Our last two days of the trip were in Yosemite, a little north of the other two parks. This shot below was taken at the Tunnel View Overlook, right as you enter Yosemite Valley. To the right of me you can see Bridalveil Falls, and right over my head you can just barely see a curved rock, Half Dome. Half Dome is called that because it looks like half of it has fallen away, but geologists studying it say that it really just formed that way. Along with Yosemite Falls, Half Dome is one of those major features of the park that people recognize as being "Yosemite."
We were able to do a bit more hiking in this park than in the others. The trails in Yosemite Valley (the 'main' part of the park development, where all the restaurants and museums and main visitor centers are) weren't iced up or snowed over, so we could actually hike without having to worry about snowshoes or anything. In fact, the trail we set out on was the Upper Yosemite Falls, was on the sunny side of the Valley in the morning hours. Between the sunshine and the steep climb, we warmed up VERY quickly on that trail! Ended up carrying most of these layers we started out with :)
The Upper Yosemite Falls Trail is actually one of Yosemite's oldest historic trails (built 1873 to 1877). It leads (via over 60 switchbacks!) up to the top of Yosemite Falls. This is actually North America’s tallest waterfall 2,425 feet (739 m) above the Valley floor, if you're the type that likes that sort of trivia! There are a few good turn-around points along the route, though, if you don't want to go all the way up. Columbia Rock is the first one, about a mile along the trail, and gives AWESOME views along the valley. It's the point where the first picture below was taken. About a half-mile further is a good viewpoint of the falls themselves. That's the second picture below. If you keep along the trail for another mile or so after that, you reach the top of the falls. Zach kept going all the way to the top, but I turned around and came back down after the Upper Falls viewpoint - my legs had just about reached their limit!
The Upper Yosemite Falls Trail is actually one of Yosemite's oldest historic trails (built 1873 to 1877). It leads (via over 60 switchbacks!) up to the top of Yosemite Falls. This is actually North America’s tallest waterfall 2,425 feet (739 m) above the Valley floor, if you're the type that likes that sort of trivia! There are a few good turn-around points along the route, though, if you don't want to go all the way up. Columbia Rock is the first one, about a mile along the trail, and gives AWESOME views along the valley. It's the point where the first picture below was taken. About a half-mile further is a good viewpoint of the falls themselves. That's the second picture below. If you keep along the trail for another mile or so after that, you reach the top of the falls. Zach kept going all the way to the top, but I turned around and came back down after the Upper Falls viewpoint - my legs had just about reached their limit!
Zach was busy climbing a hillside and since my legs were smoked (I really was shaking coming back down from that climb!) I decided to wander around the valley floor and see the sites down there. Checked out the Ansel Adams museum and made my way over to the Ahwahnee Hotel, another landmark to see in the park. I loved the trail looping along the valley floor, all nice and cozy and wooded. And there was a great view of the pair of Yosemite Falls near the visitor center, too.
The Ahwahnee Hotel is a historic hotel, as well as a fancy one. Built to accommodate rich tourists coming to the park, it was completed back in 1927. Absolutely beautiful building! It has a Native American decorating theme, showing up in the painting on the walls and trim, and in the tapestries and stained glass throughout the building. Very interesting building to walk through.
The Ahwahnee Hotel is a historic hotel, as well as a fancy one. Built to accommodate rich tourists coming to the park, it was completed back in 1927. Absolutely beautiful building! It has a Native American decorating theme, showing up in the painting on the walls and trim, and in the tapestries and stained glass throughout the building. Very interesting building to walk through.
We didn't stay in the fancy hotel though. We actually stayed at Camp 4, a tent-only campsite in Yosemite Valley. The only reason I mention that is because Camp 4 was important in the development of rock climbing as a sport. It is actually listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of this! Apparently, all the crazy climbers would spend the day on the rocks surrounding the Valley, and then at night would come back to the campsite and chat and swap routes and techniques and so forth. And aside from historical importance, it also has a great view of the Upper Falls!
Even though we didn't need so many layers on the trail, it was still very snowy on the valley floor. So, it's official now, I have camped in snow! It actually got down to about 12 the night we camped out there. I slept in tons of layers, while Zach slept in his toasty 0 degree bag. My bag isn't as warm as his, only a 30 degree bag. Might have to upgrade eventually if we keep up this camping-in-winter stuff! Anyway, it cracked me up to see his nose peeking out of that bag. :) He didn't care - he was toasty warm!
Yosemite is truly worth the trip, but at the same time, we enjoyed the other two parks better this trip. Not that we didn't enjoy it too, just not as much as the others. I think the problem we had was that we were in Yosemite on a holiday weekend (New Year's) so there were tons of people who had taken the weekend to come up and play. Meant that this was the most crowded of the 3 parks that we visited. I think if we came back at another time of year or simply on another weekend, and were able to get away from the main area of Yosemite Valley, we'd be able to appreciate the trails and wilderness a bit more. The Valley itself is a bit of a bottleneck, the way the road loops through it all. One of the results of being a National Park and a tourist destination for so long, I guess - the roadways weren't really designed for the number of cars that pass through nowadays. I can't even imagine how crowded those roads would be in the peak of summer! Still, if you're in the area, it is definitely worth the visit!
Even though we didn't need so many layers on the trail, it was still very snowy on the valley floor. So, it's official now, I have camped in snow! It actually got down to about 12 the night we camped out there. I slept in tons of layers, while Zach slept in his toasty 0 degree bag. My bag isn't as warm as his, only a 30 degree bag. Might have to upgrade eventually if we keep up this camping-in-winter stuff! Anyway, it cracked me up to see his nose peeking out of that bag. :) He didn't care - he was toasty warm!
Yosemite is truly worth the trip, but at the same time, we enjoyed the other two parks better this trip. Not that we didn't enjoy it too, just not as much as the others. I think the problem we had was that we were in Yosemite on a holiday weekend (New Year's) so there were tons of people who had taken the weekend to come up and play. Meant that this was the most crowded of the 3 parks that we visited. I think if we came back at another time of year or simply on another weekend, and were able to get away from the main area of Yosemite Valley, we'd be able to appreciate the trails and wilderness a bit more. The Valley itself is a bit of a bottleneck, the way the road loops through it all. One of the results of being a National Park and a tourist destination for so long, I guess - the roadways weren't really designed for the number of cars that pass through nowadays. I can't even imagine how crowded those roads would be in the peak of summer! Still, if you're in the area, it is definitely worth the visit!
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