Dog Lake

The local trails are as crowded as ever but Yosemite is a different story. The National Park instituted a quota system with day passes required to enter the park, so while there are still plenty of people, the crowds are definitely thinner than you'd normally find mid summer.

Neither Mary nor I were feeling especially ambitious so we decided to head up to Dog Lake from Tuolumne Meadows.

Cathedral Peak rises above the meadows near the start of our journey.

Mary saunters over smooth granite with Lembert Dome behind her.

A mellow hike leads up to Dog Lake which reminds me more of Montana than the Sierra.

With time and energy aplenty we hiked around the lake and found nothing but great scenery and solitude.

 We looped it on the way back by hiking up Lembert Dome. Looking north.

Fun hiking on the dome.

Heading down. We saw a lot of wildlife including two tiny fawns nursing.

After returning to the car we decided to check out the nearby Tuolumne River

We even took a dip! Felt like a million dollars.
It was a particularly fine day in "The Park."