Someone asked me a few days ago, "If you were leaving in one week, what would be the one thing you would do in the Bay Area?" My answer, "Go to Yosemite again!"
Honestly - I feel so lucky to live even within 200 miles of this fantastic place. I've been twice so far, and want to go again before I move. It's just... heaven. A very busy heaven full of tourists and cars on summer weekends, but heaven all the same. To get away from traffic on the Valley floor, just hike 2 miles away and you're in total seclusion save for the waterfalls nearby and the occasional cheeky squirrel or playful Mountain Jay. Wow. Ok, let's recap my trips there:
Trip 1: Two days with my brother who is, mind you, very athletic and over-eager when it comes to hiking/outdoorsy stuff. (I was excited to go too!!!)
We left early on a Sunday morning in mid-August and I had made reservations a few weeks prior. (Usually you need to make reservations at least a few months in advance. The most popular camping site/hotels are booked up to one YEAR in advance. A popular place, to say the least. The drive is pretty long and there isn't much to see, but once you get there, you forget all that. Make sure to check on the road conditions before you leave(!!!) because we got stuck on a 75-mile detour and I was about to kill myself. We got into the park and checked into our canvas-sided "tent cabin". It was just that. A wooden platform with two cots, linens, one lightbulb, a mirror, a chair, and a door. Oh, and walls and a ceiling too! This was our version of roughing it since I have no semblance of camping gear out here whatsoever. Anywho. We decided beforehand that we were going to do the hike to the top of Yosemite Falls. I thought our parents had done it when they visited in July so we should be able to conquer as well. We only had a couple hours before the sunset anyway!
We rode the shuttle to the trailhead (the shuttle is great. such a good idea) and started on our trek. 3.5 miles to the top of the falls. 2400 ft elevation gain. That's pretty much 3.5 miles of straight stairs. Needless to say, our bodies had not fully adjusted to the altitude and it was a rough go. We were probably 3/4 mile from the top but it was around 4:30 pm. We asked some fellow travelers what time the sun usually set in these parts and they said about 6:00. YOW! We turned around, not having brought a flashlight, and not willing to stumble through the wilderness in the dark, defeated. We went back to Camp Curry for a shower and some dinner. Dinner was at the Curry Pavilion for a buffet at 7:55... the place closed at 8! We hung around for a while and then turned in for the night. (Note: Showers were in a trailer and were pretty busy! Also, you're not allowed to have any food or food-smelling products in your tent OR car because of bears. They give you keys for bear lockers.... I'm just sayin'...)
Monday morning saw us waking up early to drive to Rte 120 where it would be a little less crowded and we could head up the 16-mile round trip trail to Clouds' Rest. BEST TRAIL EVER!!! You must do this one! It took us about 6 hours total, but man, awesome possum. The trail goes through every little tundra/forest area you can think of... water, rocks, trees, plains, more rocks.... It was long, and tough, but the view was just insane. It's above 9000 ft, so you're higher than Half Dome and you can see into the Valley, thousands of feet below you. It's sooooo cool. We drove back that night, perfectly content. (Note: bring looots of water and food! It's a full day hike!)
Trip 2: With some good friends from home (who had never been out West or to a National Park like Yosemite)
Same deal - Sunday to Monday. Man, I gotta spend more than two days at a time in this place!!!! This time we got a little lodge-y cabin (with bathroom!!!) also in Curry Village. It was really cold at night (in mid April) so I'm very glad we did that. It started raining as soon as we got to the park and that was kind of a bummer. We stopped at Bridalveil Falls since it was running a lot stronger than when I had visited previously, but it was so wet and cold out! From the Valley floor you couldn't even see Half Dome. It was like a mystery... Is it really there?
We decided to do some of the touristy stuff since we didn't have umbrellas either. I felt really smart. We hit up the visitor's center and the museum. We also went to the Ansel Adams gallery and the gift shop! I bought wooden postcards. I know! We went to check out the huge hotel in the park, the Ahwahnee. Rooms are like $400+ per night. I'm not even kidding. We had a hot chocolate (and a little kick) at the downstairs bar and warmed our butts by the fire. Then it was back to Curry Village for some dinner at the same buffet Eric and I ate at! We had a couple drinks at the bar since it was wayyyy too early for bed ;) and played cards. Finally we fell into bed and turned the heat up, way up. (Note: I would definitely stay here again... the accomodations were just what we needed to warm up and rejuvenate.)
Thankfully, Monday morning was completely clear and sunny! We decided to head up to Vernal and Nevada Falls. This was a really good hike for our group. About 6 miles round trip and two AWESOME falls! It was a cool trail too. Through forests, clambering up slippery rocks through veils of mist, crawling through boulder fields.... Lots of people though. I think everyone was just excited it wasn't raining anymore! I would definitely recommend this hike to some beginners. It gives you a good taste and makes you want to do more :)
Heck, I do! Half Dome is next!!!
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