For Mother’s Day, Jim and I headed down to California to see Derek. Since we had a few extra days, I planned a 2 day hiking trip in Yosemite. Jim had never been to Yosemite. I was there just once on a one-day world-wind tour.
I knew exactly where I wanted to take Jim. Up the 4-Mile trail from the valley floor to Glacier Point. Down the Panorama Trail past all the waterfalls. Then up to Little Yosemite Valley where we would camp for the night.
A few days before we left, I found out they would be opening the Half Dome chains on the Friday of our trip. This was 2 weeks ahead of schedule. I quickly contacted the ranger station and was able to secure a permit for our 2nd day. The trail to Half Dome goes right through Little Yosemite Valley so we were nicely setup to get a jump on the crowds.
The weather was perfect as we started up 4-Mile Trail which is really 5 miles. The trail climbs steeply directly under Sentinel Dome. The trail provides amazing views of Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and the entire Yosemite Valley.
Jim and The Edge Of Sentinal Dome
The majority of the tourists take the shuttle bus to Glacier Point and then hike down the trail instead of climbing the 3200′ from the valley floor to the point. Needless to say, we did not see another person with overnight packs. Good thing Jim and I somehow found each other in life. I am not sure anyone else would put up with our crazy ideas of what is fun.
The final section of the trail provides an amazing view of the actual point (which is roped off from the tourists) and Half Dome.
At Glacier Point, we took a break and enjoyed the views of both Yosemite Valley and Little Yosemite Valley. Jim spent a good 10 minutes trying to find a way out on the actual point which did not have a big sign telling you not to go any further. In the end, we hiked off to the start of Panorama Trail without hanging off the point.
Once on Panorama Trail, the crowds stopped. We saw only a half dozen hikers the rest of the day. The hike to Little Yosemite Valley included crossing 2 major waterfalls including Nevada Falls. This time of year, the water was flowing at full forces. It was really spectacular.
The top of Nevada falls is a large open area covered in granite slabs. It was quite beautiful. I wished we had arrived earlier so we could have sat in the sunshine and enjoyed the spray.
The trees here grew up from the cracks in the granite slabs. Look at the base of the trunks on these two trees. The crack in the granite is no more than 2 inches wide. So the base of the tree trunk is 2 inches by 3 feet. Wild!
Our campsite in Little Yosemite Valley was nothing impressive but it did have a compositing toilet with lots of toilet paper and bear vaults so we did not have to pack bear canisters. It was also located right under Half Dome.
The cable route on Half Dome involves first climbing the Sub Dome where you check in with the ranger who looks at your permit. Sub Dome is a climb in itself including many stairs blasted out of the granite.
As we crested the top of Sub Dome, we got our first look at the cable route up Half Dome. If you look at the white stripe going up the middle of the dome, you will see 2 sets of cables and 3 or 4 climbers (they are very small).
We took our time getting ready for the climb. No one looked like they were running up the dome. Our guess was it was harder than it looked. As we started to climb, we quickly realized why it was so slow going. We were climbing class 5.7 granite slab in hiking boots. Mostly pulling ourselves up with the cables. It was quite the upper body workout. If not for the wood plank every 10 feet. I am not sure how one would take a break and catch your breath.
After about 20 minutes, we crested the top and arrived at the summit of Half Dome. It was a large moon like surface. Very large area about the size of half a football field. We spent the next hour looking over the edge, taking pictures, and enjoying the view into the Sierra Mountains.
The trip down the cables included the new challenge of people coming up the cables. People were really polite and carefully took turns moving between the sections. Jim and I found it much easier to back down the cables as if we were repelling.
Once back a Sub Dome, we got a good look at the crowds that were now waiting their turn to take on the cable climb. We were so glad to have camped in Little Yosemite Valley. It made the climb so much more enjoyable.
Our trip back to camp included many stops to discuss where we would hike next Mother’s Day. Yosemite seems like a perfect place to enjoy early season hiking. The terrain is beautiful and the snow melts out sooner than in Washington.
Our trip back to Yosemite Valley involved going down past Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls. This would make a Loop out of our overnight hike. Jim and I both dislike retracing our steps.
Nevada Falls was spraying water everywhere.
When we arrived at Vernal Falls, we choose the shortest trail back to the car which was the Mist Trail. I had heard that it was a fun experience. We peeked over the falls and the trail looked as if it was in the Hawaiian rain forest.
The beginning of the trail was a bunch of stairs followed by a walk through the mist / rain (I was glad to be going down the trail and have the mist coming from my back).
The rest of the hike out was non-eventful until we turned on the trail leading us into the parking lot. Jim saw something moving through the field 50 yards off to our left. As we watched it move, we quickly figured out it was a bobcat. It moved like it owned the place. Slowly and carefully. Stopping occasionally to survey things. In all our years of hiking, neither of us have ever seen a cat. We are both grateful for that.
Gallery Of All Photos
