True, valley life was less frenetic in the old days. But if you want to catch the essence of the valley, you still can. Just don't go on a bus tour during Memorial Day Weekend. The high country may be more populated now than it was back in the late 1950s, but, here again, creative planning can land you in your own private Yosemite. To be alone, you might want to avoid the John Muir Trail , as well as the famed High Sierra Camp circuit, a lovely but overcrowded five-day trek.
Many alternate trails exist.
One night we camped below Matthes Crest, a stunning horn of granite, and I realized that I had last climbed it during that far-off summer, with my wretched blisters barely healed. GORPtravel-Yosemite GORP Hiking Article and photo copyright Steve Roper. All rights reserved.