DAYS 27 - 30: Yosemite

August 29, 2014

DAYS 27 - 30: Yosemite

On our first day in Yosemite we headed to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. We decided to do an 8 mile hike through the trees and up to the Wawona Point Vista at 6810 feet. It was a really nice shaded hike through the forest with lots of chipmunks and squirrels running around. We walked through the “California Tunnel Tree” which was cut in 1985 to allow horse-drawn carriages to pass through. My favourite tree was the “Telescope Tree” which is hollowed out all the way to the top. You can step inside, look up and see the sky and tree canopy above. Amazingly this tree is still alive which shows how resistant Sequoias are to fire. From Wawona Point we got a great view down the valley to where we were going to be camping. After we finished our hike we jumped in the car and headed up Wawona Road and through Tunnel View Overlook. This historic scenic spot has amazing views of the Yosemite Valley and is framed by the granite monoliths of El Capitan and Half Dome. There's an Ansel Adams photograph of it that I'd seen before, but seeing it right there it was really beautiful. By the time we got to camp it was starting to get dark so we decided to just to have an early night, but not before we had been suitably warned about putting all food items and toiletries in the bear box outside our tent! The camp setting was amazing, it is literally in the heart of Yosemite with so much wildlife wandering around, including a Stag which seemed to favour the apple tree near the disabled parking spot.

Giant trees have giant pinecones

California Tunnel Tree

Telescope Tree

Top of Wawona Point - 6810 ft

Tunnel View

Stag

Bear Traps near camp!

The following morning we woke early to hike Glacier Point. We went up the Four-Mile Trail (which is a lie – it is actually 4.8 miles of endless switchbacks up to 7214ft). Really steep! I’m glad we started early because it would have been absolutely brutal in the sunshine. The views were incredible and we were about to stop for a power snack when suddenly just below us on the trail we saw a bear! We knew that there were a lot of bears around the park but I never thought we would actually see one. You’re meant to shout and make lots of noise to scare the bear away but this guy seemed so unbothered by us and casually walked away so we just stopped and watched him. But not for too long because he was a cub and we weren't sure where mama bear was…! We got to the top in about 2.5 hours which I thought was pretty good going. Apparently you can pay to get a coach up to the top though which was quite disheartening to see all the fresh faced people wandering around whilst we were sweaty and dishevelled. The view was so worth the climb though, we looked straight down into Yosemite Valley, the (dry) Yosemite Falls, and up at Half Dome which we were hoping to climb later in the week. We decided to take the Panorama Trail down, which is 8.5 miles but a lot less steep so kinder on our knees. After walking for 4 hours in the sun though I wasn’t sure how much happier I was with this decision, but the trail did provide us with incredible panoramic views of the Yosemite Valley. The next day was supposed to be a rest day to recover from Glacier Point before we tackled Half Dome. We decided to go for an easy stroll around the Valley floor but ended up misreading the trail map and walking 9 miles! So much for a rest day…

Breakfast Break

Hiking up the Four Mile Trail

Beautiful views from halfway up

Spot the bear!

At the top of Glacier Point looking at Half Dome

Glacier Point

Panorama from the top of Glacier Point

On our final day we awoke at 5am and left the tent to start our hike. We walked a mile to the start of the Mist Trail in the pitch black with only one head torch between us. After bumping into the bear 2 days earlier, not going to lie, I was a little bit scared and jumping at shadows. It’s been so long since I’ve been somewhere which is completely dark: no lights from houses, cars – or anything really apart from the stars. By the time we got to the really forested part of the trail, I was more than a little relieved it was starting to get light. Half Dome’s summit is at 8836 ft and requires an elevation gain of 4800 ft from the valley floor where we started. It is the most extreme climb I have ever done and the hardest I have ever had to push myself – my body has never hurt so much. We began a mile of uphill walking through the forest before we reached Vernal Falls Bridge. This is the last place we could fill up our water for the entire trail and with temperatures rising to about 36 degrees during the day we needed every drop we could get. After leaving the bridge we headed up the trail to the top of Vernal Falls. This was very steep but we were lucky that this year the waterfall was quite dry so no mist was actually falling on the trail which can make it quite slippery and difficult. After another mile of upwards climb we got to a small uneven trail cut out of the side of the mountain – luckily there were some cables here to steady us as we climbed over the head of the falls. The view from here was amazing and we looked directly down into Emerald Pool which collects at the bottom of the falls. Considering it was only about 6.45am at this point the amount of people we could see scrambling up the bottom of the trail was unbelievable! We powered on up to the bottom of the next waterfall: Nevada Falls. From here it was just relentless switchbacks up to the top of the falls and we gained a lot of elevation, but it was a real leg killer. The trail then opens and levels out so we got a bit of a rest (or so we thought) before the trail steeply heads up through another patch of forest. It was from here we got the first glimpse the side of half dome we were going to climb. The second forest section felt like it would never end, it was just relentlessly uphill. But as the sun was now up and beating down quite strongly, it was also the last bit of shade we would have. We finally made it to a clearing and to the base of the granite dome at 9.00am. There we were greeted by a Park Ranger. In order to hike to the very top and use the cables, Yosemite require you to apply for a permit – I guess so they can monitor who is going up as it is reasonably dangerous. We applied for the permit lottery whilst we were in the camp but didn't get them so decided to hike up anyway and try our luck. Unfortunately for us, Sour-faced-Sally the Park Ranger monitoring access to the cables was having none of it. It was a bit frustrating because after that 7 mile climb up to the base, we were really hoping to get to the top. Also she told us that we were the second people to get there so we could have probably got up and down before anyone else arrived. Anyway, she said our best hope was to wait around and see if anyone had spare permits. We thought this was unlikely, but we had nothing to lose so waited around. And I’m so happy we did! Because about 45 minutes later Andrea the Coastguard turned up with several spare permits. Her husband and friends were rock-climbing the other face (!) and didn’t need them. So off we went, past Sour-faced-Sally and to the base. Before getting to the cables we had to climb “sub-dome”: a mini granite dome that is connected to the back of Half Dome and basically destroys your legs before you even meet the cables. The trail completely disappears here and we had to scramble up the granite for 500 feet. What made it really difficult was that there was no shelter at all so we were completely exposed. Then came the moment of truth: we got to the base of half dome and the cables. I didn’t think it would be so daunting but as you look up, it looks basically vertical. In reality the beginning is about 50 degrees which changes to about 70 degrees from halfway up. What makes it worse is the granite is quite slippery and the only thing keeping you from falling 400 ft is whatever strength of have left in your arms or legs. When I literally didn’t think I had anything left to keep going (we started the trail 7 hours before!) the summit came into view. I can’t even describe how amazing it was, and the photos definitely don’t do it justice. We rested and had something to eat before heading back down. I was a bit concerned about this but actually going down was far easier than coming up. Completing the climb was so exhilarating and we were both hyped up on adrenaline which was probably good because we still had 8 miles to get back to camp! The hike down just felt never-ending. The sun was unrelenting and we had both run out of water so it just felt awful. But FINALLY we made it back to camp at 5pm (12 hours after we’d first left) in so much pain and basically unable to walk but so so happy. It was the best ending to our stay in Yosemite.