I awoke to Chris’ alarm going off early – at 2:30AM!!! We had decided the night before that we would leave by 5:15 and try to get to Camp 4 early to secure a camping spot (the campground is filled on a first-come, first-served basis, and people start lining up at 5:30). Back to the alarm. Chris had accidentally set his alarm for 4:30AM – San Antonio time. This meant it went off 2 hours earlier than needed. The best part of the story was that Chris got up, showered, and was getting ready to leave when I sleepily informed him that it was only 3AM. When we did leave (at 5:15), Chris frantically searched for his camera, looking in the car and the room, only to find that it had been in his pocket all along. Guess it was going to be one of those days.
We arrived early (so we thought) at Camp 4, only to find 30 people in line ahead of us. We would have to wait until 8:30 to learn our fate. Hopefully there were 30+ people “checking out” that day. As it turns out, we got in, as did the 25+ people behind us. We could have slept in!!! Oh well, it was all part of the experience. Plus, it only cost us $20 each (total) for 4 nights of camping. You can’t beat that. After setting up our tent (nice shaded spot), we headed to the store to stock up on a few supplies. We had to be cognizant of not buying too much since EVERYTHING that has an odor (food, drinks, deodorant, toothpaste, etc.) would need to be stored in a bear proof locker. We even had to empty out the car.
After getting settled in, Chris and I headed up to Lower Yosemite Falls (luckily the trailhead was only a few hundred feet from our campsite) for a quick warmup and view of the falls. The first thing that struck me (aside from the beauty of the falls) was the number of people out here. It was crowded! We snapped a few photos and headed back to the Upper Yosemite Falls trailhead for the real work, a 3.8 mile climb that would ascend nearly 2,500 vertical feet, quite a workout. I was feeling good (guess my day off and short session of pacing had left me fresh), so I set off hiking as hard as I could. As I rounded a bend, I noticed a group of people stopped on the trail, taking pictures of a rock. This could only mean one thing – SNAKE. Sure enough, there was a small (I still hate them all) rattlesnake on the trail. Luckily it didn’t seem to be interested in us and let me pass by without shaking its rattle. The trail was rocky and full of sand, making it fairly slick in places. We were treated to amazing views of the falls along the way, and soon we were at the top. Chris and I decided to head up a little further to Yosemite Point for more photos, then back down to camp. I added on an extra mile at the bottom, making it an even 12 for the day. Not a bad first day. My only complaint was that the trail was slippery (from sand, not water) coming down, making it treacherous in places and difficult (for me) to run hard. Hopefully things would be better on the trails we would be exploring tomorrow.
Day 20 (Yosemite National Park)
I slept late on Tuesday, although I wouldn’t call it a good night’s sleep by any means. Sleeping in a tent is fun, but the hard ground can often make for uneasy sleep. SO despite sleeping “late”, I wasn’t well rested. Chris and I had planned on hiking/running up the Four Mile Trail (really 4.6 miles) to Glacier Point, around the Panorama Trail, and down the Mist Trail where we would get close glimpse of both Nevada and Vernal Falls. After mentioning our plan to our camping neighbors (they were Yosemite veterans), we decided it would be best to do the route in reverse since the Mist Trail can be very treacherous and slippery (we later found out someone slipped and fell coming down a few weeks ago and was swept under a boulder and drowned). The first thing I noticed when we hit the trail was the sheer number of people there, many of them from foreign countries. My lack of quality sleep and the massive number of people immediately put me in a foul mood. I must admit that at this point I was not looking forward to the day at all. The hike up the Mist Trail did nothing to alleviate my grumpiness, as it was rocky, full of steps, and covered in people. We made our way up VERY slowly, but the views on top of the falls made it worth the slow slog. Of course, I saw another rattlesnake (big one this time) along the way, which is never good. I hate snakes with a passion, regardless of whether they are poisonous. 2 rattlers in less than 24 hours. That’s more than I have seen in my 11 years living in Texas! Chris and I were both overwhelmed by the beauty and power of the falls. The amount of water raging down was mind blowing.
Once on top of Nevada Falls, we hooked up with the Panorama Trail, which was way more to my liking. Smooth singletrack made for a nice climb, and the descent to Illouhette Falls was perfect, very runnable. I loved every second of it. In an instant, I snapped out of my funk and soaked in the beauty surrounding me. We climbed out of the canyon another 1,000’ up to Glacier Point, where we were rewarded with 360 degree views of the park. Too bad we had to share the views with the other 1000 people up there. Oh well, most of them would be riding a shuttle bus down, leaving the trail for me and Chris. Before we headed down, we topped out on Sentinel Dome, just over 8,100’ in elevation. This left us with a 6.2 mile descent to the valley floor, during which we would drop 4,200’ in vertical, my kind of run! I tried to take it easy, but it was hard to control myself with such great singletrack to bomb down. Chris was trying to take it easy on his hip and kept a few minutes behind, allowing him to see a bear cub cross the trail (I never saw it). Much better than a snake. We hit the bottom and jogged the mile back to our campground and some much needed food. We chatted with Christina and Frieda, a nice German couple who had set up camp next to us. After sharing pictures with them, we retired for some sleep.
Day 21 (Yosemite National Park)
In the middle of the night it started to rain, hard. I awoke in a cold puddle of rain (our tent was great, but we had no tarp underneath it, so the rain soaked through) and a wet sleeping bag. Again, not the best night of sleep. We had planned on taking it easy today anyway, but the weather made our decision that much easier. We donned our rain gear, headed to get breakfast, and then piled into the car for the hour drive to Mariposa Grove, the largest grove of sequoia trees in the park. It was wet and cold, and I was just happy to be in my heated car. We parked and took the shuttle to the grove, where we expected to embark on a leisurely, flat 2-3 mile hike through tall trees. Boy were we in for a surprise. First, the hike was anything but flat. And it definitely wasn’t short. We ended up hiking well over 6 miles with at least 2,000’ vertical change. In addition, the trees were monstrous. The pictures really don’t do them justice. Much like standing over the Grand Canyon or on top of a massive peak, I felt tiny and insignificant. These trees were enormous. Both Chris and I kept joking that we wished we had worn our running clothes (we were bundled up in pants and rain gear) since the trail was nice and smooth, perfect for running. Oh well, maybe we’ll have to come back. On the way back to camp, we stopped and took pictures of Half Dome, El Capitan, and Bridal Veil Falls. Simply amazing.
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