California Adventure: Day 3

Today would be a big day.  The official start of our two-day Half Dome hike.  As expected, we woke up early.  The coffee situation:  we were informed at check-in that there was a community Keurig by the back door.  I tip toed downstairs and brewed two cups.  Not surprisingly, we were the first ones up.  Being an older building, the walls are thin and sound carries.  All of the other guests had been exceptionally quiet in the late evening hours, so I tried to extend them the same courtesy.   I took a mental note that we would never be able to stay here with our children.  They do not use inside voices in hotel hallways.

After coffee, we walked across the street for more coffee and breakfast burritos.  I love California mornings.  No humidity and the air is crisp, even on a day where the high will be in the 80s.  After breakfast, we headed to Yosemite National Park via Highway 120, which caused us to miss Tunnel View.  For visitors driving in on Highway 41, as we did in 2013, Tunnel View is the first glimpse of Yosemite, and what a glimpse it is.  You enter the Wawona Tunnel and as you exit, the entire valley is suddenly open before you.  If it's your first time, it will take your breath away.  If you are on your first visit to Yosemite and you have a choice as to which entrance to use, drive in on Highway 41.
 
We spent the morning strolling through Yosemite Village.  We stopped in the Yosemite Museum and the Valley Visitor's Center to view the exhibits.  We took a short stroll to see Yosemite Falls.  We walked this short trail with Easton in 2013 and got misted when we crossed the bridge at the bottom of the Falls.  On this day, it was bone dry.

When we returned, we stopped in the Wilderness Center to pick our Half Dome permit.  Now this was getting real.  No more sightseeing.  We had been hydrating all morning.  We're from humid country at sea level.  Yosemite is dry and the Valley floor is just shy of 4,000 feet.  That combination will dehydrate you quickly if you aren't used to it and we both know that hydration and fueling start well before the start line.  Now it was time to get some fuel in our bodies.  We made sure to eat a big lunch.  We got sandwiches to-go for dinner and drove to Half Dome Village.  Here, I changed out of my outdoor sandals and into hiking boots.  We double checked all our gear and filled up both water bladders, our 1-liter Nalgene, and bought an extra liter of water.  Even though it was early afternoon, we decided to try our luck parking at the trailhead.  You never know when that early hiker would be done for the day and leaving.  No dice.  Not a single spot.  We headed back to parking lot, rucked up, and waited for the shuttle to Happy Isles, the official start of the hike. 
              
The hike from the Happy Isles bus stop to Little Yosemite Valley Campground is just shy of 4 miles.  This portion of the trail is extremely popular and for good reason.  It has jaw-dropping views of Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls.  It is also steep, rising over 2,000 feet in 4 miles.  The first mile or so of the trail is paved and feels like you're climbing straight up.  It's an exercise of the lungs for sure.  I also knew it would be brutal on the knees coming down.  After the Vernal Falls footbridge, the trail continues to climb, but begins using more switchbacks and granite stairs.

Below are a few pictures of Vernal Falls.  I included a picture we took in May 2013 for comparison.  You can see how much fuller the Falls are early in the season versus later.   

Chris approaching Vernal Falls.

Vernal Falls, September 2018

Vernal Falls, May 2013

Vernal Falls, September 2018

Rainbow, Vernal Falls 2018

After our stop at Vernal Falls, we pushed on to Nevada Falls.  We started the hike in the mid-afternoon and I'm glad we didn't start any later.  We underestimated how long the hike would take us.

After Vernal Falls, the crowd on the trail starts to thin out as even the hike to Vernal Falls is considered strenuous (it's 2.4 miles round trip and gains 1,000 feet in elevation).  I started to slow down quite a bit at this point in the hike.  Yes, I was tired, but I also didn't want to miss my footing on one of the granite steps.  They are uneven and while not wet this time of the year, they are covered in fine dirt, which makes them easy to slip on.  While a tough hike, I knew I could physically complete the hike.  However, two things could stop me from doing so: illness or injury.  You can't 100% guard against either of those outcomes, but you can certainly mitigate against them.  That meant proper fueling and hydration and taking some very careful steps.  I stumbled on a couple of roots and rocks and nearly rolled my ankle several times on the hike, making the possibility of injury very real.  So we slowly slogged onward to Nevada Falls. 

My personal Sherpa

Amazing views on the trail

That railing will hold, right?

Chris approaching Nevada Falls

Recharging at Nevada Falls

We took a break at Nevada Falls to enjoy the view and soak it in.  In everyday life, it's hard to turn off my mind.  Even when my body is at rest, my mind still goes.  I have to make conscious efforts to live in the present and I'm often unsuccessful.  These moments quiet my mind.  They feed my soul. 

After our physical, mental, and spiritual recharge, we pushed on.  Reaching the second water fall, I knew we were getting closer to camp, but notice that we are at the bottom of the Falls.  We still had to climb to the top.  We pushed on to the top of the Falls and stood with all the other hikers willing to make the 2.2 mile climb to the top of the Mist Trail.  They would be begin their descent, but we would push on to Little Yosemite Valley.  This is the only part of the trail that is relatively flat.  It's also sandy and completely exposed to the afternoon sun.  We didn't mind too much.  It felt good on the muscles to be able to step it out and we are acclimated to heat.

Alas, we arrived at our accommodations for the night.  The campground has no check-in or check-out procedures, although you are required to have a permit to overnight.  There aren't any official, marked spots.  You just find a flat spot to pitch your tent relatively close to a bear box.  We found a good spot, annihilated our sandwiches, and pitched our tent.          

Our humble abode for the night

After dinner, we dumped our 1-liter water bottles into our water bladders and took the empty bottles down to the river to fill them up.  The only service at Little Yosemite Valley Campground is a set of composting toilets near the campground.  You must pack out your trash and either carry all your water or retrieve it from the Merced River.  While the Merced River is a beautiful, clear mountain river, you still want to treat your water.  Thankfully, there isn't a lot of sediment in the river so we didn't have to strain for it.  We used a UV pen to kill any harmful bacteria lurking in the water.  We also carry iodine tablets as a back-up.  Always, always carry a back-up.  In 2009, we were on a multi-day backpacking trip in Denali National Park.  Our water pump couldn't handle the glacial sediment in the water in Denali and broke upon first use.  If we hadn't had a back-up, our trip would have been over.  We drank water treated with iodine and flavored with Crystal Light for next couple of days.  Thankfully, it appeared that our UV pen was up to the task.  We probably didn't have to treat it since we would be boiling the water the next day for oatmeal and coffee, but we wanted to be on the safe side.

We were both exhausted by the time we returned from the river.  We cleaned ourselves up with baby wipes and changed into clean clothes.  Even though it was still daylight, we climbed into the tent and laid down.  If you are ever going to share a backpacking tent with another individual after spending your entire afternoon sweating, make sure that are you well-acquainted.  We had the rain fly up to hold in the heat once the sun set, but in the early evening hours, the interior our little REI Half-Dome tent was toasty and smelling ripe.  We both laid on top of our sleeping bags.  I read a book (yes, I carried a book all the way up the Mist Trail) while Chris read on his phone.  As the sun set, we dozed off to sleep for the night.  A few hours into the night, I felt the drop in temperature.  I crawled into my sleeping bag, zipped myself in, and fell back asleep.     

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