Leaving the ~Glacier Point Hotel~ we follow the road southwestward about two miles, turning to the right at the ~Pohono Trail~ sign. We now follow thru a dense fir forest for one mile, emerging at the canyon rim at ~The Fissures~. These are great cracks only a few feet wide and hundreds of feet deep. Just beyond is ~Taft Point~ (Alt. 7503). From here is a wonderful view, especially of the sheer 3500-foot precipices of ~El Capitan~ and ~Three Brothers~ rising as massive buttresses of the great north wall. Swinging south along the rim for a short distance, the trail again turns westward thru the fir forests passing beautiful small meadows and wild-flower gardens and descending to ~Bridalveil Creek~. The bridge has been destroyed but a foot-log is in place. There is fair fishing in this stream but the fish are small. Bearing west and north and climbing slightly, the trail emerges at ~Dewey Point~ (Alt. 7316), another of the promontories of the south rim. From here the ~Cathedral Rocks~ and ~Leaning Tower~ are viewed from an unusual angle, and ~El Capitan~ and ~Ribbon Falls~ dominate the opposite wall. Following the rim westward about half a mile we reach ~Crocker Point~ (Alt. 7090), from which is obtained another vast outlook. Descending 430 feet thru the forest we cross a small stream and emerge at ~Stanford Point~ (Alt. 6659), another prominent lookout on the southern ramparts. About half a mile westward one sees ~Old Inspiration Point~, from which Yosemite was first seen by white men on March 21, 1851. Retracing our path a short distance, we turn to the right and cross ~Meadow Brook~, which flows over ~Widow's Tears~ a quarter mile below. The vicinity is a Mecca for flower lovers. The trail continues westward, dropping 1400 feet in the next one and a half miles to ~Fort Monroe~ (Alt. 5540), an old stage relay station on the ~Wawona Road~. Yosemite is eight miles eastward by this road. TRAIL TRIP 18 FORT MONROE TO GLACIER POINT _via_ POHONO TRAIL Reverse of Trail Trip 17 (11.7 miles--5 hours. Round trip from Yosemite, 24 miles--13 hours)