Day Three - Climbing the Mountain

Day three – 14^th May – Climbing the Mountain

Good morning wonderful readers! Sorry for the delay but as you probably can figure out, there's limited wifi when you're crossing the desert. Anyway, this post was written just after we left our first big stop and my god, I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired and so happy at the same time. 

I feel like I conquered the world today and maybe saw why people like the teleological argument so much. Yosemite’s landscape is a myriad of greens with the soft smell of damp and grass as you hike the trails. Dappling the ground, the sun blinks between the leaves and casts luminescent shadows on the grey-boulder rocks. They’re as big as me, bigger even and we clambered up and down them for twenty minutes for the view (and photos of course!) Maggie’s enthusiasm was catching and we all found ourselves startling at the natural beauty all around us.

I could split the experience into three sections – up to the bridge where we first saw the Vernall Falls; up to the top of Vernall Falls and then up to Nevada Falls. Trekking to the Bridge wasn’t hard at all, steep but not too much so, the trail lead you round the edge of the mountain, opening up across the valley and hinting at the things to come. Somehow, because of the sheer enormity of the view, it’s almost impossible to take it what you’re seeing. The world around you hardly seems tangible, becoming 2-D at times as your brain can’t process how high or how low or how huge the things around you are. Then you begin the route to the top of Vernall.

This was the most incredible thing I’ve done in a very very very long time. Pacing it up the mountain, Tom and I took the lead at first (well, behind Paul who launched into aggressive climbers mode before we could blink) and we took the Summer Path, definitely the one I would recommend to anyone else wanting to do this route. Also known as the John Muir Mist Trail, the route twists along the side of the waterfall itself. It was at this point that I think we all felt a touch of something extraordinary. Spritzing from the waterfall itself, a rush of coolness, the breath of a deity flushing round the edge of the rock. Water trickled down the stone trail as it turned into loosely designed steps. Then suddenly, much to our bemused amusement we see people donning brightly coloured ponchos as they pause on the side before rounding the next bend. As we followed we quickly realised why. The vague mist was now a full shower of shimmering water. Rainbows curved from one side to the other: double complete rainbow turning into a circular band of paints. Soaked and smiling we continued the increasingly strenuous ascent. Rising, rising up to the very summit and finally bursting out of the silvery mist into the bright morning sun. It was ten thirty and we were immersed in a scenery that took our breath away.

When you look out across the Vernall Falls, you can see the sprawl of forest, the rocky peaks, the effects of tectonic movement. So, of course, with hearts pounding with electric exuberance we decide to go even higher, to make our way to the highest point below Half Dome.

I won’t lie and say that the climb to Nevada Falls was as easy/moderate a climb as the one to Vernall.  In fact all of us struggled except Jordan who bounded like a mountain goat up the path. For the rest of us, the route was tough – steep and constant, zig-zagging at almost vertical inclines at points. I don’t know how Robert did it in jeans but some how he and I were next behind Jordan with John following with Liam and then Tom and Adam bringing up the end. The top is a flat rock. Barren and golden brown, you can bask like a snake in the sun up there, watching for bluejays and listening to the roaring river.

It was the noise that made everything seem so vital: that bursting, crashing, crushing, snarling waterfall and the constant babbling, bubbling, rushing river above and below. There’s nothing quite like it.

I don’t quite know what else to say – a lot of the experience here is completely ineluctable. You’d need to go Joyce to capture all the running strands of my thoughts as I muse on what we did. Beautiful and exhausting, well worth it and I’d recommend it to anyone and everyone who has a little determination to clamber to the top. 

THINGS TO DO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO CLIMB:

1. You can actually ride a mule to the top of the mountian if you're feeling sore or just not inclined to do it yourself. You can't do the Mist Trail but you can go up the Winter Trail to the top of Nevada Falls.
2. There's Rafting! If I'd had more time the water looks incredible here. 
3. Bicycles - you can take out a bike for $5/hr and cycle round the lower lakes and even do some of the non-uphill routes down at the base, including one to the base of Yosemite Falls.
4. The Curry Village is at the bottom of the Mist Trail (shuttle stop 13b, 14 or 20 will drop you here if you're parked elsewhere) and it's complete with a coffee shop, ice cream option, pizza, Mexican restaurent and other eateries. It's also easy enough to find the tourist information station from here. Plus there's a nifty documentary about the history of Yosemite and the National Park system here. 
5. The Lodge and The Awahane Hotel are also very beautiful. You can stay there all year round and we even saw some almost-tame deer stalking around the grounds.

The area is so wonderful and you could definitely spend weeks, months, years, exploring its forests and climbing the mountains. Remember, you need a permit if you're an avid hiker and want to go all the way to Half Dome. But if you don't see yourself as the next John Muir or Ansel Adams then don't worry - you can enjoy the outstanding natural beauty without climbing to the highest peaks.

Je serai poète et toi poésie,

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