Glacier Point Road

This is the road to some of the most popular attractions in Yosemite Park, but only open half the year, closed in the winter due to snow.
We were driving from the Bay Area to Yosemite, 4 hours including a potty break in Mariposa, to Yosemite Valley, and then another hour going by dried up Bridalveil falls, and then the tunnel view, to Glacier Point.
Glacier Point Road is some 22 miles long, and intersects Highway 41 between Yosemite Valley and Wawona, on the way to Fresno. It’s not only a winding mountain road, but takes you from the 4500 foot elevation of the Yosemite Valley, to 7700 foot Glacier Point.
As we go up the road, we pass a sign saying ‘road closed 7pm’, on Sunday November 1, 2015. No overnight parking allowed after October 15.
The first part of the road is relatively straight roadway with 35 mph speed limits, through dense forests on both sides of the road, going up the mountain.
Last April when the road opened, we saw a heavy duty construction grader, with chains on all four giant tires, each taller than a man, towing snow removal equipment.
Badger Pass skiing resort is here, and once the road is covered with snow, cross country skiers will be able to ski on the road.
There are very short turn outs on the sides of the road, for pulling over for faster cars to pass.
Inevitably if I drive at the 35 mph speed limit, some guy in a hurry comes on my tail. This time its somebody in a pickup, probably local, as he is the only occupant. I speed up to 50 mph, but he clings right up to me, even when I slow down for a car in front of me. Long distances of solid double lines –no passing.
The recently paved smooth asphalt road going uphill reaches a peak, and degrades into cracked surface with potholes and jagged edges. At the 16 mile mark, I pull over to the small parking lot at Sentinel Dome, the tallest location on the road, where we do both the Sentinel Dome and Taft Point hikes in 3 hours.
At 4:30 pm we drive down the remaining 6 miles to Glacier Point, to enjoy the sunset. Speed limit drops to 15mph as we go down through some hairpin loops in a darkened forest, when all of a sudden, Half Dome rises on the horizon, prior to Glacier Point.
We leave at 5:15 for the 1 hour trip back to Yosemite Valley. This part of the Glacier Point road has a 15mph speed limit, with hairpin 180 degree turns, and steep cross traverse roadways in a deep forest. One guy going way too fast approaches us, going way over the center line on the hairpin turn. We were going real slow, and just missed a head on collision.
The road becomes dark, and there is nothing like driving on a dark winding mountain road. Amazingly enough cars are still driving up the road to Glacier Point in the darkness! Full moon at Glacier Point?
I’m going the speed limit, when some joker comes up right behind me, lights in my rear view mirror, saying go faster. I’m not about to go 50 mph in a 35 mph zone in the dark. Last April I saw a coyote on the road, and the last thing I want to do is hit a bear or deer at dusk, and damage my car.
I pull over at the Sentinel dome parking lot, to let the speedster past. Inevitably another car comes onto my tail, and actually passes me on the road in one of the few straight aways, only to pull over at the next turn out to enjoy the setting sun on the horizon, emitting a purple glow.
About half way down the road, another car comes onto my tail,.I find a turnout, and let him pass, and then comes a whole series of cars, all going 10 – 15 mph over the 35 mph speed limit, like it is the Indianapolis 500!
Dusk becomes complete darkness. Fortunately the road has a newly painted center line, and two bike lane solid white lines on the edges of the road.
Another car comes onto my tail. but this time, I can’t utilize the turn outs, as it is too dark, and I have no way to estimate the length of the turnouts. And there are snow poles on the side of the road, to delineate the roadway when covered with snow.
The guy follows me at the speed limit for what seems like half an hour, down to the end of Glacier point road, past the tunnel view, onto the Valley loop, where the road becomes two lanes in one direction. At least he never blew his horn.
It’s 6:15 pm, on this first day of standard time, and is completely dark, when we arrive at Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, after the hour drive from Glacier Point.
The following day, it rains hard the entire day. Glacier Point is closed with snow and ice, at least temporarily, and perhaps for the season, until next April, or June if El Nino materializes.