Yosemite Trip Report with Link to Photos
 

Thanks to those on this forum who provided helpful information, I had a wonderful trip to Yosemite a couple weeks ago (end of June). (I also visited the Monterey / Big Sur area, but will post this report separately.)

Here is a link to a small gallery of photographs I shot while on the trip:

http://community.webshots.com/user/carma223

We stayed in Mariposa (we had a house to use for free), but wished we were closer to the park. Mariposa did have a great supermarket (Pioneer Market) for stocking up and for getting take-out sandwiches, etc. for picnics.

We spent 3 days in Yosemite, and wished we had 4 or 5 days to do more hiking. I had anticipated long waits to get into the park since it was summer... but every day we drove right in, waiting no more than a minute.

DAY ONE: The Valley and Glacier Point Road.
In the valley, we did what everyone else does, seeing the sights and stopping for lots of photo ops. Later we took the shuttle to the trailhead for the hike to the footbridge below Vernal Falls. This hike was great (but pretty crowded) and a bit more steep than I thought it would be. But the scenery was gorgeous, and worth dealing with the crowds. Later in the day we were lucky enough to see climbers on the face of El Capitan, a coyote (very close up), and a bear only about 100 yards away! Also on this first day, we drove Wawona Road and stopped at Tunnel View, then on to Glacier Point Road (a REALLY winding road!). Before stopping at Glacier Point (about 45 mins from the valley), we stopped at Washborn Point, which I highly recommend. The views are wonderful, and it is way less crowded than Glacier Point.

DAY TWO: Raft on the Merced / Hikes / Mariposa Grove.
We started at Curry Village and rented rafts to float on the Merced River. It was really worth it, and very relaxing. The only thing I wasn't prepared for was that you have to carry the raft yourselves (which is somewhat heavy) from Curry Village down to the river. It wasn't too far, but it seemed like an eternity for the two of us (we were both a little injured to begin with). We ended up dragging it a lot :-) The views from the river were gorgeous, and at one point you can see both the upper and lower falls together. Afterwards, we took the short hike to Mirror Lake (a little too people-intensive for us), then continued on to a connecting trail for a while. In the late afternoon we drove down to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias (about an hour from the valley), which was great; very impressive. Taking some time to read the literature made the visit way more interesting and enjoyable. The size of these trees is mind-boggling!

DAY THREE: The High Country.
This was probably the most amazing day of our visit; it's too bad so many visitors to Yosemite don?t drive up there. Our first stop along Tioga Road (which leads into the High Country) was at Olmstead Point. It's an indescribable view. You can see snow-capped peaks in the distance, and the ?back? side of Half Dome. You can climb around on the huge, rounded white granite, and the trees are very different up here. Our next stop was beautiful Tenaya Lake, where we had a lakeside picnic, and hiked the trail that goes around the lake. If you?ll be in the high country in the summer, bring mosquito repellant! (They were pretty bad around any source of water.) Then on to Tuolumne Meadows, where we made a stop at the Visitors Center to get info on hiking. (I highly recommend doing this, since the rangers will provide you with trail maps, suggestions and great directions.) Perhaps the highlight of our Yosemite trip was the hike along the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River... just a gorgeous, diverse hike with wooden bridges, small boulders, trout in the flowing river, meadows, and lots of wildlife (pika, yellow-bellied marmot, lots of deer close up). We really wish we had another day to spend up here, to do more hiking.

Thanks for taking the time to read my trip report! I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Carol

Thanks for your trip report--enjoyed it and the pictures very much.

Yes, great report!

Utahtea

Thank you , CarolM, for such an interesting report. We will visit Yosemite begin of August and I have printed your report to take it with us !

Also add my thanks to your list, Carol. Very well presented. You hit on a few interesting things I hadn't picked up on in earlier threads. We go there in Oct for two nights. Definitely including some of your notes in our travel plan doc's.

I probably should mention (for those of you going later this summer) that rafting on the Merced will probably only be possible for another few weeks... I've read that rafting typically ends sometime in July.

Carol,

Thanks for both of the great trip reports and pictures. We are going to Yosemite in mid-September and then on to Big Sur/Monterey.

I have a few questions about Yosemite. You mentioned the hike to the bridge at Vernal Falls we steeper than you expected. I have an arthritic knee and wondered if I could make it okay. I have read that this is one of the "must see" hikes.

When you went to Mariposa Grove were you able to park near the grove and walk, or did you have to park at Wawona and take the shuttle?

