Its difficult to explain Yosemite. My words don’t feel as though they fulfil their task accurately enough. Most of the time I spent there I was speechless. Surrounded the the sheer awesomeness of creation it served as a constant reminder as to how small I was, and in turn, how vast this beautiful world is in comparison.
I headed to Yosemite after picking up my rental car from downtown Los Angeles. I am happy to report that I survived driving in LA, but not without a few wrong turns and a lot of internal (and some external) screaming…I still don’t know how I ended up on 6th Street!? Turns out, once you manage to successfully find the northbound freeway, it gets a whole heap easier. I’m still laughing at that one! The drive from downtown LA to Oakhurst (where I was basing myself for the next three days) took approximately four hours, and after settling into driving again it went by pretty quickly. Oakhurst itself is a great little town and its very easy to see why so many people choose to stay there before taking daily excursions to the surrounding parks.
The closest entrance to Yosemite from Oakhurst is the south entrance, approximately 20 minutes away and arriving into the park made me smile. Greeted by actual park rangers and ushered through car lines past log huts, it was like a scene out of a Yogi bear cartoon, I was half expecting to see picnic baskets scattered around. Once you have collected your vehicle permit simply follow the winding roads down towards the valley floor. With every mile it seemed as though more beauty and wonder was displayed before me to take in…until that is, I arrived at tunnel view. That view completely took my breath away, and it will be one I never forget. Its one of the most renowned photo spots in Yosemite, looking down through the centre of the park giving one of the best viewpoints. With Bridalveil Fall on one side and El Capitan on the other, it leads your eye down to the valley floor and though to half dome at the opposite side.
Day one was the easier of the two, seeing more landmarks than doing hikes. Bridalveil Fall is easily a favourite. Its so impressive, I went back at the end of the day to see it again when most of the tourists had left the park. You can hear this amazing waterfall before you can see it, almost a resounding boom as the force of the water hits the giant rocks below, creating a powerful spray along the track leading up to its base. The closer you get the more soaked you become. I would highly recommend embracing it. Go all in. If anything, its a bit of fun and is a wonderful reminder of the power of nature. Maybe pack a towel though?
My second day at Yosemite was destined to be one of the biggest I had done in a while, taking on three hikes in one day. Yes, its probably not recommended…but hey, whats an adventure without a little challenge thrown in. Day hikes within Yosemite are divided up into difficulty level, so I ended up doing one from each, starting with a easy stroll to Mirror Lake. Its a pretty simple walk that involves following the river that leads up to it. Once there, it gives a clear reflection on the lake of the surrounding North Dome. The colours are beautiful and the walk leads through leaf covered clearings and rock steps put down to move across.
The second one I wanted to do, was a little more challenging…well I found out it was little more challenging at least. The hike to Vernal Falls was more intense than first thought. Turns out it starts at a moderate level with a great path carved out for you to walk and turns into a more challenging experience. Think its my own fault here, reading the hiking guide a little more closely could have solved this problem. Turns out, after you get past the falls footbridge it becomes a lot more interesting…or in my case a lot more fun! The track converts from a dirt path into rock stairs carved out of the mountain you are trying to climb. Because I visited in May, the waterfalls were free flowing and creating a mist to climb through as well. Long story short, I was completely soaked by the time I reached the top of the falls. Head to toe saturated. But so so so happy, and I wouldn’t trade that experience in for anything else.
I set out on the final hike not really really knowing what to expect. Because I started this one later than recommended in the day, I initially decided to head up the track and see how far I could get towards the summit. If it started to get less visible, I would simply turn around and descend back down to the carpark. Now anyone who knows me well, knows that I am quietly competitive. So obviously I was going to try with everything I had to get up that mountain before sunset. Upper Yosemite Falls/Columbia Rock trail is one of the best (and most challenging) hikes I have ever embarked on. You start by climbing rock stairs for the first hour, then it transitions into dirt paths with clearings dotted along the way to look at the view of the valley floor below. One of the best spots for this is Columbia Rock. If you don’t eat to climb all the way to the top of Yosemite falls, this is a great option to do. It is only one mile (1.6 km) into the hike with an elevation gain of 1000 ft (300 metres). I could have sat there for hours. It gives the best panoramic views of the entire valley.
Finally it moved onto a new kind of terrain…streams. I hadn’t really come across this one before, so what else can you do but get involved and give it a go. I loved every second. Hopping from rock to rock whist navigating between each stream was like some sort of dance between each element…absolute perfection. The last part of the hike was my favourite. Containing a very steep upward climb navigating switchbacks and waterfall spray, it was the most difficult but also the most rewarding. What I was presented with once reaching the summit was completely breathtaking in every sense of the word. That view will be engrained on my mind for a very long time. The summit is 2,600 ft in elevation change (790 metres), so once at the top you do really feel like you’re on top of the world. Directly across at eye level, the snow capped mountains clear and still. The valley below almost seems too perfect. The colours come alive. Every shade is perfection. From the lightest green to the deepest red. The sunset light intensified all of these before me, as if my own show was being played out. The hardest thing was to put my backpack on again and start the decent back to the valley floor.
The day ended in the same way my Yosemite adventure began, sitting at tunnel view…completely in awe.
Sending hugs & smiles,
Vanessa
