Taft Point is a viewpoint inYosemite National Park west ofGlacier Point. It offers wide views ofYosemite Valley,Yosemite Falls andEl Capitan. The main attraction of Taft Point is the giant fissures in the mile-high granite rock. The fissures are breaks and cracks in the mountain that drop directly down to the valley floor at some points.
The point is named after 27thpresident of the United StatesWilliam Howard Taft, who, according to newspaper accounts, came across the point when he visited Yosemite for three days hosted by John Muir in October 1909. The two hiked from nearby Glacier Point down to the valley floor. President Taft planned the trip by horseback, but the horses brought for his use were all too small for his 300 plus pounds. His staff set luncheon for the president's party during the hike, including fried chicken. The lunch spot may have been near the flat ledge that has since become known as Taft Point.
Taft wrote of his hike, "While I am tired from the open air exercise, I feel greatly the better for it." He was sweat-drenched when he returned to the Sentinel Hotel in El Portal following the hike.
The Taft Point trailhead is located about five minutes before the end ofGlacier Point Road. The trail itself is a one-mile (1.6 km) hike from the trailhead. The second half is downhill. Taft Point is fairly remote and unpopulated. The trail begins somewhat unguarded from the sun, but transitions into a shaded flat walkway through a green meadow. The final approach of the hike is slightly downhill on a rocky surface. The trip from the trailhead takes 20-30 minutes.[1]
On May 16, 2015Dean Potter and Graham Hunt died whileBASE jumping from Taft Point. They were attempting aproximity wingsuit flight through a notch in a neighboring cliff known as "Lost Brother". Hunt struck a wall on the far side of the notch, while Potter cleared the notch and struck rocks immediately beyond. Both were killed on impact.[2]
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37°42′47″N119°36′17″W / 37.7130°N 119.6046°W /37.7130; -119.6046
