Yosemite

Finally!

My parents tell me that I've been to Yosemite as a child. I have no recollection of this. However, I'm sure that I would have had no appreciation for the experience back then.

2016.Sep.13

On our first full day in Yosemite, we decided to do some family-friendly climbing at Swan Slab. The granite here is a bit more polished than both Joshua Tree and Squamish, perhaps due to the amount of traffic that it sees (being literally right next to the main Yosemite loop).

Jeremy encouraging Piper to not give up

Looking for the best footholds

"Found it!"

2016.Sep.14

Natural flowing water is not something we get much of in Southern California, and the loop past Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall was supposed to be one of the most scenic waterfall hikes in Yosemite, so that was our plan.

Vernal Fall

The trail was quite busy, but there were plenty of opportunities to push a bit past where the crowds were congregating to find a bit of solitude.

Nevada Fall

On top of Nevada Fall

https://www.endomondo.com/users/3101909/workouts/805800978

2016.Sep.15

We decided to get away from the crowds a bit and head to Tuolumne Meadows. While the scenery is not as striking as in Yosemite Valley, the wide open landscapes reminded me of Waterton Lakes National Park. We did some climbing and scrambling on Puppy Dome.

2016.Sep.16

Another hiking day, and an opportunity to do something a bit harder.

I was originally thinking of doing Half Dome, but when I learned that it was by reservation only, I figured it would be a crowded antline of people, so decided to stay away.

Instead, we took the shuttle to Camp 4, crossed over to the other side of the valley, took Four Mile Trail up to Glacier Point, then Panorama Trail down to Nevada Fall and eventually back down to our campsite at Upper Pines. It was roughly 14 miles / 22 km with maybe 3500 feet of elevation, but unfortunately I lost my gps data so can't give a more precise number.

The famous view from Glacier Point of Half Dome

One interesting thing I discovered on this day was that my asthma was bothering me a lot less than I would have thought, given the temperature, altitude, and exertion. Perhaps the pollution in Southern California is having an adverse effect on me, even though I don't really notice it.

Backside of Half Dome

Overall, Yosemite was fantastic, we got some free showers at the lodge, and deciding to go in mid-September was the right choice to avoid the worst of the crowds. Looking forward to our next trip!