Yosemite Valley Railroad - Installment 4 - Tunnel 1 and Bridge 31A, We hike em' both!

Disclaimer - this is a 38 minute video, but when editing I just could not bring myself to cut so much good material. It's such an interesting and fascinating hike and I wanted to share all of it with you. It easily could have been much longer, but I respect people's time and know even the good stuff can wear on you if too long. But plenty of good content was retained and included in this video. Bridge 31A and Tunnel #1 are just down-stream of the Exchequer Dam, and probably epitomize the history of the YV and its evolution through time. This is where the YV began its transition from the farm lands of California's Central Valley into the foothills and mountains of the Sierra Nevada's, before arriving at the western gate to Yosemite National Park. The first of four tunnels, Tunnel #1 is the only tunnel not to be inundated after the construction of the Lake McClure Dam in 1966-67. Accessible year-round, it's probably the best tunnel for imagining what it might have looked like during the operation of the YV. The same can be said of Bridge 31A, which can best be accessed only after hiking through Tunnel #1. In this video we hike them both, along one of the best preserved sections of abandoned YV roadbed downstream of Lake McClure. It's a terrific adventure and worth making the time to explore. So thanks for joining us, and we hope you enjoy coming along for the journey. A quick note on some incorrect information I shared in this video. The YV began operations in 1907, not 1905 as I state in the video. The YV was provided preliminary approval to begin construction in 1905, which commenced in 1906, with rail services beginning in 1907. I apologize for getting the dates mixed while recording this video. #abandonedrailway #steamengines #yosemite #yosemitevalley