After a long trip through the Grand Canyon, we headed north to the Sierra Nevada mountains, past Mono Lake, and into Yosemite National Park. We were greeted with the majesty that pictures can really do no justice.
We decided to make camp for the night in a public car camping site and plot out the day's big hike and ascent to Half Dome via the John Muir trail.
Reverend Jon drinking from the Bridalvail falls fountain.
We camped near the base of El Capitan which is one of the long sought after climbing spots for professional climbers. I didn't get very far up the face this giant granite rock.
The next day, we set out on a grueling hike on he John Muir trail to our destination. Here's the specs:
REGION: Yosemite + Central Sierra, CA
CO
NET ELEVATION GAIN:
4,836.00 ft (1,474.01 m)
SUITABLE FOR:
Hiking, Horseback
TOTAL DISTANCE:
16.50 mi (26.55 km)
TRAILHEAD ELEVATION:
4,000.00 ft (1,219.20 m)
We took time to stop and smell the ro....blow the giant dandilions.
The giant trees were breathtaking.
We could see the summit of Half Dome periodically on our trek up the mountain. It was quite intimidating to look up at while carrying a 40lb pack on your back. We had rations to stay at Yosemite Base Camp for 3 nights. I'm pretty sure we over-packed. It really felt like it.
Getting to Half Dome was a strenuous climb and it's not for the faint of heart. I suggest you do it, but you may want to train for atleast a few weeks before making the hike.
If I had to pick, Yosemite is my favorite National Park I've visited to date. There's just something really special about it. All 3 of the persons in my group (including myself) had some pretty supernatural experiences while in the park on separate occasions. These stories are better discussed over a beer and long conversation- not a blog unfortunately 😉.
Jon Muir, the guy who's trail we blazed, had many great things to say about Yosemite and did great work in the preservation of it's lands. I'll leave you with a few quotes from him.
“The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.”- J.M.
“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”- J.M.
“None of Nature’s landscapes are ugly so long as they are wild.”-J.M.
KEEP WALKING,
LeeJ