Hiking up the falls

When we woke up, it was COLD. *brr!* I made the mistake of suggesting we have yogurt with granola for breakfast. Cold food on a cold morning is NOT a good idea. *nods head emphatically whilst shivering* But it was still yummy! *laughs* We needed to get gas for the car before heading into Yosemite and figured our best bet would be Fish Camp. Unfortunately, we were wrong. Thankfully, we had asked the camp host prior to leaving and she was nice enough to tell us that the nearest gas was in Wawona. Darn…because it had looked to be fairly expensive when we had gone past it the day before.
AND HOW! Good grief, it was $3.91 a gallon!! *faints while mentally cursing the oil gods* So we gave in and tried to get some gas. Tried being the operative word because apparently the pumps didn’t want to give it up. Since it was still early, there was no attendant at the station therefore we were out of luck. We figured we had about 70 miles worth of gas in the tank and it looked like the route we wanted to take today was about that long. Did we want to risk it? WHY THE HECK NOT?!? *feeling a wee bit reckless*

Our first stop was the Day Use Parking Lot in Yosemite Valley. The plan for the morning was to take the shuttle from the parking lot over to Vernal Falls and hike up to the top. On the way to the parking, we had fantastic views of Half Dome, El Capitan and Bridalveil Falls again. *PRETTY!!* We found a great spot to park the car in the shade and made our way over to the bus stop only to realize that the scheduled route goes in order by number, we were at 1 and the stop we wanted was 16. (Um, yeah. Not happening…) It would have taken us FOREVER to get to the falls. After an impromptu group discussion with the other park patrons who were waiting for the shuttle, we came to the general consensus that parking closer to the falls and walking would be a good idea. (The people are so nice here! *laughs*)

So that’s exactly what we did. The walk up to the start of the trail was picturesque and the hike itself wasn’t bad at all. The first part up to the base of the falls was taken at a leisurely pace and there was a spot where a tiny stream trickled out of the rock and someone had built a little stone pool underneath to catch the water. People walking by would rinse their hands, splash water on their faces or wade through it to get the dust off their sandaled feet. We were greeted by a roar and a fine misting of water when we finally got to the bridge that spanned the bottom of the falls.

After a moment or two to enjoy the coolness of the water, we began the second half of our hike up to the top of Vernal Falls. It started similarly enough with a dirt trail meandering through the trees. But then it took a decidedly steeper tone and soon there were more rocks than dirt in our path. As the trail drew us increasingly closer to the thundering cascade, it turned into stone steps that were cut into the rise of rock under our feet and the gush of water over the top of the falls ricocheted off the surrounding walls and drenched us in its spray. A rainbow arched over our path, frozen for a moment between the mist and the sunlight.

That was when I realized that I had applied sunblock to my face prior to leaving the car and it was currently dripping IN MY EYE! *ouch, ouch, ouch* But we did eventually make it and sat on a slab of rock at the top to dry off in the hot sun. (And to have a snack. That’s the important part! *grin*) Matt accidentally spilled some almonds on the ground and the squirrels were having a heyday. Actually, we did try to pick them up since feeding the wildlife is a big no no but one sneaky squirrel nearly hopped over my shoulder in its haste to shove the lot into its mouth. *astonished*

The hike down was good. It also made us glad we had started our trek up to the falls early because there were a TON of people heading up the trail. (And we all know how much Matt LOVES crowds. *making our escape with a quickness*) We ended up having lunch just off the parking lot in the shade of the trees before driving over to the Yosemite Visitor Center. The inside of the car had a fine coating of dust from the inch of open window we had cracked earlier when we had parked it. *holding up a finger covered in grime after sweeping it across the dash* Oh, well!

We strolled along the walkway towards the visitor center once the car was safely parked back in the Day Use Parking. After a brief perusal of the contents of the visitor center, we made our way to the base of Yosemite Falls. It was impressive but ice cream was calling my name (it does that with a distressing frequency) so we found ourselves back at the general store before heading back to Wawona for that gas we needed earlier. On the way, we passed by a few of the campsites and were glad to have camped in Summerdale. They were so full that they looked like a jumble of tents, much like a Hobo Town. *wrinkles nose*

We were both rather sweaty and dirty between the hike and the hotness of the day. Unfortunately, our campsite was sadly lacking in shower facilities. Matt seemed ok with it but it was definitely something I was not used to. *yuck…* After a while of contemplating whether one day of dirtiness was going to kill me, I decided it wasn’t such a big deal. (Although my minor OCD concerning dirt was having an internal convulsive fit.) Eventually, it even felt kind of liberating. *smiles* It turned into a relaxing evening of blogging and postcard writing and the night sky was crazy beautiful, a brilliant star spangled sky.

Mileage: 79