Once my USPC certification wrapped up on Sunday afternoon Scott and I were free to head to the next phase of our adventure - the Yosemite phase! Scott had actually been able to venture up there the day before while I was testing since it was only about 90 minutes away. His excitement was infectious when he was telling me about his hike and the sights that he encountered while he was there so I couldn’t wait to see the park for the first time.
We entered the park in the late afternoon through the Wawona Tunnel and my first view of the National Park was the same view that photographer Ansel Adams made famous. We parked and went to the overlook and I think I just stood gazing dumbfounded for about 10 minutes, mesmerized and astounded by the panorama before me. From this view you are treated to a few of the Yosemite icons: El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Fall. Any of the features on their own would be impressive enough, but to have them all together in the same vista gives you the feeling of being a visitor in some strange and foreign dreamland and words simply cannot do justice.
We ventured further into the park and decided to walk around the valley floor for a bit. We found a spot that had a bridge over the Merced river and were able to have a fantastic view of the Horsetail waterfall. Typically this waterfall would be dry this time of year but the rainstorms that had pounded the state a few days earlier had brought it back to life. Hopeful photographers lined the bridge over the river trying to time their shots to get a “firefall” shot- at certain times of the year (February mostly) the sun shines through the mountains at just the right angle to make it look like a river of lava rather than water is pouring down the mountain. Having this occur in October is quite rare since the waterfall is usually dried up in the autumn and despite not witnessing the firefall, it was fun to know that we were seeing something special. Scott scouted out a prime hammocking spot and we sat and took in the views.
I feel like I am often reaping the benefits of Scott having adventured his way across the country multiples times in his life- he had gone shopping for our dinner while I was testing that morning. Having no frame of reference for how remote Yosemite is, I was glad that he had planned ahead. The menu wasn’t fancy by any means but the store bought bean burritos cooked over the coals on a grill in Yosemite may have been the best one of my life- it doesn’t get much better than listening to the Merced river and staring at the face of El Cap while eating a dinner lovingly cooked by your American Adventure Boy* boyfriend. (*My silly nickname for Scott).
I had been in charge of finding lodging for us while we were in Yosemite and a peculiar yet charming place called the Yosemite Bug piqued my interest. It didn’t disappoint! We had a little one room cabin with an Indian theme (tigers featured heavily) built into the side of a mountain. More importantly, we were happy to discover that there was a firepit and we joined a small crowd around the fire. One of my favorite parts of travelling is the chance encounters with other interesting travelers. We chatted with a fascinating retired contractor for the National Parks System and I took some of his advice* regarding Riverbend to heart and am storing it away for future use- the gist of it being that I am just a temporary caretaker for it. (*Disclaimer: the California gummy bears that I had eaten may have meant that I thought he was an oracle sent by the universe to deliver a symbolic message to me about my career and my future and in reality he was probably just a well traveled and friendly old guy with a white beard from New York. Only time will tell.)
On Monday morning after a quick breakfast in the Yosemite Bug restaurant we headed back to the park. I enjoyed being able to take in all the views of the mountains and the Merced river in the daylight since we had left Yosemite after dark the night before. Our Yosemite adventure for today was to hike up the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls. We were about 5 minutes into the walk when we* (*Scott) chatted with a group of fellow hikers, and because of a Clemson beanie, discovered that their whole group was from Greenville. A husband and wife pair were the owners of Clemson Eye where both Scott’s dad and my dad are patients, and they both knew one of my boarders who is an optometrist. Wherever you go, there you are.
The hike up the Mist Trail was a 7 mile round trip hike with a 2,900 foot gain. I was glad that we had been running and were in good shape because it was a “moderate to strenuous” trail. It followed the Merced river for a good while and we got some great views of the river- some of the boulders within the river were easily the size of houses. We encountered some park employees doing trail repair on our way up and as we passed by, the foreman told us he had a question for us- he asked if Covid had affected our daily work lives. We responded accordingly and chatted with him for a bit. Before moving on he told us he had one more question for us before we could carry on up the mountain. We waited in suspense… and he asked if either of us knew what linen was made of. I told him that linen was made from flax and he accepted my answer so thankfully we were able to carry on our merry way up the mountain. Thanks Colonial Williamsburg for teaching me that!
At the top of the trail we were able to see Nevada Fall and had a great view of Half Dome. We hammocked and had lunch here before starting our descent. I read later that if you only have time to do a single hike in Yosemite, this is a good one.
After our hike we still had time to see some more Yosemite highlights. Scott kept remarking that usually it would be bumper to bumper traffic so the fact that parking was plentiful and easy to find was uncharacteristic and made the experience much better. We walked to the base of Yosemite Falls and on the way to it saw a black bear!
The final mission of the day was to find a spot to set the hammock up in to watch the sunset. We decided that the base of El Capitan would suit quite nicely. It wasn’t until the sun set and the dark moved in that it became obvious that there were tons of climbers on the face of El Cap- you could only spot them because of their headlamps. That gave me a tremendous appreciation for the scope and scale of the massive granite structure since I had been unable to spot any climbers during the daylight.
When we got back to the Yosemite Bug that night, we opted for purchasing spa passes rather than sitting around the campfire. Our muscles appreciated both the hot tub and the sauna after the long day of hiking and adventuring. It was a nice way to unwind and we reflected on all the memorable experiences and fun we’d had on our trip.
Many more photos of Yosemite
