The two of us are still suffering from jet lag. This morning we woke just before 5. Somebody on the floor above kept wandering around, heavy footsteps seemed to echo all around us. Anyway 5 o’clock is one hour better than yesterday’s 4 am.
After our breakfast in the maelstrom of the Riu dining area where good food is at a premium we packed our bags and set off for Yosemite. We began our journey by getting caught up in a traffic jam in the middle of San Francisco. The police cordoned off our route and this caused everywhere to be chocker. Eventually we managed to free ourselves from the city.
Bye to Frisco
As we left the opposite carriageway had a long, long tailback heading into the city. Maybe this happens everyday. We didn’t face anymore jams but the roads remained busy until we left the freeway 50 miles short of Yosemite.
On the way Maggi suggested we stop and buy some groceries for our stay. The room has a kitchenette so we could cook something on a hob. What a good idea that turned out to be. On arrival at Yosemite View Lodge there is a take away pizza joint and an over priced looking dump of a restaurant.
After our main shop at an upper market grocery store we crossed the road to have a coffee at Starbucks and unfortunately Maggi tripped on the kerb as we entered the outer part of the cafe. A group of elderly men who happened to be hanging around just at that time jumped up to help.
Fortunately no injuries to Maggi just a little shock to her system and self-annoyance. I gave her a big hug as soon as we entered the Starbucks.
Yosemite
The hotel seems to be a cross between the great and the awful. The setting, of course is awe inspiring. Our room has a balcony overlooking a fast running mountain stream. The sound of the running water I find calming and therapeutic. After three nights here maybe I’ll be a little more relaxed and tolerant individual.
We have a reasonable sized room with 2 queen beds a balcony and enough spare space so nothing feels cramped. Next door we have a good sized swimming pool, where we had a swim this evening just as the sun set and left a warm glow across the sky. The surprisingly cool water refreshed me and I swam a few lengths.
On the negative side the outside of the accommodation looks like a barracks for privates. The inside while spacious and high spec in 1995 had lost much of its sparkle.
When we arrived the guy on reception gave us all the info he was mandated to provide. He never for a moment wanted to engage and be anything other than the conduit for the most basic information. Consequentially we didn’t feel as warm to the place as we would like.
We ate a supper, Maggi cooked on our small kitchenette, consisting of a pesto spaghetti and a salad. Certainly a meal better than you can buy within 100 miles of our accommodation.
Friday
Each day we get up later than the last. Today we rose about 6 am. We ate our breakfast of yogurt, banana, bread and coffee. Sated we drove off to Yosemite National Park.
Well, what a shock when we reached the gates of the park. As a foreigner we had to pay $100 each plus $35 for the car. I drove on stunned by the cost. At least we don’t have to pay tomorrow.
Maggi had checked out a suitable walk via AI and we headed for a parking area called Curry Village and walked to the Happy Isles trailhead. I can’t imagine who chose the names, certainly no native American.
The Mist trail that Maggi choose followed the course of the Merced River up to Vernal Falls. At this time of the year a lot of the falls in the park have dried up but the Merced River still poured over the edge as you can see from the photos.
The park scenery can only be described as spectacular. As you drive through the valley tall precipitous walls of granite line the sides of the road. We passed El Capitan an incredibly steep rock face that seems to go up forever. We watched a documentary recently about a girl climber trying to make it to the top.
We found Curry Village and it consisted of various food outlets and an enormous car park. In fact the whole Yosemite Valley was packed with cars and visitors. We started walking up Mist Trial with a crowd who had disembarked from one of the free shuttle buses that tour the valley.
Most of those people overtook us and soon more followed. We had chosen a busy trail. Underfoot the tarmac path made fairly easy walking except that it rose quite steeply. We arrived at a bridge on the other side of which you had the last chance to use a restroom or refill your water container. Both facilities were busy.
We climbed on now with the river on our left and the trail became more uneven and less maintained. Then at last we could see the Vernal Falls. By now the trail had become steps. We arrived alongside the middle of the falls. Above us many many more steep steps, almost a ladder. Below a worrisome descent which I knew Maggi wouldn’t want to choose.
We arrived after many a stop at the top of the Vernal Falls. We didn’t stay long and soon set off on our return journey, an alternative descent but that also required more climbing. Eventually we arrived at the top of the pass and now we had about 1 hour of well a marked path that wound down the mountainside. It seemed to continue forever. This 1 hour brought us back to the bridge and toilets.
A further 45 minutes and we arrived back at Happy Isles where we caught a bus back to the car. Both of us pleased that we managed such an arduous walk but also shattered.
When we arrived back we had lunch and then we both had a short nap, followed by a swim. For our evening meal we shared a veggie pizza from the local shop. By 9:30 we had enough and the lights went out.
Saturday in Yosemite
Neither of us wanted to repeat such a strenuous walk as yesterday’s affair. We picked out a trail in a slightly different section of the park on Big Oak Flat Road. It meant that we drove up from the valley floor to over 5,000 feet to Tuolumne Grove to see the Giant Sequoias.
We arrived at the parking lot before 8:30 and naturally we had no problem finding a space. We set off down the well paved track which wound downwards for just over 1 mile through the tall pine and redwood forest. Arriving earlier had the advantage that we avoided the crowds which in turn meant we could better appreciate the forest, the scent, the quiet, the beauty.
We arrived at the Grove Loop where the massive sequoia trees stood. It’s impossible to capture the size if these giants of the forest, their width as well as their height with a phone camera. These trees can only be described as awesome not as a trite remark but in the true meaning of the word, they just take your breadth away.
I tried to provide a sense of the size of these beast with these pictures.
By the time we returned to the trailhead we found people touring the car park for spaces. We made our way back down to Yosemite valley, stopping at a couple of spots to take a photo of the magnificent views.
The mist gives an almost spiritual sense to the views, they become mysterious, distant and ephemeral. You can’t touch or hold on to these sites you just have to sit back and appreciate their beauty.
We soon found ourselves in another car park, this time for the Bridesveil Falls. As late arrivals we had to wait our turn to park. It didn’t take long before someone moved on and we slipped into their place. A Saturday in Yosemite’s central area will always have its crowds. We walked the short distance to the falls themselves and looked up at the relatively small amount of water tumbling down the mountainside along with a lot of other people. The short and flat walk from the car park had taken no time.
Neither of us felt we had expended enough energy so when we left the site’s viewing area we walked further away from the car park for another 30 minutes and then returned to the car retracing our steps. We ate our picnic lunch and then drove back to the hotel.
We spent the hot afternoon partly in our room and partly by the pool. Another dose of excellent pesto spaghetti for our evening meal. A dash of television and then lights out.