Yosemite Part 2
The next day was July 4th and we decided to do another big hike and then in the afternoon float the river. So we set out early again with a ton of water this time. Our hike to Vernal Falls also called the Mist Trail, from car back to car, was over 10 miles. I knew it’d be another challenging hike because we were hiking to the top of a waterfall after all. You start the hike and it’s about a 1.5 of what feels like a straight up incline with no breaks. Then just when we were about to collapse, we made it to the bridge.
(View of Vernal Falls from the bridge aka right before I nearly passed out)
From there it was still a few miles out but not as steep. I was sitting down at one point trying to catch my breath and along comes this cute little fella…
They are in the squirrel family and carry fleas and the plague. Many people were trying to feed them because they are very friendly and will come right up to you. One of the park rangers immediately explained we should not be anywhere near them which was actually really hard because they are everywhere near the waterfall.
After my quick breather and being schooled on the dangerous rodents running around, it was time to carry on. We hiked about another mile and then finally Vernal Falls was in our view! I was so excited to see what we came for and then saw the path to the top.
The stairs wrap around it pretty intensely. Luckily, it is called Mist Trail for a reason so we had a nice and constant spritz of water along the way.
About half way up, this happened.
It took me double the time to get to the top than most others because every other step I took, I had to stop and get another rainbow photo. The view from that height along with the rainbow just blew me away.
Finally! We made it to the top!
(View from the top looking down)
Once at the top, we chilled & ate some snacks to refuel for more hiking. We headed out and decided to take a different route down so that we could see the waterfall at a different angle.
(Vernal Falls in all her glory)
We finally made it to the car and had about an hour to spare before floating the river. After our power nap in the car, we headed over to the river to collect our raft and paddles.
I can’t really say we rowed much, instead we just sat back and enjoyed the 3 mile float.
This was the view from our raft with Bridalveil Falls in the distance (below)
A pan of Merced River
And finally, me and my travel buddy for the weekend (this photo was accomplished using a rock & self timer)
After a long, long day we decided to head back to our cabin, shower & then head to the nearest town for a 4th of July dinner. Then the next day, we packed up and headed out.
All in all, it was an amazing trip. I will be back to do all the other hikes that I was not physically able to do in 3 days.
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