Mike & Theresa: Yosemite National Park

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Yosemite National Park

Over Memorial Weekend, we and some friends went hiking and camping in Yosemite. The waterfalls are at their fullest in the spring and early summer. We drove up on Friday morning and camped about 20 miles outside of the park. The campsites in the park went on sale when we were in Australia in January and by the time I got online when we were home, they were all sold out. We found a spot by Bass Lake and it ended up being pretty nice. The next time we go back, hopefully we can get a spot in the park. It would be a lot easier to get to the trail heads. We usually had to drive an hour or more to get to a trail staying outside the park.

Our Campsite

On Saturday, we hiked the Panorama Trail from Glacier Point to the top of Nevada Falls. It was a 10.4 mile hike out and back! 10 miles may have not been all that bad, but it was all up and down the whole way. Some of the hikes go up in the beginning and down at the end, but not this one. The finish was really hard since we were all tired and the incline was pretty steep! But, we survived!

The View From Glacier Point (Half Dome to the Left)

Mike and I were the only ones interested in hiking on Sunday, everyone else was sore and tired. We hiked the Giant Staircase trail from Happy Isles to the top of Nevada Falls. It was all very steep in the beginning, but all downhill the second half. It was an awesome trail! We walked up stairs next to a waterfall, Vernal Fall, and got sprayed with it's mist. We were soaked when we got to the top.

Vernal Fall

After 2 days of heavy hiking, I could barely walk. I really would have liked to hike more on Monday, but my legs said no way. Yosemite is a majestical place! Please enjoy the photos, which include a lot of nature and waterfalls!

Us with Mike's Sister, Kate