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| Could the View Get Any Better? - Glacier Point - Yosemite, Day 1 - September 2018 |
The thing about Yosemite you must never forget is that it does not have a free shuttle that'll take you around the park. Nope. Not even after you've backpacked roughly 15 miles in 3 days with over 6,000 feet elevation gain. Not even if your permit tells you to start at Glacier Point and end at Little Yosemite Valley. Not a chance. Don't even think about it. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Glacier Point is the prettiest point I've ever stood and looked out. Okay, that might be an exaggeration because this is Earth and there are a lot of beautiful points. But I couldn't have asked for a prettier beginning. At Glacier Point, Half Dome stands proudly naked surrounded by its lesser friends, family and enemies (assuming of course that nature comes to life when we aren't looking as I was told as a child which resulted in me, sometimes even still, trying to sneak up on flowers to catch them talking to each other). Just look at it!!!
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| A Couple of Nature-Loving Kiddos - Nevada Falls - Yosemite, Day 2 - September 2018 |
Day1:
After driving four hours, we were thrilled to begin. We started by hiking the Panorama Trail, which really lived up to its name—you know, panoramic. We saw four deer! One was clearly a teenager trying to be cool and hang at the back of the pack, a few hops behind the rest but actually just looked a bit lost. We camped at Illilouette Creek. That was a lovely campsite. We ate our dehydrated dinners by the creek (It was more like a river in my opinion.) Some of the guys had the best mac-n-cheese I've ever tasted. And then I went to sleep terrified bears would eat us while Ryan calmed me down.
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| Butts - Panorama Trail - Yosemite, Day 1 - September 2018 |
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| Up on Cripple Creek - Illilouette Creek - Yosemite, Day 1 - September 2018 |
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| What a Bridge View! - Illilouette Creek - Yosemite, Day 1 - September 2018 |
Day 2:
The next day we started at 9am to take on Half Dome. Our first stop was Nevada Falls. That place was damn pretty. It might have something to do with the horses that rode past right when we got to the top. But it also might have nothing to do with that and is just inherently spectacular. We then made our way to Backpackers Camp at the base of Half Dome. We ate lunch (delish PB&J roll ups) and left our packs to hike Half Dome. At this point, we're three miles in with three and a half more miles up and back and I'm wondering how I got myself into this but also really happy to be there. You know? So we hike up Half Dome and the views are wow. Being too terrified of dying, I hung at Quarter Dome while the guys did the ropes to the top. I took a nap while the guys were up there. They raved about the views. I raved about my nap. It worked out well. Gosh, everything was so beautiful. We all descended together, made dinner and relaxed by the river on the hammock. The campsite had toilets (!) where a sign informed us cougars had been around. Ha ha. But also scary. What a day.
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| Sure Hiked up a Hill for This Perspective - Panorama Trail - Yosemite, Day 2 - September 2018 |
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| Vanna White Never Looked So Good - Nevada Falls - Yosemite, Day 2 - September 2018 |
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| You Come Here Often? - Nevada Falls - Yosemite, Day 2 - September 2018 |
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| Quarter Dome - Yosemite, Day 2 - September 2018 |
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| Nap Views - Quarter Dome - Yosemite, Day 2 - September 2018 |
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| Watching People More Brave Than I - Quarter Dome - Yosemite, Day 2 - September 2018 |
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| Down We Go - Half Dome Trail - Yosemite, Day 2 - September 2018 |
Day 3:
We hike down the four or so miles. The path was essentially a set of stairs for miles, which was a bit tough on the knees and quads of those who have little to no muscle mass from not working out for three months (me). In hindsight, I loved the rickety staircase that lead us down the mountain. At the time I was focused more on my legs not giving out. Once at the bottom, the shuttle stop bench was the most comfortable thing I had ever sat on. We planned to meet at a bar in a nearby town. But that was before we realized the shuttle wouldn't take us back to our car. It was either buy a tour bus pass for a tour two hours from then or hitchhike. There were six of us. We bought the last five tour passes and lunch and hoped the standby list wasn't wishful thinking. Luckily it wasn't. And bonus, the tour was super interesting. We got back to the car and headed home, stopping not for a beer but instead in Nowhere for dinner at Taco Bell before carrying on. It sure was nice to sleep in a bed that night.
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| Shaky Legs and Joyful Hearts - Vernal Falls - Yosemite, Day 3 - September 2018 |
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| Ryan, the World's Best Hiking Partner - Yosemite, Day 2 - September 2018 |
Some Fun Bits:
-I made Ryan and I bring too much food because I was terrified of being hungry. Smart right? Well no. It really just resulted in extra pack weight and lots of leftovers we didn't want to touch because that's all we had to eat for three days straight.
-I almost cried twice from exhaustion, heat and out-of-shape-ness. But I was lucky enough to be with the best group who was supportive when necessary and not-noticing-a-thing when also necessary.
-Snickers and Coca Cola are wonderful pre-hike snacks. And now that I think about it, they're wonderful after-hike snacks too.
-I loved the trip so much. And I love reminiscing on it even more.
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| Glacier Point - Yosemite - September 2018 |
I've been putting off writing this because I couldn't decide what words to pair with the ol' Yosemite—I didn't want to let it down. It's a place, I felt, that's far more for the eyes (and perhaps the lungs) than the paper. But in true Leah fashion, some written something is better than no written nothing. So, if there's any way to end this, it's to urge you all to GO! Go see it for yourself!
