Yosemite is known for it's gigantic granite cliffs, waterfalls and big sequoia trees. Sequoia trees out rival redwoods in diameter but not height. I think some are up to 300 feet wide.
I had signed up to do a group hike today figuring it would be a good way to familiarize myself with the area and allow me to hike with some new people.
I ended up being the only person to sign up but it worked out great. The tour guide took me on the scheduled hike which we finished in 3 hours. It usually takes him 6-8 with a group.
Since we were so speedy and we were having a good time, the guide, Marty, took me on another trail leading up to some great lookout points. By this point in the day my legs were burning and this was only made worse by the mile of scrambling we had to do to get to the top.
Once at the top, I got a view of all the waterfalls in the park. It was pretty amazing! The vast and endless cliffs and rocks that you stare out at don't look real. And I don't think the pictures ill post will do it justice.
Overall we hiked about 16km, gained 2000 feet in elevation on 2 occasions and sweat out the majority of the water in our bodies.
It was a fun day. Marty was hilarious and told me lots of stories of all the idiotic tourists that come in to the park as well as the dumb things they do.
For example, approximately 11 people per year go over the falls because they get way too close to the fast moving water. You would think that it would be common sense not to climb over a railing and stand at the edge of the waterfall cliff.
I'm off tomorrow to do another day of hiking in the park. I am exhausted and sore right now so hopefully ill make it out of bed in the morning.
Half Dome
Nevada Falls
Fun Fact: the bear in the California flag is a grizzly bear but ironically there are no grizzly's in the state anymore. They were all hunted and killed in Yosemite in the early 1900's and have been gone from California for a long time. Black bears are in abundance in Yosemite though.
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Location:Yosemite
Are you going to climb the Half Dome?! That's on my Bucket List!
ReplyDeleteYou need a permit and the deadline for permits was in March! They limit the number of people that go up because it was getting to crowded. Still is despite this. ~500 go up per day!
ReplyDeleteAww. Well, that's good to know for the future!
DeleteThat valley must be stunning to overlook. Can you white water raft in Yosemite?
ReplyDeleteI'm inspired. Keep up the good blogs Jenn!