Go Hiking In Yosemite

 Me in Yosemite...Finally!

It really is a disgrace that it took me 20+ years to finally make it to Yosemite.  It's not so much a disgrace if you don't live in California...like I do.  I'm just pathetic, really!  Now that I have finally visited Yosemite, I sit here wondering why I didn't start visiting Yosemite years ago! 

My friends and I planned a quick weekend getaway to visit one of the worlds most famous national parks.  On an early Saturday morning we were on the road headed towards Yosemite.  We piled the SUV with our day packs, a cooler filled with drinks, and a bag full of snacks to keep our tummies happy.    As soon as we arrived at the park, we were handed a map accompanied with some useful tips in the rare chance we would encounter any bears or lions.  The info sheet regarding the lions said, "If attacked, fight back!"  My info sheet would say, "If attacked, Shit yourself!"  Thankfully, I didn't get into any cougar fights during this visit.

Bridalveil Falls

 Creek off of Bridalveil Falls

Our first stop was at Bridalveil Falls.  When we arrived at the parking lot to walk to the falls the first two things I noticed was 1) Oh crap...it's cold!,  and 2) The powerful sound of the falls.  The mist from the falls made its way into the parking lot, and obviously the closer we got to the falls the heavier the mist got.  As we headed towards the falls I noticed people soaked, or wearing ponchos.   Amy and I decided to opt out of walking to the foot of the falls because we weren't prepared to take a cold shower in the morning.  Lily & Sam had brought their rain jackets and were able to walk closer to the Falls. 

Yosemite Valley

 Yosemite Valley & Yosemite Falls

After Bridalveil Falls we headed towards Yosemite Valley.  It was absolutely breathtaking!  No photo can really give it justice, it is 360 degrees of pure beauty.  We walked along the Valley and crossed a (not so) dangerous creek, we laugh about it now because it took three of us holding hands and crossing twigs to get across.  It was pure comedy to anyone that witnessed the fear in our faces trying to cross a 6 foot wide,  and half foot deep creek.  We saw a few deers, and of course our first views of Yosemite Falls! 

 The Clan at the Tunnel View

After our little walk around the Valley we headed towards the Tunnel View.  The Tunnel View is a viewpoint where you can get an amazing view of the Valley.  You can see El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls, and Half Dome from that point.  What you don't see in the photo is the busloads of tourists swarming the area, and the parking lot filled to the brim with cars.  We headed to our Lodge at the South end of Yosemite for some lunch.  Our lodge was surrounded by trees, and right outside was a 12 foot pile of snow!  After relaxing and checking into our rooms, we headed to Mariposa Grove to see some Sequoia trees!    After our hike at the Grove we headed back to our lodge to get ready for dinner.  We drove South of Yosemite into this little town to find some eateries.  We settled for a not-so-great steak house, and none of us were able to finish our food that evening.  Maybe we were just too exhausted to even eat...or maybe the food was just THAT BAD!

Now we're ready for Bridalveil Falls!

 The Girls at Bridalveil Falls

So the following morning we headed back to Yosemite Valley, and stopped at Bridalveil Falls again.  This time Amy and I were a little more prepared to get closer to the Falls.  We put on jackets, took off our shoes and wore flip flops (cause one of the worst things in the world are wet socks), and then headed on our little adventure.  Two words...ICE COLD!  The closer I got to the Falls the more numb my feet got.  Thank goodness for our jackets for keeping us fairly dry.  Such an amazing experience, and I wish I still had my waterproof case for my camera!

We easily took 20 shots trying to get a picture of Yosemite Falls.  Failed!

 Lower Yosemite Falls

We then headed to see Yosemite Falls.  Yosemite Falls is one of the tallest waterfalls in the world, and the highest measured waterfall in North America.  The Falls consist of three sections, Upper Falls, Middle Cascades, and Lower Falls.  Since the lower falls was so easily accessible we went there.  It was still amazing, but it wasn't as impressive as Bridalveil Falls to me.

 Half Dome

I salute anyone that has climbed Half Dome.  The thought of that near vertical climb up that rock makes me a tad nauseous.  I think I'd much rather encounter a lion than climb that thing.  Half Dome became an ongoing joke throughout our trip, anytime we saw a generously large rock we would joke, "Okay guys...let's climb half half half "Half Dome."  Maybe in a next life buddy!

 Mirror Lake

Since we were running out of time, we decided against the hike to Vernal Falls and instead do the quick hike to Mirror Lake.  Since we were near the entrance to the hike from Vernal Falls we started our hike to Mirror Lake from there.  We somehow veered from the path and made our way along the Merced River.  We finally hit a road and noticed we were still pretty far from Mirror Lake.  Sam was not interested at all in seeing the lake, but the rest of us gals were all for it.  We gave him the choice of going back to the car, or to come walking with us.  We won.  Most of the way to Mirror Lake was on a paved road.  When we were a little over a mile away from Mirror Lake we saw a sign to reach Mirror Lake from a trail.  We didn't go to Yosemite to walk on a paved road, so we took the trail option.

When we got to Mirror Lake we had one side of the lake all to ourselves, while the other side was filled with people that had taken the paved road.  We sat on the edge of a boulder and just enjoyed the scenery.  It was about a good 45 minutes before we got back to our car, and by then we were pooped!  We drove around the Valley one more time before saying farewell to our new found love, Yosemite!

Date Accomplished:  April 30th, 2011