I am back from my trip. If you have never been to Yosemite, add it to your list of life's "must do before I die." You will come back a different person. Really. My husband and I keep saying, "we gotta do Vegas again." But after being to Yosemite a few times, this is now the place "we gotta do" again and again. This is a shot of El Capitan. Every photo you take in Yosemite could be a postcard. It is jaw-dropping gorgeous and a place that can get under your skin, forever. If you've been, you know.
We left our kids with the in-laws so we could hike Vernal Fall. While it's not considered a difficult hike, the climb can still give you the heebie jeebies. It's wet and steep. And only about 1.5 miles one way, which will take about 4 hours round trip if you take pictures. And if you go, please don't wear Crocs and carry 12 ounces of Evian like the many ding-dongs we encountered along the trail. Even saw a man carrying a baby on his shoulders. A First-Aid responder, who happened to be hiking, told the guy to turn around. We each emptied a 100 oz. Camelback and consumed food. We gave a bottle of Gatorade and food to a girl that bonked above Vernal Fall, she couldn't go any further. Be smart and safe about your hiking.
This is my husband standing at the base of Vernal Fall. It is so loud you have to scream. It is magnificent. I think part of the Yosemite allure is the accessibility. There are very few railings so there are many temptations. However, there are consequences as we found out a day later.
These are some of the stairs nearing the top of Vernal Fall. They are about 18 inches in height. But after climbing these for an hour they may as well have been three feet in height.
These are literally the last few steps to the top. The drop-off is straight down so there are several feet of railing at this point. Still, it's creepy to look over the edge.
This was my view as I turned around to snap a photo of my husband. When we reached the top we ate lunch and walked over to the Emerald Pool which is literally a beautiful shade of emerald green. My husband has all the gorgeous photos, mine are just snap shots. I need to post a link to all his photos.
This is not my photo of Half Dome, I googled it. I want to do this hike. It takes several hours just to get to this point. We have heard its a 12 hour hike for a fit person and just this part can take 2 hours to ascend. Sadly, while we were atop Glacier Point a helicopter flew into Yosemite Valley. We were looking at the Half Dome climbers through binoculars. You automatically think the worst as helicopters do not come to Yosemite unless it's bad. A man was on this part of Half Dome when he slipped and caught his foot on the cables. It threw him over the cable line and he fell 1,000 feet to his death. The helicopter was there to drop off the rescue crew and recover his body. Two hours later, when we got back down from Glacier Point, the helicopter flew out. A sad and eerie sight. May the hiker rest in peace. This must be his view from heaven.
I snapped this as we flew over at about 20,000 feet leaving Sacramento. Half Dome is clearly visible.
