AUTO TOUR 



69 



y OLD STAGECOACH ROAD. 

 _ You can turn back the pages of time 

 ' by driving west over this section of 

 the original stagecoach road which skirts 

 the base of El Capitan. This is a one way 

 loop drive from this point on the oppo- 

 site side of the highway and continuing 

 for about Va of a mile back to the main 

 highway. Except for an oiled surface this 

 road is little changed from stagecoach 

 days. 



V SENTINEL ROCK, THE THREE 

 - Q BROTHERS, AND EL CAPITAN. 



' " As you pass El Capitan you will see 

 the Three Brothers on your left. The 

 highest of the rocks, Eagle Peak, is 3,773 

 feet above the valley floor, it being the 

 highest point on the north rim of the 

 valley. It may be reached on foot by way 

 of the Yosemite Falls Trail. (Read des- 

 cription of Sentinel Rock under V-30, 

 and of El Capitan under V-3 2, page 76. 



Y ROCKY POINT. On the down-val- 

 . - ley side of the parking area is a rock 

 ■ ' slide which occurred about 1922. The 

 scar is slowly being covered with vegeta- 

 tion. It tells the story of the geological 

 and biological forces that continue to 

 alter the landscape. Grooved and shiny 

 glacier polish left by Ice Age glaciers can 

 be seen about 2 5 feet above the base of 

 the cliff close at hand. This is one of the 

 few places where glacier polish can be 

 seen on the floor of the valley. 



Y YOSEMITE LODGE. The Yosem- 

 m *y ite Lodge area was first developed 



' ^ by the U.S. Army as an Army post 

 when it administered the park prior to 

 1916. In 1915 it was improved by the 

 Desmond Company which had a 20-year 

 franchise to provide hotel accommoda- 

 tions. During the period between 1920 

 and 192 5 a succession of reorganizations 

 brought the present Yosemite Park and 

 Curry Co. into being. The history of this 

 company is told under G-12, page 90. 



Three Brothers 



Today a new lodge replaces the old one 

 which originally was an Army barracks. 

 New modern cottages are taking the place 

 of the old redwood cabins. A gift shop, 

 grill, post office, swimming pool and 

 cafeteria are located at the Lodge. This 

 unit is open all year and is popular with 

 the winter visitors. The row of dwellings 

 across the road from the Lodge once 

 were Army non-commissioned officers' 

 living quarters. 



Y YOSEMITE FALLS. The spur road 

 - _ to the left leads to near the base of 

 ' <* Yosemite Falls, a distance of 0.2 

 of a mile. One of the highest free- 

 leaping waterfalls in the world, its total 

 drop is 2,42 5 feet. The great upper 

 fall is 1,430 feet, the middle cascade 

 675, and the lower fall 3 20 feet. The 

 top may be reached by a rather steep 

 but scenic trail which starts from Camp 

 4, which you passed just before reaching 

 Yosemite Lodge. The falls are full in the 

 spring and dry up in late summer. In 

 winter a large ice cone usually forms 



