Days 25-26 Yosemite

Half-Dome as seen from Yosemite Valley

Days 25-26 (June 19-20) After visiting Sequoia and Kings Canyon, I don't think David had very high expectations for Yosemite, especially since he knew that more people went there (Sequoia was relatively uncrowded for a national park during peak tourist season). He loved the tall trees and didn't think there was much in the way of natural beauty which could top it. That's what he thought until we reached Yosemite, anyway.

Driving in to Yosemite

The two parks aren't that far from one another, but you have to go down the mountain from Sequoia (elevations ranging from 6,000 ft to over 14,000 ft -- Mt. Whitney is located there and it's the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states) cross a bit more of the San Joachim Valley though Fresno (elevation 296 ft) back up to Yosemite Valley (elevation 4,000 ft). David wasn't too upset though because (a) the road we were coming down on wasn't quite as curvy as the one going up and (b) going back to the valley meant the opportunity to get more fruit.

That's a granola bar hanging out of his mouth!

Once we reached the valley floor we stopped at the first fruit sand we saw and then the second.  We got more apricots, nectarines, pluots (a hybrid of apricots and plums), plums, and boysenberries.  The boysenberries were wonderful!  Boysenberries were brought to the front by Mr. Knott (of Knott's Berry Farm fame).  They are a combination of blackberries, raspberries, and loganberries (themselves a combination of blackberries and raspberries).  The kids loved them!  Daniel really took to the plums and I loved the pluots and nectarines.  David and Erin just loved all of them!

Erin at lower bridge (Vernal Falls behind)

We stopped at TGI Friday's in Fresno for lunch because Jaeyong wanted ribs for his birthday.  So, he got a half rack of ribs and a steak for his birthday.  After that we headed up to our campsite at the good old KOA.  Our KOA at Yosemite was actually in Midpines which was about an hour outside the park (only 24 miles away, but difficult to drive fast because of all of the curves and elevation changes).  So, the first day we managed to get to Yosemite (June 19) and do laundry.  We wanted to do laundry in LA, but the washers were all broken at our hotel.  So, we kept everything until Yosemite.  We took all 8 washers at the KOA to wash our clothes and I overfilled them so they weren't really that clean after washing them (a few items weren't even thoroughly wet).  Anyhow, they at least gave us some things to start with.
That's all we managed to accomplish that night.  After washing clothes (the kids swam while I washed) it was like 9 pm and we hadn't eaten dinner.  So we drove back to Mariposa (about 6 miles away) and grabbed some burgers at Burger King to go with our fruit.

View partway up Mist Trail

Stairs on upper Mist Trail

The next morning we headed up to Yosemite.  It took a while to get up there and get oriented to the park, but eventually we figured out what was what.  We ate pizza at Curry Village and then decided to hike one of the trails.  I got a new belt before we headed up to hike and it was wonderful.  It's made from the same nylon straps they use for rock climbing.  I can hang my water bottle off of it and it doesn't stretch at all.

We decided to go up the Mist Trail because I had read about it online before we got into the park.  It takes 1 mile of the John Muir trail and then goes off on its own to hike up to Vernal Falls and then Nevada Falls.  It is called the Mist Trail because it climbs right next to the waterfalls and you get mist off the falls as you climb.  The John Muir trail section was a pretty steep incline, but was paved.  After the 1 mile section you get to a bridge with a water filling station and rest room.  The water filling was a godsend because I needed water desperately by the time I reached that point.  That is the first time you can see the lower falls.  We weren't sure about hiking up there because we would climb another 800 feet elevation in 3/4 mile (we had already climbed 1000 ft. in 1 mile), but we decided to go for it. 

View from top of Vernal Falls

Kids at top of Vernal Falls

"Water ride" portion

Lower half of "Water Ride"

View along Mist Trail

The traffic thinned out considerably after the bridge because a lot of people give up at that point.  David's hip was hurting and my back was hurting, but we took some Advil and kept on.  After about 1/4 mile the trail turns into stairs.  The stairs last about 1/2 mile and you just climb.  At first they are sandy, then they are wet and rocky as you get close to the base of the falls and pass it on the side.  Then they get sandy again about half way up the falls.  Then you have to walk on a little rock ledge with a fence by the time you get close to the top of the falls.  Then you stand right next to the top of the falls and look down on everyone else climbing up.  Further upstream is a beautiful pool of water that is emerald green called, not surprisingly, Emerald Pools.  Then there is a section where the water runs down a rock like a giant water ride at an amusement park.  Since that was so pretty we had to keep walking up a bit more.  We came to the upper bridge where you could see the upper falls and we decided to stop at that point because we were afraid we were going to run out of light.

Long view of "The water ride"

Upper bridge

By the time we got down it was late and we were afraid we weren't going to get to eat.  We managed to get to a buffet at Curry Village before it closed and got some good food.  We watched a bit of a program there as I reminisced about staying in Yosemite as a kid. 





We made it home really late that night and stayed in bed late the next morning.  By the time we made it up to Yosemite the next day we didn't have a lot of time before things closed.  We hiked up to Lower Yosemite Falls, around the meadows, and then ate dinner in another food court by the Lodge.  Then we watched a program all about the Falls and learned about neat things that happen like frazil ice (makes the creek a bit like a slushie machine in mid-March or April).  It wasn't all I had hoped for on the second day, but that is one of the disadvantages of staying so far outside of the park (and being so out of shape when it comes to hiking).  David and I hope to come back sometime and stay in the park so we can do more things and not have to worry about the drive out of the park at night.

Rainbow on Mist Trail coming down

The only downside of the whole adventure was that Erin lost her national parks passport on the Mist Trail.  So, unless someone turns it in, she will not have all of those stamps from our previous destinations.  We will buy her a new one the next park we reach, but it's small consolation for having lost the earlier keepsakes.

View coming down Mist Trail

Yosemite Falls