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Brian entering the Water
My First Attempt
My Successful Attempt! (Be sure to check out the videos we've added also! There is also a video of Memphis and San Francisco)
As we drove into Yosemite it was clear we were leaving civilization and entering the wilderness. We had no radio stations, no cell phone reception, and our Bed & Breakfast was literally a small house on top of the mountain. We spent the first evening watching episodes of Entourage and getting a good nights rest before our day of exploring the national park.
Yosemite itself is gorgeous with mountains, trees, wildflowers, and waterfalls visible at all times. Brian and I had originally planned to hike to the base of Lower Yosemite Falls and follow that up with a more extensive hiking trail to the top of a smaller waterfall, but it turned out Lower Yosemite Falls was much more entertaining than we had expected. The waterfall itself is the largest waterfall in the United States, dropping 2,425 feet, and making it the fifth largest in the world!
While the trail to the waterfall was short, (½ mile) there were hundreds of rocks to climb on, and with the combination of a little athleticism and some courage, you
could get all the way to the base of the waterfall. After some precarious moments of climbing about a ½ mile worth of rocks, we finally made it to the base and the payoff for our determination was a beautiful view of the falls rising directly above us, and a pool of calm water below us. We decided to rest on the rocks for a bit, where we could feel the spray of mountain water on our faces and watch the brave dive into the reservoir at the base of the falls. I say the people were brave because this particular waterfall consisted of melted snow from the surrounding mountains, so it was FREEZING! We were actually lucky we got to see the waterfall at all, because in two weeks time the snow will have completely melted, and the waterfall will run dry.
Anyway, as Brian and I watched the few people who had dared to enter the water leave the falls, we began thinking about taking a dip ourselves. We climbed down to edge of the basin and were advised by another tourist to splash some water on our bodies to get acclimated to the temperature before jumping
in. He said the water was so cold that if you didn’t do this you would lose your breath when you entered! Needless to say, we took his advice and after about 15 minutes of hesitation we both decided we had to just suck it up and get in! I, of course, insisted Brian go in first, and took quite an amusing video of him lowering himself into the water and the springing back out again as soon as humanly possible! After Brian’s successful attempt, I couldn’t very well back out, so I tried to enter quickly and only got in up to my stomach before I began losing my breath and popped back out of the water. After a few more minutes and some pep talk from Brian, I managed to completely submerge myself in the freezing cold water, and Brian has both attempts on video for your viewing pleasure! The water was absolutely freezing but we were both extremely pleased and proud of ourselves for daring to enter it and surviving to tell the tale. We finished off the afternoon by drying out on the rocks for a bit, grabbing dinner, and making our way back to the
B&B for the night.
The next morning we were on the road by 10 A.M. for the drive to Lake Tahoe. As we began our drive, we noticed a large cloud of smoke in the park and wondered whether or not it was a forest fire. Our questions were answered as we made our way down the mountain. Signs told us there was a fire and firemen were already on the scene to manage it. A little further on and we could actually smell the smoke and see the flames. The whole scene was kind of cool and kind of scary at the same time. The fire was pretty big and you could see the firemen were just attempting to contain it and let it to go out on its own. I pulled over to take some pictures (don’t worry, I was across the river) before we exited the park.
Overall, Brian and I had an awesome time climbing the waterfall in Yosemite and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting California.
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Mac Daddy
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Better You Than Me
No way would I have EVER gotten into that cold water. So happy you are having such a great trip. Can't believe how skinny you both look after eating all that fantastic road food. Am looking forward to seeing you both next week and hearing all the stories. Drive safe and be good. Love ya - Dad