You So Might Fall in Love with Yo-se-mit-e

Visiting Yosemite National Park was always a definite on the travel list. Many more national parks were also on the list, but various people from the US told us that some could come off it, but Yosemite had to stay. It was also important we stay in the park to make the most of it, apparently. With this in mind, it was with a good amount of dismay that when I started looking into it back in the Philippines (!), I found out that not only had the National Parks Service decided to continue a permit system from 2023 that limited access during when we would be there, but that accommodation within the park sells out instantly. It seemed the Yosemite plan would be more difficult to come to fruition than trying to get tickets to Glastonbury. So, five months prior, amidst studying for our PADI in SE Asia, I was logging on to get us permits for a date we hoped we might be there. The permit allowed us to enter the park, but not sleep in it. A bridge we’d have to come to later down the line.

Fast forward to trying to figure out the whole USA road trip, whilst in the USA (thanks WWOOFing), and all accommodation in and outside Yosemite was fully booked or ridiculously expensive (the same could be said for Sequoia and King’s Canyon actually!). It seemed that first come first served camping is a thing of the past in these parts. So much for the freedom of living wild and free in our jeep on the roads, pulling up where we found ourselves. Our only hope was a second release of campspots a couple of weeks prior to when we thought we might be there, to try and secure some spots, in a hope it would fit in with a future route we hadn’t yet decided. Fun.

Eventually, through a lot of effort, and regularly checking the website for last minute cancellations, when I probably should have been enjoying the moment, we had some pitches booked. They meant moving campground and/or pitch almost everyday, but needs must. Thankfully, the pitches in the National Parks are actually pretty reasonably priced, far cheaper than anywhere outside the park.

Getting the following to all come together took a lot of effort and planning to make happen. Something that’s not so bad when you’re planning your holiday, sitting at your desk pretending to work, but a big headache when you’re still trying to plan tomorrow. But, it was totally worth it, and I’d do it all again tomorrow if we could. Just, if you want to go to Yosemite, plan waaaay in advance! Because everyone else will be.

So, to the stint itself…

Flea and Cricket

Unable to sleep in the heat bowl that is the Codorniz Campground, we give up tossing and turning and decide to head off at the crack of dawn. It makes for an impressive sight though, seeing the ball of heat rise over the gold all around us.

The road out was once more, other-worldy, but in a totally different way. A few cows stare at us, chewing the cud, as we turn up a farm-track. Little did we understand that this was going to be another Google classic and the cows were rightly bemused to see anyone other than their owner go up this road. It’s a slow slog along the bumpy dirt track.

Much of the journey out of this part is ferrying a bunch of unsuspecting crickets who jump out of the way of our jeep and end up clinging on for dear life up the road. Some manage to hang on for so long it would be like moving to a different continent, we wonder if they have homes to somehow get back to! Eventually, the rolling fields of flowing golden grasses abate and civilisation returns. I won’t miss the heat but those views were something else.

Yosemite

Soon enough, the temperature starts dropping, and the road starts being lined with evergreens once more. Phew!

First up in actual Yosemite was Glacier Point, somewhere we drove to ‘on the way’ to the valley. Our jaws literally dropped as we came through the pine forest and the sky opened up to show Half Dome up ahead. It was epic.

Time to head into the valley itself. We only managed to get one night camping in the valley, so I was determined we make the most of it. It doesn’t disappoint! The views here are breath-taking, with the green of the Meadows in the valley floor, against the grey granite walls surrounding us, and the perfectly blue sky, I can’t believe we’re here.

James has spotted many a bather at the river that runs through the valley, and suggests we cool off and clean off the sweat from Codorniz. As always, it’s a great idea. The water sure is cold, but there’s also ample entertainment from other visitors playing around in the freezing water around us.

Another one of James’s brilliant ideas is to treat ourselves to a special campfire dinner to celebrate being in Yosemite at last. We celebrate with bubbles (out of our Patagonia Brewery cups of course), sausages and mushrooms! Makes a change from our usual fare.

Despite a few clamourings of pots and pans and people calmly yelling “not here bears”, we see none and seem safe and sound in the middle of the campground. One benefit to sleeping on top of your car in bear country!

