Yosemite National Park hasn’t always been part of our travel plans. In fact, it only appeared on the spreadsheet about a month ago when we realised – begrudgingly – that we will not be able to swim the 1.5 miles of the Alcatraz triathlon and so had to fill three days that were initially reserved for San Francisco.
Yosemite is only about 300km from San Francisco so it seemed like the ideal place to visit for a couple of days, although anyone who has ever been to Yosemite will agree it is a sin to only visit for a few days!
On our way there we made a convenient overnight stop in a town called Pleasanton, which was actually surprisingly pleasant given most accommodation in that area are crappy motels. While this was a convenient stop for the drive to Yosemite, it didn’t hurt that Pleasanton has a lovely golf course.
Adrie decided to walk the course with me, so that meant I had a caddie at no extra charge. Bonus! Caddying was no small achievement as it started raining on the very first tee and the course was also quite hilly, which meant we both got a workout! Apart from a few errant shots (that conveniently didn’t make it on the score card), I had a pretty decent game of golf and the course was very beautiful.
Our next stop was Buck Meadows – a tiny town with a population of 50 (yes 50!) on the outskirts of Yosemite National Park.
With a population of 50 it probably gets a bit crowded on weekends…
The route we took was a bit wayward and haphazard, mostly because the directions from the app on our phone were confusing but also because we were staying off the highway and enjoying a few side roads since we weren’t in a hurry. The weather had cleared up and apart from a stop at a drive-through Starbucks (I love America) we could just enjoy the ride.
We were hoping to have dinner at the oldest Inn/tavern in California – Iron Door Saloon in Groveland – but it was packed with locals (probably all 50) and tourists as the karaoke was about to start. So we made a reservation for the following night and headed for burgers elsewhere.
Having only one day to enjoy Yosemite is a sacrilege. It is US’s oldest national park and one of those places where every single corner brings even more beauty than the one before. And when you get in and turn another corner, you are yet again stopped in your tracks by an even more beautiful sight. Yosemite blew all our expectations out the water.
To make the most of our one day in the park, we started fairly early as we still had a drive of 50 miles or so ahead of us to get to Yosemite Valley. The rain the previous night ensured a ghostly mist hang over the giant trees that extended as far as the eye could see.
The first of MANY stops at the side of the road to appreciate the view
The waterfalls in Yosemite come directly from melting snow, so the fact that we were here in spring meant strong and stunning waterfalls. Some of the bigger waterfalls dry up later in the summer, but we were treated to spectacular waterfalls around every corner.
Our first major falls we stopped at was Bridalveil Falls, so named because the curtain of water at the bottom sprays upwards and extends across like a veil. As we got closer (without our raincoats, which we forgot in the car) we came to appreciate its name. Not wanting to get thoroughly soaked so soon in the day, we dashed back to the car to explore further.
Bridalveil Falls from a distance
Dead ahead was El Capitan – the biggest exposed granite monolith in the world. It is 2300m high and looks massively imposing when first viewed through the windshield. Just two weeks ago, a guy climbed the face using no ropes and no safety equipment whatsoever. Quite an achievement!
El Capitan
We did the first of what turned out to be many laps around the small one way system around Bridalveil and El Cap before heading to find parking in Yosemite Village. But this took almost another hour… not because of traffic or distance, simply because you cannot drive in Yosemite without wanting to stop every 200m to take in another breathtaking view.
We stopped to appreciate another stunning waterfall, which turned out to be the one and only Yosemite Falls – the 5th largest in the world. It was breathtaking.
Yosemite Falls, the 5th largest in the world
We finally parked and hopped onto the free shuttle bus that does loops around the valley. Most people who come to Yosemite only spend time in the valley, which means they only see about 5% of the whole park. Because we only had a day ourselves, we could not do any of the major hikes, but were determined to do at least a few trails.
Our first trail was more like a light stroll to the base of the Lower Yosemite Falls, which are quite spectacular.
We got back onto the shuttle to the other side of the valley to hike the Mist Trail up to Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. This was slightly more taxing with some steep uphills but it was not far and the trails were extremely well maintained. Plus, the view made it totally worthwhile.
It was mid afternoon at this time, but we still wanted to drive to Glacier Point, which was a little detour with amazing views of the whole valley. First we stopped at El Capitan again to try and spot some of the climbers attempting to scale it. At the base there were a few telescopes set up by climbers to monitor the progress of their mates on the mountain. We could hardly pick them out with the naked eye, but through the telescope we saw they were having an easy chat while hanging off the cliff face.
The road to Glacier Point is normally closed in winter due to snow and had only recently been reopened. The lookout point is high above the valley at 7200ft giving commanding views of Yosemite Falls and Half Dome. There were a few lookout points along the way but we had seen so much during the day nothing could really surprise us now. That is until we got to the innocuously named Tunnel View. Wow! Tunnel view is at the head of the valley and gives a view that is framed by El Capitan on one side and Bridalveil falls on the other and Half Dome in the distance with massive trees as far as the eye can see. As the sun peaked through the clouds the colours of the landscape changed like a kaleidoscope. It was one of those views you simply could not tear yourself away from.
We started our final trek of the day up to Glacier Point. The view was simply mind blowing. Regrettably we could not stay too long as it was getting cold and dark but we have loved every single second in this beautiful park. The full moon was rising as we started our trip back to the hotel and one could only imagine what the park and valley would look like with a full moon rising above it. We will definitely be back and next time we’ll stay longer.
