Yosemite National Park - April 2006

This year, we decided to leave the LA freeways to visit Yosemite National Park.

We had been here before in a summer a few years ago. It was very dry, no water in the waterfalls. The sky was clear and we made it to the top of Half Dome. One of our best hikes ever.

This time we visited in the Spring so we can see what the waterfalls really look like. Yosemite is best known for its waterfalls- Upper & Lower Yosemite, Bridal Veil, Vernal & Nevada.


The most striking visuals are the tall granite rocks that surround the valley- from El Capitan to Half Dome. It looks almost pre-historic.

This time there was lots of water. The waterfalls were bursting. In fact it was practically "raining" when you walked up near them.


But along with the waterfalls came fog and some rain. Luckily we chose to stay in a cabin. It's rustic accomodations kept us warm at night. Tents would have been really cold to stay in. We had checked the park's current conditions ahead of time, so we dressed warm.

We hiked the Mist Trail to top of Vernal Falls. This is the first leg to Half Dome, which we didn't plan on visiting (probably couldn't yet- it's still covered in snow). In fact we only saw HD once when the clouds broke for a moment.

The Mist Trail is known for its many steps, and, of course, the mist from the waterfalls.

Here's a self portrait from the trail, just below Vernal Falls.

The closer we got to the falls, the more wet we got. But once above the water, we took a moment to dry off and enjoy the view before heading back down.

We also walked around Mirror Lake, which felt really secluded from the rest of the world. Huge granite walls surround it, making things very quiet and serene.


We took a drive around the valley and saw a deer on the side of the road. We carefully pulled over to take a few pictures, then noticed another, and another, eventually there were 5 deer. We watched them cross the road and climb down a hill.

A great set of waterfalls that are a must-see are Upper & Lower Yosemite Falls. You can take an easy trail right up to the base. The trail to the top is quite strenuous though.


Here's the same waterfall the last time we went, during the summer.


April is kinda early in the season, and there's still lots of snow at higher altitudes. The road to glacier point was closed (unless you have snow shoes), as was the route to tolumne meadows.


This is El Capitan, a 3000 foot tall chunk of granite. In the summer you can see the whole thing, and spot rock climbers on their way to the summit. The trip usually lasts a couple days, so they sleep in hammocks they nail into the rock.

We had pizza at Curry Village (the main camping area). This may not seem like a big deal, but it was the best pizza we ever had after coming back from climbing Half Dome on our last trip to Yosemite.

We also had a dinner at the Ahwahnee Hotel, a very swanky place. It's really cool to have such luxury in an outdoorsy place like Yosemite.

One day we're wearing hiking gear, the next formal wear.

The nearby Mariposa Grove was closed, so we'll have to come back again some time to see the giant sequoia trees. As if we need an excuse to come back!

If you can't make it there yourself, you can check out the live web cams.