A Climb and Three Falls

We’re up early the next morning (thank you raven alarms) to pack up, park up, and head up to see some waterfalls. The main Mist Trail is shut at the moment, so we’re ‘forced’ to do the more challenging route going up and around to Nevada Falls, following the John Muir Trail (which gives us bragging rights according to the volunteer directing woeful Mist Trail wanabees). We find this a challenging, but not as bad as we thought, jaunt up some steep switchbacks. Thankfully we’re in the shade for all of it, and even get a bit rained on by some snow-melt water dripping overhead.

We’re surprised we make it to the top in such good time, and I’m once more taken aback by how picture-postcard beautiful this place is.

There’s even an overlook where you can see the water rolling down the rock face below, with all its might.

We already seem on top of the world here that we can’t fathom where this endless supply of rushing water is coming from. We skiddadle on down the other side of the Falls and enjoy the views as we descend below them, and on to Vernal Falls, where we can catch the top end of the Mist Trail, and have a water refill and paddle.

After a brief slog back up to Clark’s Point in the blazing sun now, we return back down, desperate for water. Thankfully, Yosemite is good at putting toilets and water refill points where it can, so we’re able to replenish on the return leg. We see many a hot and gasping intrepid hiker trying to start in the now midday heat and wonder how well they’ll fair now there’s little shade. As one of the campground hosts told us, “you can never start too early”. We’re so lucky we got to camp here and do just that.

On our return we ask another volunteer for some tips of hikes to do in the valley. “I don’t want to be a hike snob, but your best hikes are out of the valley“. He recommends Cloud’s Rest, which we’ve actually read about on another blog. We’re proud that he identifies us as fit, able and prepared hikers, but I’m also dubious he hasn’t maybe over estimated our abilities!

On our way back to the car, I hear a crack and crunch from the foliage to our left. “Probably just a big bird”, I dismiss, but James’s curiosity is piqued and he goes back to check. Lo and behold, there’s a bear with her cubs chomping their way through just next to us. Of course by the time I can get the camera out to try and get evidence, they’ve already moved on.

We’ve sadly got to leave the valley as our next campground is out towards the entrance, but first we make a stop at The Dawn Wall of El Capitan, made famous by a couple of climbing documentaries.

We cannot fathom how anyone could climb up this huge sheer wall of stone in one day without any ropes.

Day one done!

Valley Bimbles

We head back into the valley the next day as I still don’t think I’ve had enough of it. Today we’re taking it easy though to keep our strength for the next day, so we explore the villages and check out the view of Yosemite Falls from below.

We bimble about and get lost a bit around the valley, then head back to our now favourite river paddling spot to cool down and clean off.

James even braves the rapids down (after a couple of beers), which we’d seen people going down the days before with an “oooh” and “ouch” as their bums hit the rocks underneath.

We’ve decided to treat ourselves to an evening meal in the valley today, and not worry about fires, or gas, or washing up. It’s a lovely treat!

Clouding Around

Our final day in Yosemite is doing a hike out of the valley. The one we’d read about and was then recommended by the volunteer. We head off ready for another scorching day, not prepared for the onslaught of flies and mosquitos that follow us the whole way along the trial. It’s a beautiful walk, if only we could enjoy it, but every stop for a photo or snack or drink means the bugs catch us up. It means we make it up in record time though!

We somewhat dread the return back into bugville, but it seems the sun has burnt them all away, so we can see the route in an entirely new light, able to take it in a bit more. It is, however, pretty darn hot again now, we only pause for so long before running to the next spot of shady relief.

No longer in the valley and able to access our favourite cool-down spot, we try out a nearby lake that has attracted many a vacationer. It’s a perfect spot to wash away the grime and sweat of the day.

And that’s our lot for Yosemite National Park. A valley formed by a glacier long, long ago, that became the inspiration for the National Parks system, we can see why.

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Adventure – exploring Yosemite’s valleys and surrounding areas

Excitement – some rock exfoliating from the cliff by our campsite as soon as we arrived. Spotting our first bears. Being in Yosemite at long last

Trauma – the incredibly loud dude in Upper Pines who seemed to be shouting to his friend standing right next to him. Thankfully they went to bed early and got up late. Bear boxes, the never-ending back and foreward of bear boxes.