This Trail Report is dedicated to Bob Cantrell. Bob was a faithful and supportive reader who loved our National Parks.

Greetings readers and welcome to this special edition of “Trail Reports” – “A Bike Trail Report”.

I recently made what has become a frequent pilgrimage to the natural cathedral known as Yosemite Valley along with my beautiful wife and two bicycles. For us, the road traveled is California State Route 41. 

It gives me great comfort to live within five miles of the artery that connects Morro Bay to Yosemite. After driving the short length of Highway 41 for a leisurely four hours I can arrive at Wawona Tunnel. Completed in 1933 the tunnel is the longest highway tunnel in California at 4,233 feet long.

Upon exiting the tunnel the visitor is greeted with “Tunnel View”. This view never disappoints and is always changing. It is a fickle and glorious view.

From Tunnel View it is a short and lovely drive to the valley. On this occasion we were camping at Upper Pines Campground for two nights.

At around noon on our second day we embarked upon bicycles to ride The Most Sublime Bike Path in the World. Timing was important. We hoped to arrive at the Ahwahnee Bar at around its opening time of 2:00 pm.

For this particular circumnavigation of the valley we elected to travel in a counterclockwise direction. It would be utterly foolhardy of me to attempt to describe all the sites, sounds and secrets to be relished while completing the ten mile bicycle loop. There are many bridges. There are many historical sites. The views revolve around the rider in an ecstatic way. The trees whisper and the creeks and rivers sing. At almost every trailhead along the bike route there is a bicycle rack. Should the rider have a trusty bike lock in their day pack then the degree of their freedom will have increased many fold. With a bicycle and bike lock, a person can travel freely by bicycle and be free of the bicycle! This is, as you may recall from your childhood, the ultimate freedom.

Please allow me to guide you, the “Riding Reader”, on a much abridged tour along The Most Sublime Bike Path in the World.

While riding The Most Sublime Bike Path in the World you will of course pass by the Yosemite Conservation Heritage Center (birthplace of the Sierra Club). You will catch a glimpse of Sentinel Falls. You will cross Swinging Bridge and begin working your way north and east past Camp Four (birthplace of Patagonia Outdoor Clothing and Gear) towards Yosemite Falls. 

I would like to pause here to remind the Riding Reader of a very special place near the base of Yosemite Falls. It is the Galen Clark Memorial Bench. Consider it a fun challenge to locate the exact position of this spot for it is a bit off the beaten path.

Of course everyone has heard of John Muir, but how many people are familiar with Galen Clark? Galen Clark had as much to do with the preservation of Yosemite as John Muir. It is also instructive to consider how Yosemite saved Mr. Clark’s life.

At the age of 43 Galen Clark contracted tuberculosis. He was told he had six months to live and was instructed by his physician to seek rest and outdoor air. He went to Yosemite.

In his words, “I went to the mountains to take my chances of dying or growing better, which I thought were about even.”

He lived until he was almost 96 years old!

Sit on the bench and gaze at the majesty of Yosemite Falls. Directly across from the bench is a plaque containing one of John Muir’s more memorable quotes.

Galen Clark is buried in a nearby cemetery where he personally selected and dug a gravesite decades prior to his death. He also selected the granite tombstone marker and planted seedlings from the Mariposa Grove Sequoias around his future gravesite.

Later this spring, I hope to have for you a Trail Report of my planned six day hike around the eponymous Mount Clark in the Clark range. 

After refreshing yourself at the Ahwahnee bar, continue on past Royal Arch Cascade and the Royal Arches to Mirror Lake. (Note: there is a sobering climb up to the Mirror Lake Trailhead.)

Lock up your bikes and take a stroll. We spotted a beautiful pair of Wood Ducks and found the caricature of a grumpy old dude on the north face of Half Dome. We also tried our hand at capturing the reflection of Tenaya Canyon in Mirror Lake.

The Most Sublime Bike Path in the World ends with a ride along the Happy Isles Loop Road, which is closed to traffic. This road meanders through dense forest with the mighty Merced as your companion. A stop at Happy Isles is recommended. Lock up the bikes and explore these “islands in the stream”. Here you can hunt for a second plaque: one of the “Mather Plaques”.

Consider this the second plaque in your scavenger hunt, the first one being the John Muir Plaque across from the Galen Clark Memorial Bench.

Stephen Mather (first to hold the position of National Parks Superintendent) was opposed to the installation of the Muir plaque and was opposed to plaques in general. He believed that our National Parks are a celebration of nature, not people. Now there are nearly 70 Mather Plaques spread out from Alaska to the Virgin Islands, Maine to Hawaii.

You are a short distance from Upper Pines Campground where you started. It should not go unnoticed that Happy Isles also marks the start of the 210 mile John Muir Trail. (I have one remaining section of the John Muir Trail to complete: a 30 mile section that includes Muir Pass.)

You can also enjoy a short but steep hike from this point to the top of Vernal Falls along The Mist Trail.

Attention to safety dictates that I mention one hazard unique to The Most Sublime Bike Path in the World and that is pedestrians. You will find them stumbling around in wobbly circles – their heads tilted back and their mouths agape. They are more dangerous than deer in the headlights. They are stunned. They are dumbfounded. Yes, they are even gobsmacked. Indeed they are all of these things, but they are also beautiful – a beautiful sight to behold. Humans awed into submission by the wonder of nature.

(Originally published on April 3, 2022)