By JANELLE GELFAND
The Cincinnati Enquirer

We had just hiked 2,000 feet up a mountain on the John Muir Trail in Yosemite National Park and were sitting on top of the world, catching our breath with a half dozen other hikers.

The journey up to Clark's Point was treacherous -- there was snow on the trail from a late-spring storm, which had turned the mountain switch-backs into an obstacle path. We emptied our water bottles and drank in the view: towering glacial mountains, deep canyons and, on the trail ahead, the spectacular Nevada Falls, swollen from the spring melt.

Suddenly, as we sat sunning ourselves like lizards on a huge granite rock, we heard ''rrrrrring.''

No, it wasn't the chirp of the friendly blue-jay that was hopping around the cliff's edge. It was a cellular phone. Someone still was plugged in, still wired to a world that seemed, to us, light years away.

Was he consulting his stockbroker? Planning a merger? We didn't care; we turned our backs on this wilderness intruder, and returned to the fresh air, the effusively rushing water and the trail ahead.

Spring is the most glorious time to visit Yosemite.

''We always manage to come early, before the crowds,'' says Dr. Lovell Langstroth, 82, of Carmel, Calif.. He and his wife, Dr. Libby Langstroth, 77, were our trail mates. ''They've done a good job keeping it unspoiled.''

With 4 million visitors a year, Yosemite Valley remains one of the most stunning examples of natural beauty in the world. It begins with a pretty drive along the Merced River, where blooming red bud dots the hillside like splashes on a Robert Motherwell painting.

Upon rounding the final curve into the park, one is never quite prepared for the breathtaking view: steep granite domes, ponderosa pines and ribbons of waterfalls draping the seven-mile-long, mile-wide Yosemite Valley.

Legend has it that Scottish explorer John Muir shouted with joy when he saw that scene in 1868. About the size of Rhode Island, Yosemite National Park was established by an act of Congress in 1890. The famous photographer Ansel Adams spent more than half a century documenting its ever-changing beauty.

Yet beauty can be deceptive. Visitors are cautioned that this is a wilderness where they can tumble off mountain trails, drown and encounter bears. And, because Yosemite is a popular attraction, they also can fall victim to crime.

Police still are trying to crack the case of the highly publicized March abduction and murder of three tourists, Carole and Julie Sund and family friend Silvina Pelosso.

In April, the San Francisco Examiner reported that tourists were canceling Yosemite reservations, even though the trio was abducted from a hotel about six miles outside the park.

''It certainly was a tragedy, but we maintain that Yosemite is a safe place,'' says Christine Cowles, 26, park spokeswoman.

''National Parks are not immune from crime. We recommend that people use precautions as they would anywhere.''

Within the last 10 years, there have been no visitor homicides inside the park. More worrisome than crime, Ms. Cowles says, is the sheer volume of visitors who are unfamiliar with being in a wilderness area and don't know proper behavior. For instance, leaving food in a car is asking for unwelcome guests -- bears.

''As we get into the (tourist) season, we see an increase in cars broken into by bears,'' she says. ''People are on vacation, they are relaxed and they leave food in their cars.''

The visitor who is reckless on the trail or dives into a river for a swim above a waterfall makes the park even more hazardous for himself. At least once a year someone jumps into an inviting pool, gets caught in the current and goes plummeting over the falls.

In 1998, rangers went on 141 search and rescue missions; three people died in accidents.

Most problems are minor. Park rangers' most common rescues involve dehydrated hikers who did not carry water, or those who sprained ankles.

Springtime -- April, May and June -- is the best time to visit Yosemite because the waterfalls are at their peak, the meadows are green and the dogwood trees are in bloom.

Tourism increases as the season warms, and the valley can quickly turn to gridlock. Because parking spaces are limited, day trippers may be turned away from the park on high-traffic days such as Memorial Day, July 4 or Labor Day.

''It's a good idea to arrive before 9 a.m. on those days,'' Ms. Cowles suggests.

In the past two decades, annual visitation has doubled. In the early '70s, Yosemite management established one-way traffic patterns and began offering free shuttle bus rides to sites around the valley. The system runs efficiently and has helped protect the park's natural habitat.

Overnight visitors have a range of choices for accommodations, depending on how much they want to rough it.

