Yosemite National Park x3 days of hiking
Plenty of uphill battles, "oh my gosh" whispered, and breathtaking views these past few days at Yosemite National Park with A. It's been a while since I've gone on some nice hikes since moving to NYC for grad school. And boyyyyy have I missed it! Yosemite National Park has TONS of hikes, some short and sweet or long and strenuous. There's something for EVERYONE in this park. Young and old. Yep. We saw little babies being carried on the backs of some adventurous parents, and some older folk being strolled up in wheelchairs to get a glimpse of a wondrous view.
DAY 1: Bridalveil Falls. We weren't really planning on doing any hikes since we had just driven to the hotel, but we decided on doing one of those shorter hikes to Bridalveil Falls.
Bridalveil Falls
~ 0.5 miles roundtrip
Easy.
DAY 2: Mirror Lake (loop trail) and Vernal Falls (there and back)
Mirror Lake
~ 5 mile (loop)
Easy - Moderate.
Super doable hike! We decided to do this hike in the morning and did the hike to Vernal Falls right after. The hike to Mirror Lake was a nice loop which allowed for some nice pics along the way and back. Truly truly beautiful!
Vernal Falls (just there and back since we wanted to venture further up and make it a loop)
~ 3 miles roundtrip
Strenuous (veryyy uphill).
Day 3: Four Mile Trail (don't let the name of this hike fool you! - it kicked our butts, but the views were spectacular!)
Four Mile Hike (to Glacier Point)
~ 10 miles roundtrip, there and back
((But both of our smart watches got around 14 miles))
STRENUOUS. We basically hiked all the way up to 7,000+ elevation. Lots of steep incline, dodging rocks and falling branches. But what you see along the way up and from Glacier Point is breathtaking!
It's been a great last few days being surrounded in nature. Above are just a SELECT few gorgeous shots I was able to take throughout my time in Yosemite.
Some thoughts and tips:
A & I stayed at a hotel, Yosemite View Lodge. It was about 10-15 minute drive away from Yosemite Valley itself where you'll find all your trailheads. The hotel came with a kitchenette which was really nice...accept for the fact that we didn't really do too much grocery shopping beforehand. There aren't any Safeways, Ralphs, Trader Joe's, or your familiar grocery shops anywhere close to Yosemite Valley. TIP: stock up on water and groceries before heading up the mountain!
Have a quality camera. I ended up using my iPhone 6s. Although some fancy apps can help make the photos pop more, a better camera would've been nicer to capture the sites.
If you can carry a CamelBak or any other kind of backpack with a water pack, it would be really helpful during those strenuous hikes where you don't want to be rummaging around with water bottles/canteens.
Hot tubbing every night after our long hikes was sooooo nice to rest our sore bodies. Thank gosh our hotel had one.
Reception and cellular data is basically non-existent or extremely limited and spotty. We did NOT know this going up. We had to buy a couple days worth of WiFi at the hotel.. and we only had access to this around the hotel. It is great to unplug yourself from your devices during the hikes though. Be one with the wilderness!
Snacks snacks snacks are key for those long hikes. Granola bars, bananas, mixed nuts, dried fruits, etc.
I hope everyone is having a great start of the new year! My winter break is sadly winding down :( I will be heading back to NYC soon....and the weather there is atrocious. Yikes!
Sincerely,
Meagan