I’ve been meaning to blog about my mini-vacation to Yosemite but since it has been a few weeks I don’t know that I have much to say anymore. One of my friends from grad school whom I hadn’t seen in a couple of years was coming to the area and wondered if I’d be interested in heading out to Yosemite for a few days. I *heart* Yosemite so I wasn’t going to pass up on the opportunity to go hiking with her.
It was my third Yosemite trip and the only time I was there longer than a weekend. I found Yosemite as enchanting as usual but I can’t say that this trip was my favorite. Even though we were there for four days, I found our time there a bit stressful – partly due to the lousy weather and partly due to our accommodations. It rained the first couple of days we were there and it was really cold, especially at night.
It was nice to see some snow but I really hate being outside when it is cold. All of my exercise respiratory issues seem to worsen in the cold and I end up hiking with a non-stop runny nose. Not fun. We stayed in a heated tent cabin in Curry Village, which was like a few steps up from camping but not enough steps up for me to not wish I was staying in a hotel. Don’t get me wrong – the heated tent cabins in Curry Village are great for people who like to camp. I don’t like camping. I love being outside hiking all day and getting dirty and sweaty but after a long day of hiking, I want to come back to a warm room with a clean comfy bed and a nice clean hot shower. I don’t want to unload all of my food and toiletries into a bear locker. I don’t want to sleep with layers of blankets. I don’t want to use a communal shower facility. I don’t want to have to wear my boots and bundle up just to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Now I knew about all of these things before we went since I had been camping once before with some of my grad school friends (well, I had forgotten about the bathroom in the middle of the night problem) but I think part of me wondered if I’d enjoy camping (and yes I know Curry Village does not count as camping) now that I was into hiking and enjoying the outdoors (something I wasn’t into when we went camping in grad school). Umm, I still don’t get it. All that stuff just feels more stressful to me than relaxing or fun. On the plus side, this was my first stay inside the park, which made the experience far more convenient. I’ll have to make sure that I always stay in the park (and in a hotel :) when I venture out there again.
We managed to get some great hikes in: Hite Cove (just outside of Yosemite), Mist Trail to the top of Vernal Falls, Lower Yosemite Falls, Columbia Rock, Mirror Lake, and Inspiration Point. The waterfalls were pretty amazing this time of the year but I think we missed the height of wildflower season. I really hated the hike to Vernal Falls. I have an unexplained fear of rocky trails and the 600 rock steps (in rainy weather, on top of the usual mist from the falls) were pretty scary for me. I am glad I had purchased a couple of trekking poles from REI right before the trip because they made me feel more comfortable (I was still terrified and stressed). Hiking to Columbia Rock and Inspiration Point were my favorite of the trip, and a couple of my favorite hikes ever. It was my first time hiking to Columbia Point and my second attempt hiking the Inspiration Point Trail. When I hiked the Inspiration Point Trail last year, I found it rather underwhelming – but that was because my friend (a different friend from grad school) and I made it to the top but didn’t actually make it to the Inspiration Point, which was rather inspiring. I’m glad we found it this time around so that I can actually appreciate the trail.
Overall, I’m really glad I took a few days off work and got to enjoy Yosemite one more time. I feel really blessed to live so close (a mere four hours!) to such a gem. I’m hoping to visit Mariposa Grove during my next visit, whenever that may be. And one of these days I’ll make it out to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks.