Mr. Lovely hails from the Northeast and has never been to Yosemite! So we decided that although it is winter, we would go and see what adventures awaited us. I was expecting snowshoeing and hot chocolate by the fire to be honest, but it couldn't have worked out better. Since we haven't had a lot of snow this season, the high passes were still open and we made good use of the late arrival of winter!
I know that you have seen enough cliched photos of Yosemite and I know that I will never be able to compete with Ansel, so I will give you a few alternatives. We decided to hike up the Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point, which was a 4.8 mile one way hike, with a 3200 foot elevation gain. It was a nice path actually; it wasn't too steep and it was smooth and even paved for part of it. I know...paved! The views were fantastic! I am not really sure why it's called the Four Mile Trail.
Once we got to the top, we had a snack and decided to brave a longer hike around, instead of going back down the way we came. We took the Panorama trail, which ends up going over near Half Dome and then back down near Vernal Falls. From Glacier Point around and back down was about 8.5 miles.
So, total mileage was about 13.3 miles. Afterwards, we went and each had a hamburger, an order of chicken wings AND a bowl of chili! We were starving!
We also went to the Tunnel View for the sunset view of the valley. It was gorgeous! Except why is it that when you ask a person to take a photo for you, you either get a blurry one, or one with your feet (or head) chopped off, or something of the sort?
I know that you have seen enough cliched photos of Yosemite and I know that I will never be able to compete with Ansel, so I will give you a few alternatives. We decided to hike up the Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point, which was a 4.8 mile one way hike, with a 3200 foot elevation gain. It was a nice path actually; it wasn't too steep and it was smooth and even paved for part of it. I know...paved! The views were fantastic! I am not really sure why it's called the Four Mile Trail.
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| View from four mile trail |
Once we got to the top, we had a snack and decided to brave a longer hike around, instead of going back down the way we came. We took the Panorama trail, which ends up going over near Half Dome and then back down near Vernal Falls. From Glacier Point around and back down was about 8.5 miles.
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| View from Glacier Point |
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| Illilouette Fall |
We also went to the Tunnel View for the sunset view of the valley. It was gorgeous! Except why is it that when you ask a person to take a photo for you, you either get a blurry one, or one with your feet (or head) chopped off, or something of the sort?
First, I took a photo of Mr. L. Isn't the view nice?
Then he took one of me. El Capitan! Half Dome! Oh My!
Then we asked a Random to take one of both of us.
Seriously?
We actually asked ANOTHER Random to take a photo and he took one of us standing (RIGHT) in front of (ie BLOCKING) Half Dome. AND he had a huge Canon, so I thought he knew what he was doing! Sheesh!
PS. Our calves were SO SORE the next day!
PS. Our calves were SO SORE the next day!
What is the longest hike you have ever done? Have you been to Yosemite?
Lol. Further proof that photos taken by others suck!! That's funny. Those pictures are stunning, though. What a beautiful area. And you definitely earned the burger/wings/chili. :)
ReplyDeleteThat is beautiful, and I've never been to Yosemite. One day I'll make it out there, always wanted to go.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! What a great time! Longest hike for me was 11 miles with my 9yo son. When the boys get older I hope to increase the mileage:)
ReplyDeleteOh my, how beautiful!!! I cannot stop thinking about hiking and your posts always make me think about it more!!! The only place to "hike" around here is the Ledges. lol, which is ... laughable.
ReplyDeleteI feel embarrassed for having taken so many bad photos of people when they've randomly asked. Ayayay.
ReplyDeleteVery jealous of your Yosemite hike. I'd really love to go there someday!
I honestly hate when people ask me to take their picture because I'm so afraid I'm going to screw it up! Ha.
ReplyDeleteThis post has reaffirmed my need to do some hiking in the very near future. We have tons of trails around me so there's not excuse!
And heck yeah you earned that meal! You hiked a half-marathon, lol!!
I'm from the east coast too, and would LOVE to hike at Yosemite! Looks gorgeous. A few years ago, we took a trip to Colorado and hiked one of the 14er's...no idea how many miles, but it was an 8-5 hike up and back. Probably similar to yours...it's amazing how long it takes to cover mileage when you're going straight up!
ReplyDeleteI've never been to Yosemite, but I really want to. Every year I tell myself that THIS will be the year. I just really need to find someone to go with me.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Yosemite! Its one of my places to go camping at! This year I hope to hike up half dome...I think it would be a great/challenging experience
ReplyDelete