Tioga Road is still open

We’ve had very little rain, which means the Sierras have received very little snow. No snow means (besides the ski-resorts hurting) all the roads over the Sierra passes are still open. In particular, Tioga Road through Yosemite is still open and it usually closes for the season around Thanksgiving. In fact, according to this document with records starting in 1933, this is the latest the road has been open.

We took advantage of the open road as we drove over to Lone Pine and back. I didn’t see any snow or ice on the road, but it certainly has been cold—the creeks and lakes are frozen. Tenaya Lake was very interesting. It was completely frozen over and people were walking, skating, and playing all over it. Note the lack of snow on the shore and on the ice. That seems so incongruous.

On our way back over Tioga Pass we stopped at Lembert Dome and hiked up to Dog Lake. There were a few icy patches on the trail that were getting slick on our descent, but we avoided taking a spill. I kept thinking how this shouldn’t be possible at this time of year. We shouldn’t be able to drive to the trailhead, and we certainly shouldn’t be hiking at 9,000 ft elevation without snowshoes. I hope it breaks loose and snows a lot soon.

Links
—Frozen Tenaya Lake photo gallery