May 11, 2013

Indian Flat RV Park,

El Portal, CA

The plan was to set the alarm for 6am and be at the park entrance at 7.  I was so tired last night that I went to sleep early and thought I would wake up early without the alarm.

So I was surprised to see it was already 8am when we woke up. 

We got ready quickly and set out for the entrance to Yosemite National Park, eight miles away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

The scenery on the road leading to the park was so beautiful we had to pull over and take some pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we came through the entrance yesterday we hadn’t been prepared for the arch that we went through so we weren’t ready with the camera.  So we were prepared today.

 

 

 

 

 

After parking at the Village Store, we walked a short distance and caught a shuttle to stop #16, the trailhead for the Nevada Fall hike.  Yesterday we asked a park volunteer which hike we should do as we only one full day in the park.  She had recommended the Nevada Falls hike.  It is rated as a strenuous hike with a 1,900 foot gain and is 5 miles round trip.

The first part of the hike (considered easy) was mostly uphill and kind of kicked my butt.  I had to rest often to try to catch my breath. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we got to the second part of the hike I realized why the first part was considered easy.  OMG! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were stairs-but that wasn’t the hardest part—

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hardest part was when we started getting the effects of the mist from the fall. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was really glad that I had my ski cap in my back pack because my ears were freezing. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The steps were very slick and I really took my time going up.  When the stairs were wide enough I stepped aside to let people pass me. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally we made it to the top and the climb had been well worth the effort.  The view was spectacular.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We rested and ate lunch. 

We planned on taking the longer but easier John Muir trail back but a ranger informed us that there had been a rock slide earlier in the day and the trail was closed.

WHAT—I have to go down the same way I came up?????

We SLOWLY made our way back down-It was easier for me to breathe BUT I was terrified of falling the entire trip.

Luckily, I didn’t fall and we made it down in one piece.  We were tired and my back and feet were killing me but I felt a real sense of accomplishment.

We caught the next shuttle getting off at  Curry Village where we celebrated - Monte had a Mountain Dew and I had a teeny bottle of wine.

After a short rest we caught the next shuttle back to our car and drove the 20 miles back to the campground looking forward to the hot tub.

We only got to spend two days at Yosemite.  If I had researched better I would have discovered that we should have waited another month to visit as the campgrounds in the park that could accommodate our rig are not open until June (and some until July).  I also would have known that it would be difficult entering the park at the arch entrance because of the arch.  But all that doesn’t detract from our experience that was awesome.  If Yosemite isn’t on your bucket list it should be!