North Dome and Royal Arches from the 4-Mile Trail

North Dome and Royal Arches

North Dome and its downstairs neighbor, the Royal Arches, are among the sights from the trail gate, where the view's so big it had to be split in two. This is the place where, on the uphill trek, you get your first open view to the visual spectacle eastward up Tenaya Canyon. This is also the angle from which it's easiest to recognize that the Royal Arches are in fact the fossilized face of a gigantic Seussian space walrus frozen in the act of sucking up mouthfuls of coniferous krill. Don't feel bad if you didn't notice this right away - not everyone has the same background in science.