A Daddy-Daughter Hiking Trip

Exploring the Nation's Third National Park

Growing up my dad was my hiking buddy.  The two of us would go on backpacking and hiking trips to the Appalachian Mountains.  So when he came out to visit my in California by himself, I knew exactly what activity I wanted to do, hiking in Yosemite National Park.  So we hiked three trails in three days in our Nation's third national park.

My dad and I at the summit of Sentinel Dome.  Half dome can be seen over my shoulder.

We visited Yosemite in June, which is the busy season for one of the busiest national parks.  Despite the busy season, I loved Yosemite.  Once we got off of the valley floor and onto hiking trails, the crowds mostly fell away and the natural beauty of the park dominated the senses.  This is where I get into the natural history of the park and where all of that beauty came from.  

I am so happy to finally go hiking in Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite is located in the high Sierra Mountains, and is comprised of large monoliths of granite rock.  Once upon a time when the Sierra Mountains were rising tumultuously out of the earth, molten rock found its way from the earth's interior into the the heart of the newly forming mountains.  The magma filled vast chambers beneath the surface of the mountains where it cooled, becoming granite.  Skipping way forward in geologic times to the last ice age when glaciers covered the Sierras, these large glaciers carved out U-shaped valleys running east to west all over the high Sierra, including the Yosemite area.  Yosemite valley is one such glacier-carved valley, with a flat valley floor and steep, nearly vertical sides rising up on either side of the valley floor.  The glaciers did more than just form the valley though.  They also wore off much of the mountain tops, exposing the granite underneath.  It is this combination of magma chamber formation and glacier-induced erosion which gives the park its signature and stark look.

The view of upper Yosemite Falls from Sentinel Dome.  We would hike the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail the following day.

No where in the park is this combination more evident than at the iconic half-dome.  Once a full dome of granite formed in a cooling magma chamber, much of the dome was carved away by glacial processes, leaving a flat face of the remaining dome facing the valley.  

Yosemite at dusk is a mix of deep greens with colorful granite.

Now that the cursory natural history is out of the way, I can get back to our exploration of the park.  Due to our late booking we didn't stay in the park, which is pretty expensive as well.  We stayed in a dry cabin at a KOA campground about a forty-five minute drive away.  Normally I abhor campgrounds, but that was one of the nicest campgrounds I have ever been to.  As the campground was built on a densely forested mountainside we had plenty of privacy and noise insulation from the surrounding cabins and camp sites.  We spent a few nights grilling food on the coal stove set out front of the cabin while swinging on the cabin's porch swing all the time smelling pine and sequoia.  We stayed there two nights, which gave us three days to explore the park.

The U-shaped Yosemite Valley can be clearly seen in the photo.  The valley got its U-shape from glaciers in the last ice age.

The day we arrived it was nearing sunset, but I was not going to settle down for the evening without a taste of what Yosemite had to offer us.  So we drove up to what would be the easiest hike of the trip, the hike of Sentinel Dome.  Sentinel Dome is located on the southern rim of the valley, and the approach hike ascends from a parking lot behind it.  A relatively gradual and short (about a mile one way) hike, we arrived just in time for sunset.  The summit also allowed us magnificent views of half dome and our hike for the next day, Upper Yosemite Falls.

After driving back down to the valley floor, we noticed in the dim light some people sitting in the meadow under the tallest wall of granite in the park, El Capitan.  So we pulled our car into the grass, and got out wondering at what these women were gazing at on the wall.  As it turns out they were rock climbers with friends attempting the multi-day vertical ascent of the monolith.  With binoculars in hand, they were keeping an eye on their buddies, and also the many other climbers attempting to summit.  From the valley below it was impossible to see any climbers on the wall.  Nothing larger than specks, it was impossible to pick one out unless they moved a substantial amount.  Thanks to our new friends though, and their binoculars, we got an impromptu visual tour of the near twenty climbers on the wall and the various routes they were taking to the top.  

Resting with a view of the upper half of Yosemite Falls on our long hike.  A rainbow floats above the pool at the base, where the flow takes a break before careening over the next step, another thousand feet to the valet floor.

Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in North America.  It only flows with water in spring and early summer when melting snowpack supplies enough water for a healthy stream.  The Upper Yosemite Falls hike (not to be confused with the paved walk that allow access to the base of the falls) climbs the steep valley wall from the valley below to the overflowing precipice mirroring the west side of the falls.  The trail is listed as "strenuous" in the trail guide at just over seven miles round trip and almost three thousand feet of elevation gain and then loss again, making it an almost sixteen percent grade (i.e. really steep).  It's the perfect type of trail for my dad and I to tackle together.  The hike took us about six hours to complete, and was worth the effort.  The falls are segmented into two parts with a small pool dividing them.  The top section can only be seen up close by hiking this trail.  The viewing walkway at the base of the falls only offers a view of the bottom section.  

Also the view at the precipice, as in many other ares of the park, is amazing.  However, this view is made all the more awesome because it is augmented by a soundtrack of roaring water.  I still get goose bumps thinking about that sound and knowing how far each drop will descend on its journey to the valley floor.  My dad and I both have  a fear of heights, and it was only with sheer will power that we were able to approach the final one hundred yards of the hike, which requires scrambling over rocks and clinging to safety chains anchored into the rock while inching down a one foot wide path cut into the the valley wall to see the actual overflow point of the falls.  We spent the next two hours descending carefully down the steep trail, and after a few yoga poses to stretch our muscles at the base we headed back to the car.  

Yosemite valley from the top of Yosemite Falls.  No guard rails protect visitors from the sheer nearly three thousand foot drop off to the valley floor.

We were just about to exit the park when I pulled over into a turn out adjacent to the river that runs through the valley floor.  My muscles were crying out for a dip in the in the freezing cold water of the river.  The cold water was so inviting to my sore muscles I charged into the water, and sat down in the pebble-strewn floor of the rushing shallows.  It was dusk and the smell of the forest was extra potent as I washed the grime of the hike off.  My dad tipped-toed in after me, but I don't think he made it quite so far.  After wading back out of the river, I spent some time standing on the bank waiting for my dry-fit clothing to dry and just being present.  Any yogi will know that feeling after an exceptionally strenuous practice when meditation becomes so easy its second nature.  That was how I felt in that moment.

Our last day in Yosemite we spent on the Mist Trail.  This was by far the most crowded hike of our trip.  It's a paved but steepish trail that is part of the half-dome approach.  We only hiked about half the way up, far enough to get a good view of the waterfall, before turning back.  The last bit is really wet, and steep (basically a staircase cut into the rock), and busy (lots of people).  We had pushed ourselves the previous day to the extent that attempting the Mist Trail had a good possibility of one of us ending up tripping or slipping to a not so fun ending.  

Yosemite Falls from the valley floor, the tallest waterfall in North America.

This is the only time I've visited Yosemite.  Although I've wanted to return when I lived in California I just never made it happen.  Now that I live a continent away, I'm not sure when I'll be back.  I am one hundred percent certain I will make it happen at least one more time.