itinerary: add Taft Point before Glacier Point, Valley midday sequence

days/2026-09-23.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 ## Logistics
 
-- Out-and-back along Hwy 41: south to Mariposa Grove (10 min) → north to the Valley (1 hr 10) → south to Chinquapin junction, east up Glacier Point Road, 16-mile dead end (1 hr) → back to Chinquapin, south to Wawona (1 hr)
+- Out-and-back along Hwy 41: south to Mariposa Grove (10 min) → north to the Valley (1 hr 10) → south to Chinquapin junction, east up Glacier Point Road to the Taft Point trailhead (1 hr), then 2 mi on to Glacier Point → back to Chinquapin, south to Wawona (1 hr)
 - Screenshot the Miramonte door code today while there is cell service — it arrives 24 h before the Sep 24 check-in and the cabin has no signal
 - Mariposa Grove: shuttle confirmed running (see below); park at the Welcome Plaza, ~300 spaces, fills by late morning
 
@@ -13,10 +13,14 @@
 > Menu: [`parks_sights.md`](../parks_sights.md). Order follows the light: Half Dome from Glacier Point is backlit in the morning and best at sunset.
 
 - **Morning** Mariposa Grove — leave the cabin ~7:40 for the first 8 AM shuttle; Grizzly Giant loop ~2 miles, back at the car ~10:30
-- **Midday** Valley floor — anything not done Sep 22; lunch in the Village
-- *Optional:* Mirror Lake — ~2 miles out and back from the shuttle stop (5-mile full loop); lake is often dry by late September
-- **~4:30 PM** Drive up Glacier Point Road (~1 hr from the Valley)
-- **~5:30–7:00 PM** Glacier Point — Half Dome and the high country at sunset; Washburn Point on the way
+- **~11:40 AM** Valley floor — park at the Yosemite Village day-use lot; lunch in the Village
+- **~12:30 PM** Lower Yosemite Falls loop — 1 mile paved, ~30–45 min, walk from the Village lot (or shuttle stop 6); falls may be dry
+- **~1:20 PM** Cook's Meadow Loop + Sentinel Bridge — park at Sentinel Bridge; 1 mile flat, ~40 min; Half Dome from the bridge
+- *Optional, ~2:15 PM:* Mirror Lake — likely dry, no reflection; skip in favour of a slower afternoon or Sentinel Dome. Park at the Curry Village trailhead lot; no parking at the trailhead itself. Shuttle stop 14 → stop 17 (East Valley shuttle every ~20 min), or walk ~0.7 mi along the road. 2 miles out and back on the paved path, 100 ft, ~1 h walking; ~1.5 h door to door. Not the 5-mile loop (2–3 h)
+- *Hanging valley viewpoint — location TBC*
+- **~2:30 PM** Leave the Valley west on Northside Drive; *optional* 15-min stop at El Capitan Meadow (pullouts in the Sep 22 file). Chinquapin, then east up Glacier Point Road, ~1 hr to the trailhead
+- **~3:30–5:00 PM** Taft Point — 2.2 mi out and back, 400 ft (all on the way back), ~1 h walking. Trailhead lot is small; overflow along the road. Forest path, no exposure until the end; the point is a flat granite shelf with a short railing at the tip and the unfenced Fissures just before it. El Capitan head-on, Valley floor 3,000 ft down. Same trailhead serves Sentinel Dome (2.2 mi, steep granite finish) if there is time and energy
+- **~5:15–7:00 PM** Glacier Point — 2 mi further up the road; Washburn Point on the way. Half Dome and the high country at sunset
 - **Evening** Back to Wawona, ~1 hr, in the dark
 
 ## Mariposa Grove
@@ -64,6 +68,12 @@ Budget ~2.5 h door to door for the Grizzly Giant Loop, including the shuttle eac
 |---|---|---|
 | Cabin — Wawona | 2627 Spelt Road, Wawona, CA 95389 · green house on the left · **door code 0517** · wifi `Yosemitecabin` / `!Yosemite!` · host +1 209-347-6333 · staff +1 559-598-0890 | [37.54718, -119.64746](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=37.54718,-119.64746) |
 | Mariposa Grove Welcome Plaza | Mariposa Grove Road, off Hwy 41 at the south entrance | [37.50662, -119.63029](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=37.50662,-119.63029) |
+| Yosemite Village day-use lot | Northside Drive, behind the Village store | [37.74440, -119.58490](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=37.74440,-119.58490) |
+| Curry Village trailhead lot (Mirror Lake) | Southside Drive, east of Curry Village; shuttle stop 14 is by the Curry Village registration lot | [37.73497, -119.56644](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=37.73497,-119.56644) |
+| Mirror Lake trailhead (shuttle stop 17) | end of the road past the Pines campgrounds; no parking | [37.73978, -119.55985](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=37.73978,-119.55985) |
+| Mirror Lake | 1 mile up the paved path | [37.74837, -119.54986](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=37.74837,-119.54986) |
 | Sentinel Bridge lot (Cook's Meadow) | Southside Drive, Yosemite Valley | [37.74420, -119.58973](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=37.74420,-119.58973) |
 | Chinquapin junction | Hwy 41 × Glacier Point Road, ~12 mi north of Wawona; turn east for Glacier Point | [37.65933, -119.70714](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=37.65933,-119.70714) |
+| Taft Point / Sentinel Dome trailhead | Glacier Point Road, ~2 mi before Glacier Point, lot on the left | [37.71246, -119.58658](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=37.71246,-119.58658) |
+| Taft Point | 1.1 mi west of the trailhead | [37.71311, -119.60461](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=37.71311,-119.60461) |
 | Glacier Point | end of Glacier Point Road | [37.73067, -119.57367](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=37.73067,-119.57367) |