OK, don't get me wrong, Yosemite is the most awesome place I've ever been, but
it appears that everyone else in the world is aware of it as well. I think
about 75% of them were there last weekend. The Mist Trail from the valley to
Vernal Fall was so crowded that there was a ten minute wait to get through a
narrow section at the top _on Thursday_. On Saturday there were people
directing traffic at all the intersections near the village.
Then there was the actual hike. My sister and I met her husband on the valley
floor on Thursday and backpacked up past Vernal and Nevada falls to Little
Yosemite Vally, below Half Dome. The hike was pretty brutal - 4.3 miles/2,500
vertical feet (~7km/765m I think). A lot of it was uneven stair steps. We did
Half Dome on Friday and that was another 2000 or so feet up in 3.5 miles. I
had forgotten how steep the cabled section was as you climb onto the dome
itself (I hiked it 29 years ago at age 18).
It was worth every step. What a magnificent place. One section of the Dome,
the visor, juts out over the edge of the cliff, 4000 feet above the valley
floor. Formidable granite formations, many of them rounded domes, are visible
in every direction including the massive El Capitan towards the other end of
the valley, and Cloud's Rest in the opposite direction. We spent over 2 hours
at the top and then headed back down. First sliding down the cables,
depositing our borrowed gloves in the pile at the bottom of that section, then
pounding down the rest of the trail, only slightly less steep and finally
arriving back at camp where I quickly changed into swimming trunks and plunged
into the Merced River. Then I took some advil and a nap. 8^)
Great trip! If you ever in the vicinity and you get the chance to go to the
valley, don't pass it up. The best time to go is probably early May. The
throngs are a bit smaller and the Falls are much fuller. I heard that they
don't put the cables up on Half Dome until June though, so if you want to make
that hike you'll have to brave the crowds.
Doug
