Tenaya Canyon revisited

My fascination with the mostly-inaccessible Tenaya Canyon, in Yosemite National Park, continues. Since I like to go where others don't venture, this dangerous canyon always draws me back. Maybe someday in the future there will be a safe trail connecting Yosemite Valley and Tenaya Lake but, for now, there are warning signs at both ends.

I followed Tenaya Creek on the flat granite slabs below Tenaya Lake. I knew what was ahead of me, as I descended down this immensely pleasurable walk. I soon came to the warning sign, and wanted to see the danger it warned of. So, I wandered up this ridge, to take a look over the edge, and to get a wider view of this "hanging valley", caused by ancient glaciers.

The landscape was peppered with these little pocket lakes, which were incredibly calm in the morning hours.

Here is where Tenaya Creek flows down these barren granite slabs, slippery from spring runoffs and glacial polish. I can see how people could easily slip, fall and die on the steeper slopes below this location. I'm really liking this picture.

I encountered this ancient Sierra juniper tree, growing on an exposed ridge above Tenaya Canyon. There is no doubt that this gnarly tree is hundreds of years old but, is it 200 years old or 1200 years old? Junipers are amazingly resilient and can survive where most plants cannot.

The "Golden Hour" seems to have been extended, with the morning light still providing perfect conditions for photography. Yes, it was a little buggy but ...