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Published: July 25th 2009
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After the great welcome we had at the Sequoia National Park by bear and deer and a great time walking among the giants we headed north to the Yosemite park. In the Yosemite we could also see sequoias and several different types of giant trees but what really impressed us was the gigantic rock formations and high waterfalls.
We stayed in a very little town called Mariposa which is about 30 miles from the park. Everyday we drove in to the park very early. Mariposa is a quaint town and the architecture with old renovated buildings gives a real feel of the wild west. At the B&B we had freshly baked biscuits and cakes and lots of fruits for breakfast (yes, pounds keep pilling on). We had dinner there one evening and when we asked whether they had a set menu the owner replied “there is nothing set about us, we create!”. Got it?
During our stay in the Yosemite there were quite a few controlled fires which help maintain the ecologic balance so we faced a few traffic jams all in the name of safety. We could however, reach every where we wanted to and had a great
time hiking the endless trails and climbing up enormous granite rocks. On our first day we headed to the Glacier Point to see the Half Dome and hiked from the viewpoint to the Sentinel Dome where we had awesome views of the whole valley. We carried on the hike to the Taft Point where the rocks have enormous fissures. The fissures are breaks/cracks in the mountain that drop directly down to the valley floor at some points. There is only a railing on the last fissure which makes Taft Point much more dangerous than Glacier Point. The fissures allow daring onlookers to venture out to the edge where even the most adventurous will feel butterflies in the stomach.The paths are not the easiest and the amount of climbing is quite big nevertheless it is incredible to see the age range and physical condition of the hikers we meet. Before going back to the hotel we saw the Bridalveil waterfall.
In the second full day we started early with a short walk to the Yosemite lower waterfall and then went for the real challenge of climbing to the Vernal an Nevada waterfalls. We joined different trails on the way back
Controlled Fire
Fireman at work and finished the walk quite late and extremely exhausted. Despite the difficulty it is a trail very popular and you see lots of parents and children walking up. That makes the walk look like a walk to a funfair. It was a big but enjoyable crowd up to Vernal fall. After that we were pretty much on our own.
In the first two days we saw so much of what the park has in abundance, water and gigantic granite formations. However, there was much more to see on our last day. We made our way to the Death Valley by crossing the Yosemite park via the Tioga Road. The Tioga pass itself is 9945 feet above see level (3031 m). The road is through an infinity of meadows and lakes and the views it offers of the area are amazing. our main stop was at the Olmsted Point. One of the highlights of our last day was lunch by the Tenaya Lake.
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nikki
non-member comment
awesome
wow! it's true then - everything in The States is bigger and better. Yosemite looks truly awesome and i'm SO jealous. aren't you both tired yet? will you ever want to come back to London and settle down after your wonderful adventures? happy trekking xxxxxx