One of the fringe benefits of SuperBowl Weekend is that if a person is a not into football, the world is an empty playground one weekend a year (no matter the weather conditions) This was true of Yosemite this last SB: approximately 5 cars to bee seen for the whole duration on highway 120 within the park.
A quick & easy descent on snowshoes and one arrives at the
Merced Grove, a neat cluster of Giant Sequoias tucked away in small grove (just a short turn off Hwy 120)Starting out with Microspikes ended with a quick switch to snowshoes after the previous hikers postholes made it impossible to continue with spikes, (the trip remained enjoyable nonetheless). The trees are stunning, and the dappled light provided by the broken sky emphasized the deep contours of the roughened red bark. Mild temperatures in the low 50's rounded out a perfect day in a perfect place.
As an afterthought, I would place Merced Grove high on the list of places to take young children when introducing them to the delights of hiking.