You went to Curry Village to take the raft trip. Is it centrally located? It's hard for me to tell by looking at maps. We are staying there. Do to limited time I think we will only be able to see the valley, Mariposa Grove, and Glacier Point. It appears Curry Village isn't too far from any of these areas, but I know maps can be deceiving when as you pointed out, some roads are very winding and slow-going.

Thanks again for your help.

mlm59,

It's hard to gauge what people's idea of "steep' or "strenuous" is... and of course I have no idea of how much your knee bothers you. Put it this way: the Vernal Falls hike is pretty much a steady incline the whole way up to the footbridge (beyond is supposed to get way more strenuous). Maybe a 35 degree incline? I'm not great at judging this type of thing. However, I'm thinking that if you have a bad knee, coming DOWN might give you even more trouble. My knees are just fine, and I felt a good work-out on my knees and ankles (I'm 39 and in decent shape... just a bit "winded" on the way up having come directly from sea level to 4,000 ft.) Perhaps others could weigh in. I saw people of all shapes and sizes doing this hike -- some having an easier time than others, of course.

At Mariposa Grove we were able to park right there and walk into the grove (didn't need the shuttle). My advice is to drive in and see if there's parking, then backtrack for the shuttle if you need to.

Curry Village is pretty much in the "heart" of the major sights in the valley. But Mariposa Grove and Glacier Point are both long drives from there. It took about 45 mins. to an hour to get to each place (separately) from the Valley. You need to look at a map that shows you the roads... even though Curry Village looks close to Glacier Point, you can't go directly there. You have to drive west out of the valley, then south and back up Glacier Point Road.

mlm59, I'm not sure if should attempt the hike to Vernall Fall with an arthritic knee. It's a climb of more than 700 steps up (and the same number down).
Yes, the climb is worth it....but with an arthritic knee, I don't know....

There is a hike to the bridge from which you can see Vernal Falls, and then beyond that you can hike to the top of Vernal Falls on the Mist Trail (I think that is the one HowardR is talking about with all the steps). We took the Panorama Trail and just hiked down the Mist and Vernal Falls trail. There is no way I would attempt going up to the top of the Falls, but like they said, people of all ages and abilities were on the hike to the bridge when we were there. Maybe you could attempt the hike and if it got to be too much for you, you could turn around. There were people stopped and sitting along the way, and you can see a couple of waterfalls in the distance along the route. It is hard to judge someone else's abilities, but even going just a little bit on the trail is very beautiful. Just take your time and stop whenever you need to. I have two "bad" knees, and I have found that trekking poles is a very good investment to help take pressure off your knees (especially going downhill).

There is a short, steep walk to the viewpoints at Glacier Point also--but it is well worth it. Just take your time. You are at a higher elevation than most people are used to and can get winded easily.

Also, we took the guided tram tour in Mariposa and thought it was well worth it. You get the tickets by the Mariposa Grove parking lot. It takes you up to the upper grove and if you want to, you can get off at the top of the lower grove and walk back down among the trees. We really enjoyed it.

mlm59,

To be clear, I was suggesting that even the shorter hike to the bridge BELOW the falls might not be a good idea for you. I myself didn't continue on to the top of the falls, and the 700 steps that Howard refers to. From what I hear, that you definitely won't want to do. I think maj has good advice, in that you can try the hike to the bridge and turn back if it's too much.

I guess none of us really knows how bad your knee is, or how much it bothers you. I have an on-and-off back problem, and personally, I never do anything on vacation that might make it flare up and ruin the remainder of my vacation. But maybe I'm too conservative in that area :-)

mlm59,

I'll weigh in here on the Vernal Falls thing. My husband and I (mid to late 50s) were at Yosemite a couple of weeks ago. Like maj we did the Glacier Point to Valley hike. I agree that 1. the going down was harder on our knees than going up and, 2. we won't go on another trip without our trekking poles. They made all the difference in the world. I say try it, take your time, and see how it goes. I definitely wouldn't recommend going beyond the bridge. I've heard that upper part described as fit onlt for mountain goats. Also Bridalveil is a beautiful, easily accessable fall. Not the same volume of water but fascinating to watch the affect the wind has on it.

CarolM,

Enjoyed your report and photos. I'm trying to get ours ready to post. Have been so swamped playing "catch-up" since we got home. Hope to post report and photos by this weekend. Had a great trip.

I've done the trail all the way up to Vernal Falls several times.

There are some steep areas on the first part of the trail up to the bridge and if those are to much for you, then head back down the trail because it really doesn't get any easier.

After the bridge you have to climb up a lot of uneven grainte stairs and depending on the time of year, they can be wet and slippery. Even when I was younger my knees would get wobbly going up and down ALL those those stairs.

Utahtea

topping for sunbum