This day was the coolest one yet in regards to temperatures, and I’m so glad it was because it’s the day I think we accomplished one of the most challenging feats.
I’d read on one blog and learned from a friend that this trail was not for the faint of heart. It’s STEEP and pretty much straight uphill the whole way. I was worried mainly about myself wearing a toddler, and my 69 year old mother who had knee surgery about a year ago. But, I decided we would attempt it and stop/turn around whenever we needed to do so. I made sure everyone was aware of that, and anytime a kid complained, I told them they were welcome to stop and sit (they seldom did, though, ha).
The first mile of the trail brought us to the Footbridge, which was my first (and possibly only goal) for our hike. However, we seemed to feel good and wanted to keep going past it, so we did! Thankfully, we were able to take Mist Trail (closed on weekdays right now for repairs), which shortened our trek up to Vernal Falls. I read somewhere this is called Nature’s staircase, and I believe it – it was incredibly high.
I’ve been on tough hikes before, and I always find myself asking the question, “Is it worth this?” Sometimes it seems to be worth it for the view at the top. Other times, not so much, ha.
But this hike, friends…was absolutely worth it. When we turned the corner on a cliff our eyes widened and jaws dropped. It was truly incredible. Since I reached the top first, I turned and videoed the reactions of everyone else when they first saw it. If you do no other challenging hike at Yosemite National Park…make this one happen!
After this hike, we refueled at the car with snacks and then went to Yosemite Lodge for lunch at the Base Camp Eatery- they had a variety of food that was ready fairly quickly, plenty of seating and kiosks where you place your orders. We then looped back to Curry Village hoping to find Momma’s phone, which was left in a bathroom. Thankfully, someone had turned it into the front desk!
It was midafternoon by this time and we decided to return to the RV park to allow the kids to spend our last evening enjoying fishing, the playground, volleyball, shuffle board, etc. I was able to wash all our laundry and towels and we enjoyed street tacos that were available in the RV park that evening.
Overall we loved our time in Yosemite. We focused our time mainly in the valley and chose not to visit the sequoia groves since we are headed to the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks next. If we had one more day, we might would have included the Tuolumne area.
jami lee gainey 