Friday – May 26th, 2023
Today was a mixture of success and failure. It started really well, but then went pretty wrong and our attempts to remedy the situation, also failed fairly hard. Our main aim for the day was to spend the entire day hiking around the park and generally taking in the magnificence of the location. However, to do this we decided to Hike up the Four Mile Trial to Glacier Point, Then Hike the Panorama trail around to The Mist/ John Muir Trail, and then back down into the Valley. It would be a long day, with stunning views and around 14 miles of hiking. However, we hit a large SNAG!
The Four Mile Trail, Glacier Point, and the Panorama Trail were all CLOSED. This really threw a spanner in the works and left out plans pretty much up in the air. To compensate for this I decided to get up at the crack of dawn for a Sunrise Photoshoot, actually, I got up well before the Crack of dawn to grab some Shots of the Milkey Way over the Valley.
Astrophotography
With the Alarm Set for 3 am, We decided there was no real need for Kate to get up with me and head up to Tunnel View in the Pitch Black. Taking Astro-Photos is a pretty involved practice and I would e focused on that while Kate sat around in the cold, so it was best if I just headed up alone to focus on the stars.
Arriving at Tunnel View several hours before Sunrise I was amazed I was not alone. However, I was the first out of my car and getting set up. There was a very short window to grab some shots before the light started creeping from behind the horizon and ruining the Stars.
The Milkey Way was not well aligned to the Valley, the faint end of the Galaxy was nicely over the Tunnel View but the Core was in the opposite direction. Meaning the Glow over the valley would be faint, but definitely there.
I Set up the gear and started snapping away. Building up some large Composite shots and trying to get as much of ht Galaxy in the camera before the light got too much. It did not take long, after arriving just before 4 am, the light was already too much by 4:30 and you could visibly see the stars fade away. I only managed a few sets but luckily I ended up pretty happy with the results. These could have been a lot worse as the constant flow of people arriving for Sun Rise meant Shooting the stars was challenging.
Sunrise over Yosemite
After the Light got too much I was left in a bit of a predicament as Sunrise was not for another hour and it was freezing cold high up overlooking the Valley. On top of this, Sunrise is a bit of a None-event at this time of year from This location. The Sun Rises behind El Capitan and all that happens is the Sky gets bright. There is no Ta-Da moment at Sunrise. This comes a while later when the sun finally pokes out from Behind the Granite Behemoth. How much later? Well, the sun did not actually make its appearance until 6:55 AM
That was 3 hours standing high up on a hillside, in the frigid morning air waiting for the Sun to pop up and start its warming. 3 hours of being very tired after getting up at 3 AM with only 5 hours of sleep. £ hours looking at the same slowly evolving vista. 3 hours with nothing to eat or drink but a bottle of water (my bad). 3 hours of aching feet and numb hands. £ hours of boredom. Was it worth it…
…Oh Yes.
Oversleeping!
After getting back in the car and firing the heater up, I headed off back down the Valley. Yosemite Valley is a one-way road and the Turn Off for Tunnel is right at the beginning, so I had a loop of the Valley in the very pretty morning light, with a couple of stops along the way when nice shots presented themselves.
Finally back at the Lodge around 7:30 Tired, Exhausted, and really sleepy, we faced a full day of Hiking. We needed to be in the park early as it was now the Friday of Memorial Weekend and the hordes would be on their way. Our plan was to get into the park and hike up away from the masses before they arrived. Kate was still asleep, so I lay down next to her just to rest my eyes…
Suddenly it is 9 AM and we awoke suddenly. My little cat nap had turned into a major crash. We pulled up Google Maps and the queues were already forming at the gate. A fairly mad rush ensued to get up and get ready for our hike as we packed up food for the day and quickly consumed some form of calories for breakfast. We then jumped in the car and made a dash for the gates.
Mist Trail – Vernal Falls
With the Four Mile Trail off the table due to closures. Our options were fairly limited. The Half Dome Trail is probably too much for Kate, and besides it was not open yet anyway. Bridalveil Falls Trail was Closed for maintenance, and we hiked the Yosemite Falls trail last night.
