Backpacker Magazine – November 2009

Top 3 Ansel Adams Hikes and Reader Photos

The legendary shooter once said that photographs were "usually looked at, seldom looked into." Take a look into three hikes that inspired some of Ansel Adams greatest photos, and take a few pictures yourself.

by: Dave Pidgeon

Yosemite NP, CA
See the Valley from atop north dome.

Adams delighted in shooting Yosemite Valley–from above. See why on this classic 9.2-mile out-and-back to North Dome and its picture-perfect vantage point 3,500 feet above the valley floor. From Tioga Road, descend the North Dome Trail for .75 mile to Porcupine Creek. Cross the creek, then in just under a mile reach two trail junctions. Go right, then left, to continue south on the NDT. At mile three, detour a quarter-mile on a spur trail to the 20-foot Indian Rock arch. Back on the NDT, continue along Indian Ridge. Stay left at one last wooded junction, then arrive at the big finish: North Dome's 7,542-foot crown at 4.6 miles. Shot tip: Highlight Yosemite Valley's expansiveness by filling the bottom third of your frame with granite icons like Half Dome and El Capitan, leaving the rest to the California sky.

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The Way From its junction with Big Oak Flat Rd., take Tioga Pass Rd. 26.5 miles east through Porcupine Flat Campground to the trailhead on the right.

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