Circumventing the Rim Fire
Miles travelled today = 302 Miles this trip = 1170
Lone Pine to Yosemite. This was our route on the 6th September 2013 when we had to navigate the Yosemite 2013 Fire.
At this point we would like to extend our utmost thanks to the hunter that started the Yosemite 2013 Fire.
One of the largest fires in US history. This ensured that to get from Lone Pine to Yosemite today we covered over 300 miles. We had to go up and around Yosemite National Park, instead of through the park as we intended.
A gigantic wildfire in and around Yosemite National Park was caused by an illegal fire set by a hunter, the U.S. Forest Service said.
After setting off from Lone Pine, we headed to the Visitors Centre in the hope that the huge fires had been extinguished and all the roads were open. Alas, this was not the case. We had two choices. Head towards San Francisco and forget about Yosemite, or drive on regardless, through the Stanislaus Forest.
Of course, we chose the later, and 7 hours later after covering over 300 miles of roads that zigged and zagged more times than an Olympic slalom skier, we found ourselves in Mariposa, a village just outside of the area of Yosemite we want to visit.
As a result, we spent the better part of today in the car, and most of the pictures are from this perspective. We also arrived in Mariposa with nowhere to stay, but managed to check into a Best Western.
Beer Sampling after our Lone Pine to Yosemite drive
We went down the town and had a good evening sampling some ales from the local, and heading back for an early night, was we have a mere 277 miles cover tomorrow, involving our Yosemite sightseeing not seen today, and the trek over to the west coast to San Francisco.
Dear Ozone Layer…..sorry…Richard and Suzanne.
If you want a bit more info on the fire itself, take a look at www.nps.gov/yose/learn/nature/firehistory.htm
