Yosemite Trip Report

We stayed at a rental home in the Yosemite Four Seasons development in West Yosemite. Highly recommended as the people running the place are helpful and friendly. Also, it is economical, as our group was 12 people which made dividing up costs for lodging and food a nice benefit.

For hiking excursions, be sure to check out this list.

On Thursday, we visited Bridalveil Fall. The fall was so thunderous that you can't actually get to the usual vista point without getting drenched!

We visited the Lower Yosemite Fall. At the lookout point at the base, it is wet though not like Bridalveil. We then took a hike to the first lookout point of Upper Yosemite Fall. There is some elevation gain in this hike but it isn't too far. Columbia Rock is about 1 mile where you get a great view of the Yosemite Valley. Another 1/2 mile, you get to a vista point to see Upper Yosemite Fall.

On Friday, we walked to Mirror Lake. The web page says it is a 5 mile round trip. It is fairly level so we took it nice and easy and looked all around at the glorious scenary. For the afternoon, we went to Yosemite Lodge which has a bike rental shop next door. We biked around the Eastern part of the Valley for about 90 minutes. The rate is $7.50/hour and they charge per half hour. These bikes are one-speed and the brake is by reverse pedaling. It took a little getting used to!

On Saturday, we tackled the Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall hike. For the route up, we used the Mist Trail and got drenched!! And for the route down, we used the John Muir trail which is a little longer but you don't get soaked.

Some friends went to Ahwahnee to get some drinks and relax. I'll have to try that next time!

Here are still more photos from Yosemite. Photos from earlier posts can be found here and here

Upper Yosemite Fall!



Mirror Lake



Top of Nevada Fall!

Getting to this famed fall was a pilgrimage of sorts for me. For one thing, I have this Ansel Adams poster hanging in my apartment. I wanted to see the famed Nevada Fall with my own eyes. And secondly, I had two "health episodes" last year described here and here. Because of those incidents, I was a little nervous as to my ability to tackle something a bit strenuous. I am happy to report, I made the hike up and back (although slowly!) without any problems!



Nevada Fall viewed from the John Muir Trail