Yosemite - Nature's Sanctury

Living in the San Francisco bay area for the past 3 years, we have visited Yosemite National Park 4 times ( 2 times with our son - when he was 2-1/2 months and 1 year old) till now, in all seasons except fall. First time it was just me and my husband. We spent a night in the park and did some serious hiking. All other times it was just day trips with friends / folks visiting from back home. I enjoyed every single time and the place never felt the same! This post is to an attempt to consolidate all the 4 trips.

Yosemite National park is located in the high sierras about 4 1/2 hours drive from bay area. The drive by itself is very scenic and beautiful. There are beautiful falls, high dark granite mountains, lots of water, seasonal though, tall green trees and interesting native-Indian legends. The best season to visit is spring when the water flow is maximum and the days are sunny, cool and crisp. Summers are good too, but can get really hot some days (It was 107F on the mid June day we went the 3rd time). In fall, days are pretty warm and the water flow goes down and in winter most falls are dry.

There are 5 main water falls apart from many smaller ones. The Bridal veil falls and Lower Yosemite falls are accessible by a short walk from the parking lot (strollers can be pushed most of the way). The Vernal, Nevada falls and Upper Yosemite falls are hidden away by beautiful but moderate to strenuous hikes.

Our first visit was in early spring. My husband and I stayed in a pre-made canvas tent at the curry village. Being a bear country, we had to store food and all kinds of toiletries in bear lockers. We did hear bears in the night. We also heard a ranger scaring a bear away. In the morning, we saw bear paw print on one of the cars in the parking lot.

After breakfast in the near-by cafe, we took the first shuttle to Happy Isles where the trail to Vernal and Nevada falls start. We took the mist trail which is steep but very beautiful up and came down via John Muir trail which is more gentle, but does not have great views. The whole trek took about 6 hours round trip. The mist trail runs along the Merced river and is pretty easy until it reaches the base of Vernal falls. There is a bridge to cross the river from which the falls can be viewed. From here the trail becomes a little steep and turns into steps just beside the falls. The shower from the falls makes the steps pretty slippery and can soak you wet. We saw many rainbows all the way up and it was beautiful. Very soon, we reached the top of Vernal falls and sat down and relaxed a bit.

We then hiked up further to the top of Nevada falls crossing the "Emerald pool" and "Silver Apron". Part of this hike is pretty strenuous. For quite some time there was no sign of water and then we got a great sneak peak of Nevada falls. The sight from the top of Nevada falls was awesome. We could see the whole Yosemite valley below us. I had packed lemon rice and chips for lunch. We sat beside the fall and ate it. It was one of the most beautiful lunches I have ever had and can never forget it.

Nevada falls is almost half way to the legendary "Half Dome", which is still on my list of "must do" hikes. It is one of the most difficult hikes in US and the last 100 feet needs to be climbed with help of chains. You need quite a bit of upper body strength to pull yourself up, which I completely lack. My husband and I started training for it (after this trip) and then came to know I was pregnant and dropped the plan. Hope I will be able to do it some day!! Time to turn back, On the way back down John Muir trail, we got some beautiful views of Nevada falls and then, it was all trees and rocks. Our knees started hurting half way down and were really thankful when we reached back down.

The bridal veil falls (reduces down to a trickle in winter) and lower Yosemite falls (no water in winter) are not missed by any one. The are easy to get to, even while pushing a stroller. The upper Yosemite fall is another 6-8 hour hike which we have not done yet. Apart from these, there is a short, easy, beautiful hike called the "Mirror Lake". You can see the Half Dome towering just behind the lake.

The free half an hour movie about Yosemite, shown in the theater near visitor center is great too. The best point to take a picture of the Half Dome is the Sentinel Bridge. Out of all the picnic areas, I love those in Sentinel beach because of the shallow waters and sandy beaches where the kids can play.

Photo legend:
1. Yosemite valley with Upper and Lower Yosemite falls
2. Vernal Falls from Mist Trail
3. Nevada Falls from John Muir Trail
4. Half Dome from Sentinel Bridge