As the Founder and Principal of YExplore Yosemite Adventures, I am pleased to announce the release of our Yosemite Tunnel View Bear logo today, June 20, 2017. This logo was developed from a concept I first shared with Heather Lawson and Derrick Singh of Lawson Studios, a design studio in Oakhurst, CA. I wanted to create an iconic logo to move YExplore in a dramatic new direction while upholding our company’s mission in Yosemite National Park. After several months of collaboration, we are introducing an attractive product line of trucker hats and t-shirts featuring this new logo. We are also proud to announce that proceeds from the sales of this line will assist the Yosemite Bear Management Team in their protection of black bears in Yosemite National Park.

Wear a Bear,  Care for a Yosemite Bear

At YExplore, we are dedicated to providing meaningful Yosemite experiences while helping preserve this wonderful national park and protecting its wildlife. We are especially fond of Yosemite black bears. With every purchase of a Yosemite Tunnel View Bear hat or t-shirt, we will make a contribution to the Yosemite Bear Management Team via the Yosemite Conservancy. We are dedicated to raising awareness to Yosemite visitors on how they can take simple steps to insure the safety of these animals. These include driving the speed limit and properly storing food during Yosemite visits.

We have received this statement from Yosemite National Park “Yosemite National Park greatly appreciates the time and support YExplore has provided to the Yosemite Bear Management Team. The support of our local communities is critical to helping us keep bears wild in our parks and in our gateway communities. We thank YExplore for helping the park to protect both bears and park visitors.”

Yosemite Tunnel View Bear

The Yosemite Tunnel View Bear will be featured on trucker caps and t-shirts in a variety of colors. Each product is of the highest quality and meet our strict standards. The snapback trucker caps are made from organic cotton with a mesh back made from recycled materials. The soft t-shirts for men and women are made from a fine organic cotton that provides a stylish fit in sizes from Small to XXL.

About the Yosemite Tunnel View Bear Design

The Yosemite Tunnel View Bear evolved from the original YExplore logo created in 2006. That logo featured YExplore with an image of Tunnel View positioned inside the block letters. Thanks to the help of Derrick Singh of Lawson Design, we have modernized this logo by substituting a digital drawing for the photo. This has increased the impact of the logo. Taking it one step further, I decided to create the Yosemite Tunnel View Bear with a very similar drawing inside. Derrick was up to the challenge, and I believe he masterfully created an iconic Yosemite image that is aesthetically pleasing.

Lawson Studios is a local design firm in the Yosemite gateway town of Oakhurst, CA. They are led by a professional team with a strong commitment to customer care.

YExplore and the Yosemite Tunnel View Bear are protected by trademarks at the USPTO. Reproduction of this logo is strictly prohibited.

Name The Yosemite Tunnel View Bear

About the only thing we couldn’t think of for this incredibly fun project is what to call our new friendly Yosemite Tunnel View Bear. That’s where you come in. We are also launching a hashtag campaign to name our bear using #nametheyosemitebear on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. The winner will receive an incredibly radical prize when we choose the name.

Yosemite Gift Shop

Please visit the YExplore Yosemite Gift Shop to make an online purchase today. Proceeds from all sales of these exciting new hats and t-shirts will go directly to the Yosemite Bear Management Team. As YExplore guide Alex Ainley stated you can “buy a hat and hug a bear”. Well, at least not literally.  Your support is greatly appreciated when you do.

There have been some questions on a few of our recent Yosemite Adventure Hikes about the wildlife and what they do in winter. As we walked along the Inspiration Point trail, we noticed some fresh black bear scat along the uncovered trail. Typically that trail would be buried under at least a few inches of snow in late January, but we are surviving through one of the driest winters on record here in the Sierra Nevada. That brought up the question about bears and if they hibernate.

There was a very good article in today’s SF Gate online “Sierra’s bears wide-awake during warm winter”. The article discussed how bears are not true hibernators, and will actually forage for food in the warm and dry conditions that we are experiencing this January. Here are a few photos of a mother bear and her two cubs that I took way back in 2008 while they were foraging in late spring. Although they have reported more bear activity in Lake Tahoe, there have not been many bear encounters in Yosemite. Please remember never to approach or feed a wild bear no matter how desperate they may appear.