Scorched Earth to Promised Lands
By my calculations based on good advice, I needed to wake up before 5 a.m. to drive the 2.5 hours and park before 8:15 a.m. when my text alerts from the Yosemite Park Service told me the lots filled up each morning.
I did NOT get up at 5 a.m., but was on the road by 7 and remembered lesson 1: you get there when you get there. The drive was beautiful through winding roads on cliff edges with no guard rails. This is how they pick off the weak, I thought. As I got closer to the park the trees thinned and I was surrounded as far as the eye could see with scorched carcasses of a once bountiful forest. But once I passed the unassuming western gates, I was soon hit by the breathtaking majesty of Yosemite Valley.
It is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter.
—John Muir
I’m here to tell you that all of the hype about Yosemite can’t begin to describe how unbelievably spectacular even the most mundane aspects are. Sitting in traffic for an hour 10 miles from my destination was breathtaking, with the sheer granite cliffs of El Capitan on one side, and a powerful rushing river on the other, surrounded by majestic trees. I had the good fortune to snag a single night reservation in the Yosemite Valley Lodge, allowing me access to the east valley that had already been closed to the public by 10 a.m. while the other poor schlubs were directed back out of the valley at a snail’s pace. I considered stopping many times, but I stayed my course to check in early, stash my electronics with the front desk, and sailed immediately into the impossible parking spot that was magically waiting for me.
Happy Accidents = Spray in the Face!
Yosemite Falls, one of the worlds tallest at 2,425 feet, greets you immediately upon arrival and is visible from nearly anywhere in the park. I took off to hike a 7.5 mile loop to the top, but took a wrong turn and ended up at the lower falls an easy flat 20min from the lodge. It was a refreshing spray in the face and a stunning view of crashing waters majesty.
I got back on track by 12:30 to begin a scrappy sweltering switchback ascent straight up the mountain. Two very hot hours later I made it! Half way, that is. People coming down had started at 6a.m. and were just descending then, looking half-baked and exhausted, so I knew my goose was cooked (as were my legs!). But I made it to a gorgeous mid-point and a close up view of the falls, complete with spray, half dome in the distance, and the warm company of an Italian from Naples by way of Long Beach. He made sure I had all the best pictures and was a welcome rest stop companion.
By the time I made it down, my room was ready, so I took a nice cold shower and an early bird dinner in the Mountain Room restaurant, where I devoured a steak with a view of Yosemite falls and a cold glass of prosecco. I had grand plans to pack in more sightseeing, but instead I just wandered around the meadows near my room and found it perfect light, as the sun went down, for stunning reflections of the cliffs and waterfalls in the wetlands. I did make it to Tunnel View to catch the last little pink of sun over the expanse of the valley below.
Dallas Girls Save the Day
Day two I headed to the Mist trail on the eastern most tip of the park, but decided to walk the hour to the trailhead instead of waiting for the shuttle. I discovered then that both feet had painful blisters that screamed with each step. Bad news for our heroine! But luckily I bought a little emergency kit from REI on a whim, and I sat down right on the trail and Macgyvered a toe binding that kept them from touching my shoe.
The “mist” was really more of a deluge due to over 200% the average snow pack now melting, and created a spray so heavy it obscured any decent pictures. Soaked from head to toe, I trudged up natural rock steps that had waterfalls of their own rushing down them, with the powerful Vernal Falls crashing mere feet from me on the left. At the top of the waterfall I emerged to a large granite slab covered with weary, soaking wet hikers sprawled like so many beached seals drying in the sun. I joined their ranks if only to wring out my socks and devour a sandwich before heading on. My partners in descent were two awesome women from Dallas who had just hiked to the more distant Nevada falls, and they made the death march up another sweltering switchback and then down the John Muir trail much more enjoyable. Thanks ladies!
Whatever You Can Do is Just Right
There was so much more I could have seen and done, but I don’t feel like I missed a thing. And I felt real awe in that place, even though I must have been surrounded by 20,000 people hidden amongst the splendor and trees. I’m so glad I came here, and ignored all of that good advice, well-meaning articles boding chaos, and texts from NPS telling me to turn back. Sometimes it’s just stubborn stupidity that gets you through, and others it’s serendipity.
