Yosemite National Park, CA
Sat 29th June.
Breakfast for us was a simple bowl of cereal in our room.
We set out after 9am to do a walk along the ‘Mist Trail’ to Vernal Falls. This is considered by many to be one of the ‘signature’ walks for the Yosemite area. Info link @ http://www.yosemitehikes.com/yosemite-v alley/mist-trail/mist-trail.htm
A free bus shuttle runs through the Yosemite Valley and we caught this up to the start of the trail. The walk was a fairly constant incline up to the spectacular Falls with spray mist, hence the name, offering relief as we neared the top of the trail. The return trip took us about 2 hrs and tested Marks new knee.
There were extreme heat warnings for today but, luckily for us, most of this trek was in shade thanks to the Ponderosa Pines.
We caught the shuttle back down to our Lodge and had a quick lunch before taking the car for an hour drive up to Glacier Point. The a/c of the car was part of the appeal for this midday activity. Also, I had another information CD from Kris Corey to guide us along this drive. Glacier Point is the starting point for a number of walking trails but it also affords spectacular views of the massive granite ‘Half Dome’.
From Glacier Point we headed back towards Tuolumne Grove to view the massive Sequoia trees in the area. The drive took an hour and the 2 mile round trip walk into the grove took 45 min. Timing was crucial here as we were wanting to get back down to Yosemite Village by 6pm to check lost property for Mark’s hat. It had enjoyed the morning shuttle trip so much that it stayed in board when we got off! The sequoias were huge though and one actually had a narrow road through it!
Sadly, the check of lost property revealed that Mark’s hat must still be on the Yosemite Shuttle. We headed home to shower before going back to ‘The Mountain Room’ for dinner. We had enjoyed our meal there last night so much that we cancelled the mega-expensive Ahwahnee Hotel Dining Room and dined there again.
Tomorrow we leave Yosemite and head to Napa.
