltimore Ravens, etc. You can buy cheap jerseys. Welcome to visit here .

[Brett Favre Jersey]

Kurt Warner Jersey
Larry Fitzgerald Jersey
Brett Favre Jersey
Deion Sanders Jersey
Matt Ryan Jersey
Roddy White Jersey
Ed Reed Jersey
Joe Flacco Jersey
Michael Oher Jersey
Ray Lewis Jersey
Ray Rice Jersey
Terrell Owens Jersey
Julius Peppers Jersey
Brian Urlacher Jersey
Devin Hester Jersey
Jay Cutler Jersey
Johnny Knox Jersey
Julius Peppers Jersey
Walter Payton Jersey
Terrell Owens Jersey
Deion Sanders Jersey
DeMarcus Ware Jersey
Dez Bryant Jersey
Emmitt Smith Jersey
Jason Witten Jersey
Miles Austin Jersey
Terrell Owens Jersey
Tony Romo Jersey
Troy Aikman Jersey
Brandon Marshall Jersey
Jay Cutler Jersey
John Elway Jersey
Tim Tebow Jersey
Barry Sanders Jersey
Ndamukong Suh Jersey
Aaron Rodgers Jersey
B.J. Raji Jersey
Brett Favre Jersey
Charles Woodson Jersey
Clay Matthews Jersey
Donald Driver Jersey
Reggie White Jersey
Andre Johnson Jersey
Arian Foster Jersey
Austin Collie Jersey
Peyton Manning Jersey
Jamaal Charles Jersey
Joe Montana Jersey
Brandon Marshall Jersey
Dan Marino Jersey
Adrian Peterson Jersey
Brett Favre Jersey
Jared Allen Jersey
Percy Harvin Jersey
Randy Moss Jersey
Danny Woodhead Jersey

Randy Moss Jersey
Tom Brady Jersey
Wes Welker Jersey
Drew Brees Jersey
Reggie Bush Jersey
Eli Manning Jersey
Hakeem Nicks Jersey
Lawrence Taylor Jersey
Brett Favre Jersey
Darrelle Revis Jersey
Joe Namath Jersey
LaDainian Tomlinson Jersey
Mark Sanchez Jersey
Bo Jackson Jersey
Nnamdi Asomugha Jersey
Wes Welker Jersey
DeSean Jackson Jersey
LeSean McCoy Jersey
Michael Vick Jersey
Reggie White Jersey
Ben Roethlisberger Jersey
Hines Ward Jersey
Jack Ham Jersey
Jack Lambert Jersey
James Harrison Jersey
Jerome Bettis Jersey
Mike Wallace Jersey
Santonio Holmes Jersey
Terry Bradshaw Jersey
Troy Polamalu Jersey
LaDainian Tomlinson Jersey
Philip Rivers Jersey
Deion Sanders Jersey
Jerry Rice Jersey
Joe Montana Jersey
Patrick Willis Jersey
Sam Bradford Jersey
Chris Johnson Jersey
Randy Moss Jersey
Vince Young Jersey
Donovan McNabb Jersey
Sean Taylor Jersey