We lucked out in Yosemite. Despite rolling in a few hours later than we should have, we found a campsite, and a good one at that. After the stressful (and long) drive into the park, we sat back, relaxed, and tried to unwind given how worked up we were (well, I was at least) about finding somewhere to stay. There’s literally people sprinting around all the different campsites checking permits every morning trying to secure somewhere to stay that night for the first-come first-served sites. It’s madness. We had a moonless night, so Tracy turned in and I went to see what the camera could see of the stars.
The next day was our “Yosemite Activity Day.” We headed down into Yosemite village from our campsite (a solid hour drive) and made a plan. First stop was to visit Yosemite Falls. The upper falls are visible from all over, and an all-day hike but wandering up to the lower falls is easy.
Somehow, we managed to find a spot for some #handstandsdownthecoast
Next up was a longer burn up the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls. Vernal Falls is an absolutely unreal flat slab of Granite with water seemingly coming from nowhere, causing a huge spray and all-day rainbows.
After lunch in the village, and some much-needed time in the AC, we drove up to Glacier Point, which offers a unique view of the valley. On the way up, however, there’s a few spots to turn off that offer other, incredible views of the two most famous Yosemite landmarks, El Capitan and Half-Dome.
Once we got up to Glacier Point, we were greeted with yet another crazy view of Yosemite Valley.
Half-Dome, and the upper and lower falls all in one. Pretty cool. We had some moody clouds roll in on our way up which were great for framing Half-Dome for me too.
We retreated back to our campsite after getting a pretty good understanding of the area and attractions. I think to really understand Yosemite, you have to get into the backcountry and set some all-day objectives. Hopefully we can do that when we return. One thing I do know is that the time in Yosemite made me miss the Rockies desperately.
After making it out of the park without incident (only some frustration at slow-moving RV’s) we were graciously hosted by an old friend of mine (Thanks, Andrew and Crystal!) in Cambell, CA, and left early this morning for Big Sur/Ventana Wilderness/Monterey area, where we’ll be for two days.
Until next time!
-Rod