We started our first day with a 6.3 miles round trip hike to Vernal and Nevada Falls. The trail starts at Happy Isles and continues on the Mist Trail to Vernal Fall then Nevada Fall. After that, there is an option to return via the Mist Trail again by Clark Point. We opted to return via the John Muir Trail, which is why the mileage is more than the poster's below.
Here's a visual info of the hike. The start of the trail is at Happy Isles, the bottom left corner of this poster.
Here's a closeup of the trail from the footbridge. Take note of the amount of water flowing down the waterfalls in this depiction.
The beginning of the hike was fairly easy, no real great climb. But then the trail starts getting steep and you hit the stairs, and I was starting to pant.
You know, the Mist Trail was so named because of the thick mist from the waterfall blanketing the trail and soaking hikers. There is so little water this year that the whole trail was dry.
The super dry stairways. It actually would get slippery and people have fallen down the steep slope to the left before.
Them mountain squirrels are everywhere!
There's Vernal Fall with, like, 1/4 of its regular flow.
A view from above (Vernal Fall).
After Vernal Fall, Nevada Fall wasn't too long of a hike to get to. But it was still a heck of a hike. I was getting pretty tired by that point, frequently stopping as we were climbing the stairs, making friends with other hikers I kept on passing who kept on passing me while I stopped. Hahaha!
Liberty Cap and Nevada Fall
A group of supply horses also passed us by on Nevada Fall. They were coming from the back country.
A view from atop Nevada Fall.
And back down to Happy Isles
The whole hike took us around four hours, which I am very proud of considering how the poster and guide book estimated it taking 5 - 6 hours on a strenuous trail. I'd say this trail is on the lower spectrum of strenuous.
The only reason I didn't choose to do Half Dome was because I didn't think I was prepared for that long of a hike. And I was probably right in making that decision because even though we finished this hike fast, I could barely walk without wincing in pain at Happy Isles. My feet were definitely not used to walking long distance!
Later that evening, we went to Yosemite Valley's nightly educational film at the theater. The film was on the making of short films for Yosemite Nature Notes, capturing the beauty around the national park. Here's an episode on frazil ice (which is a very cool phenomenon):
From the looks of it, Yosemite during the spring melt ain't so bad either!
It's been a while since I've been on any adventure, huh? That's kind of sad. But I have a legit excuse, for realz. School happened. I'm only taking three classes really. I don't know how, but those are keeping me way the hell busier than I thought initially.
For one, I'm taking a novel writing class, so I'm trying to write a book in less than two months (I'm only required to write 50 pages, but I just want to aim for the star you know). One step closer to one of my dreams! :) Second, I have to read a lot, and I mean A LOT, for my Victorian novel class. Do you have any idea how thick those melodramatic stories are? Let's just say I can probably kill someone with them. And I just hate my third class. It's a GE requirement. Anyway, after giving sufficient reasons for my absence in having a fun life, let me move on to my most recent hike. We actually wanted to do the actual Mt. Wilson where we hike in from Chantry Flat to the summit. But, as things go, we didn't leave early enough. Left at like 10 in the morning. Again, with a reasonable explanation. We went to bed at like 1:30am last night. Tony was working until like one, and I was beating my brain up writing (I wrote like 1,000 words yesterday, yay!). So when we got there we decided to do the falls hike instead. First of all, the trail and the park itself was just beautiful. Probably helped that it was also a perfect day for hiking. :) One of the warmer days during winter: like 80 degrees outside.We were going for Hermit Falls first. I was so worried because the whole time we were walking downhill. And any sensible person would know that to get back, one must hike back in the opposite direction: uphill. But man was it a pleasant hike.
The trail down to Hermit Falls.
The scenery, just amazing.
Hermit Falls!
Too bad there were graffiti everywhere.
Doesn't that just look cool?
On the rock over the falls. <3
We were actually on top of the falls. Kinda scary to look down from the rock actually because it's one of those marble, slippery rocks. And surprisingly there were a lot of dogs on the trail, big and small. I saw a couple of German shepherds. A Rottweiler. A Collie. Boxers. And surprisingly Chihuahuas. Who friggin' take Chihuahuas on hikes?! That's animal cruelty right there. Not to mention how irresponsible it is. Moving on. We went to Sturtevant Falls next. There were a lot of water crossings (on rocks). And to counter the Hermit Falls, going to Sturtevant was mostly a slight uphill. Not too bad. We passed a lot of cabins along the trails. Some of which I suspect people actually live in. I love the idea of living in the middle of nowhere. But honestly, having people hike around my house everyday, all day...no thanks. I mean, how will you get away with murder that way? ;) But really, most of the cabins, I think, are for rent. You can rent them nightly for a really cheap price actually. Pretty cool.
Sturtevant Falls!
It has a little pool at the bottom.
Did I mention there were a lot of people there? Yep. But guess what? We got a parking spot right in the parking lot! Sooo lucky. I saw people parking on the road like literally a mile away DOWNHILL from the start of the trail. Man, getting to the trail itself is like an ordeal. I don't know if I have that much determination. Then we hiked back up a paved road. It was an uphill battle (not too steep I don't think, but still going up). I was so proud of myself for not stopping until we got to the car. Going to the gym definitely pays off. And the energy gel probably helped too, hehehe. And at Chantry Flat, there was this house/store where you can get food and parking permits. The guy had like a little barn there! I fed some goats and played with the cat. Surprisingly the goats love chips, hahaha!
The female goats.
The cat that kept meowing and coming for scratches.
Meet Mr. Ajax, the awesomest goat of all!
Ajax is so cute :3
I think the chips were jalapeno flavored, kinda spicy, but he just kept munching away whatever I give him. Overall, it was a pretty amazing day. I was dead tired and exhausted when I got back though. Probably from doing so much on little sleep. Tony left for work again, my poor baby. He won't get back until after midnight, I'm guessing. At least he doesn't work until later in the morning tomorrow. As for me, tomorrow is another hiking day! I'm going to pick my friend, Malia, up at 8am in the morning, and we're doing the Eagle Rock hike in Topanga Canyon. Soooo excited! But man, I'll probably have to wake up at around 6:30am. :S This weekend is packed! Sweet~~ I'm just so physically tired I don't feel like doing homework though. Uh-oh... Whatevs.