So when we say options were limited, we really mean it. The only real option is the Mist Trail up to Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. However, we have hiked this trail before and were really looking for something new for us. But there was really no option.
The parking lots were filling up fast and when we found a spot in the large Curry Village lot. We decided to take it rather than risk not finding a spot further on and then losing the spot here. This meant a short 1-mile hike along the road, but all things considered, this was a win. We decided not to wait for a shuttle for just 1 mile.
The day had dawned nice and sunny and the temperature was a wonderful 80°f perfect hiking weather, warm but not overbearingly hot. There was quite a bit of humidity in the air so we were wary of afternoon storms. The Hike up to the Vernal Falls Bridge is a solid gradient, but the trails are really well made, and it is a nice easy hike, if a little challenging on the Cardiovascular system. The trails were by now very busy and this is far from getting away from it all in nature! With so many trail closures, it meant the crowds were very much congregated.
There are restrooms at Bridge and the trail here splits, the John Muir heading up the hillside and the Mist trail heads up to the Falls. This is where things went a little haywire. As we mentioned yesterday. The Merced River was in full flood. This meant vernal falls were Raging. The mist trail is named after the spray from the falls gently covering the trail in a light mist, or a more heavy spray when the falls are heavy. Today, it was biblical!
As the water pounded off the top of the falls it crashed into the base and erupted upwards in torrents of blasting icy water. This made the path almost unpassable. We were really only geared up for fair-weather hiking, especially with the camera gear I had. Sure, I had a rain jacket for the camera bag, but this was seriously intense and streams of people were coming down after failing to make it through.
The trial ends up right under the falls with a treacherous hike up stone steps which in good conditions is tough. Today it would have been awful. We took the sensible decision to turn back. It just wasn’t on the cards to head any further. This then left us with another option, the John Muir Trail. This loops up the hills and then drops you back onto the mist trail between Vernal and Nevada Falls. This would have added a good 5+ miles to the hike, along with a good lump of elevation.
For reasons we struggle to understand right now, we took the decision to not take that route and instead hike back down. This really went against our plan for the day and meant basically admitting defeat. There were no other real options and by the time we got back to the valley floor our feet were pretty beat anyway.
Happy Valley Loop
Instead of another trail, of which there were very few options anyway, we just potted around the valley floor instead. We found a nice spot in the sun, by the river, for a picnic lunch and just enjoyed some time in the Valley.
We then headed over to the Happley Isle Loop and wandered around the nature trail here for a while, but honestly, this is not really worth your time as it just offers flat hiking with no views or worthwhile adventures.
Admitting Defeat
From here our options were really limited. We were really regretting not taking the John Muir leg of the trail, but there was no point ruminating and you make your decisions based on information at the time. Instead, we decided to head back to the car and drive u to some of the viewpoints that are accessible by car.
We headed around the Valley floor keeping our eyes out for wildlife, but unfortunately, the bears and deer seemed to be very shy on his trip. At the fort to Highway 120, which is closed we headed up as you can get part way up before the closures.
Stopping at Big Oak Flat Vista and Yosemite Valley Vista Point we got some nice views of the Valley along with a great stop at a waterfall that is 100% the inspiration for the Grizzly Peak Waterfall at Disneyland:
The views here are usually stunning but the heat of the day was turning the humidity into the expected rain clouds we had predicted would roll in. The skies getting really quite threatening. In the end, we admitted defeat and headed back to the lodge to wait out the rains and see what the late afternoon would bring.
Unfortunately, Showers and rain persisted through to the evening and the rest of our Yosemite trip was a bit of a wash-out. We ended up heading to the on-site shop to get some food to get s through the evening and had a relaxing night. Even finding time to cook up some Smores on the Fireplace inside the Cabin.
We had definitely not achieved all we wanted in the Valley this time around and this can only mean one thing…we will be back.
Walking Total – 17,530 Steps – 10.3 Miles
A big day as we spent a lot of time Hiking. We didn’t cover the 14+ we had planned but with all the trail closures this was always going to be the case. We could have hit the target had we taken the John Muir Detour, but you make your choices.