Yosemite's lodgings have improved since 1899, when Camp Curry opened with seven tents (costing campers $12 a week), the dream of a high school principal named David Curry. After Mr. Curry's death in 1917, his widow, Jennie Curry, oversaw the growing Curry Co.

But it wasn't until the tenure of her son-in-law, Don Tresidder (1924-48), that the Yosemite Park and Curry Co. built the magnificent Ahwahnee, updated Yosemite Lodge, purchased the Wawona Hotel, added High Sierra Camps and developed the Badger Pass Ski Area.

Lodging ranges from campgrounds or tent cabins to the famed, luxurious Ahwahnee, which has hosted royalty, heads of state, movie stars and eight American presidents. Visitors are encouraged to call ''a year and a day ahead'' for reservations to get their first choice in lodging anywhere in the park.

Last year, we enjoyed a stay in the Yosemite Lodge, a standard hotel (with telephones, but no TVs), refurbished after a flood in 1997. The evening's entertainment included walking to a nearby cafeteria for dinner, having hot drinks by a roaring fire in the Mountain Room Bar, and bundling up in coats and blankets for free evening slide shows and ranger talks on outdoor benches.

This year, we decided to splurge and stay at the Ahwahnee, a national historic landmark which opened in 1927. It is one of the few palatial lodges that does justice to its spectacular setting between glacial domes, waterfalls and meadowland.

Although we didn't stay in the Presidential Suite ($857 a night), our spacious, newly decorated room had a picture window overlooking Yosemite Falls, the world's fifth tallest waterfall.

Just walking through the Ahwahnee is awesome: its wooden ceiling beams and walls are stenciled with Native American motifs, and many windows are two-stories high. The 77-foot-long Great Lounge, a public space with massive fireplaces, homey furniture, Kilim rugs and handwoven Indian baskets, is a restful place to pause.

Although the valley offers a variety of cuisine, we had two good options at the Ahwahnee. The sandwiches in the Ahwahnee Bar were perfect after a day of traveling to get there. Later we enjoyed memorable breakfasts in the huge dining room, with its 34-foot-high wood-beamed ceiling and cathedral windows overlooking mountains and forests.

Daytime is the best time to linger over coffee and soak in the impressive view. In the evening, the Ahwahnee's dining room becomes an elegant restaurant. After experiencing mediocre fare in the past, we were pleasantly surprised to find a new menu and expertly prepared entrees.

The reason for the turn-around is a new executive chef. Roland Henin, an award-winning chef from Lyon, France, arrived last year to oversee the park's dining services. (At the height of the summer season, that means everything from formal dining to food for the High Sierra Camps.)

Mr. Henin gradually has added excitement to menus and increased motivation in the staff.

''I demonstrated for them, and I noticed that they picked up on things,'' he says.

He has developed two new sets of menus (for spring/summer and fall/winter) that reflect seasonal changes. This month, a new menu includes a moderately priced wine suggestion for each entree, available by the bottle or the glass. For instance, with the Basil Encrusted Chilean Sea Bass Filet ($24), Mr. Henin suggests Smith-Madrone Riesling, at $26 a bottle or $6.50 a glass.

Amenities aside, there is nowhere on earth besides Yosemite that offers the variety of day hikes, walks and bicycle paths amid such natural splendor. Our favorite summertime hike is the Mist Trail, a strenuous hike up 600 slippery, mist-covered steps to the top of Vernal Falls.

''The water can be more treacherous than snow,'' says Keith Chase, 65, of Carmel Calif., whose feet slid out from under him on the Mist Trail last year. ''I just looked up and -- whoosh!''

This time, he and his wife, Lynn, 67, were heading to the top of Yosemite Falls, a rugged hike with a steep drop-off adjacent to the trail. The waterfall crashes with spectacular power to the valley floor until August, when the snow has melted, leaving just a trickle.

For rookies like us, a leisurely stroll around Mirror Lake was a beautiful diversion. Although the lake is gradually being reclaimed by the meadow, it offers pristine reflections from the surrounding cliffs.

Here you might find some of Yosemite's 80 species of mammals, such as mule deer and California ground squirrels. By summer, the meadowlands are dotted with black-eyed Susan, lupine, wild iris and other wildflowers.

On our way out of Yosemite Valley, we stopped for one last look from Tunnel View, a spectacular panorama framed on the left by El Capitan, a favorite challenge of rock climbers, and on the right by Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Fall.

It was hard to say goodbye.

JOURNEY