Getting back to nature

Today I had a free day to check out Yosemite my own way. I got the shuttle from my lodgings to Yosemite Valley. I didn’t really have a particular plan of attack, but thought that given there is so many paths and directions I could just walk and not worry about getting lost. It’s very busy in Yosemite because of the US school holidays so there are kids everywhere, which is not really my cup of tea...but what can you do. I walked around the park, listening to the sounds of nature – cars, trucks, and screaming kids. The park rangers often talk of conserving the area, which they are, yet I find it slightly ironic that there are so many lodgings within the park, and roads, and bins, and all things made for people. I was feeling better today but thought it best to take it easy, so I aimed to do the short hikes when they came up. The weather was absolutely perfect, not too hot, not too cold.

A short walk from my drop off point took me to Yosemite Falls. Yosemite Falls is one of the world’s tallest waterfalls after Angel Falls. The falls are broken up into Upper Yosemite Falls and Lower Yosemite Falls. The walk to Upper Yosemite Falls is quite steep, so I didn’t think today was the day to go for it. I went to Lower Yosemite Falls instead. The waterfalls were stunning. I just wanted to jump in the water. You can go into the water anywhere you want in Yosemite, but you should be mindful of rocks and the rapids in a lot of the areas of the rivers. Rafting the calmer parts of the river is a very popular thing to do form what i have noticed. I walked past many of the bear proof bins along the way, as there are many active bears in the local area, they can hunt out food from quite a distance, so if you are found to litter, you can be up for rather large fines. Park Rangers are out in force everywhere, so you really can’t get away with littering, if you are so inclined.

Yosemite National Park offers a free bus service throughout the park that goes to 21 of the best stops, vantage points, and hikes. What’s even better, it’s free!

I took the bus to the Visitor Centre to have a look see. As part of the Visitor’s Centre there is a museum on the background of the preservation efforts (John Muir) at Yosemite and the Indian background to Yosemite, as Indians were the first inhabitants of Yosemite. There is a strong recognition of the Indians who once lived on the land and who were driven out during the gold rush. The museum also has a replicate Indian Village in the back of it to show how the Indians lived 200 odd years ago. After checking out the museum, I went to the theater and watched ‘Spirit of Yosemite’ that is played all the time there. It was ok, it was just good to sit!

After checking out the Visitor’s Centre I got onto any bus to see where it would take me. I ended up at Sentinal Bridge, which is a bridge where you can view Half Dome, the most recognizable view of Yosemite. I traveled from there through Sentinal Meadow, another of the beautiful meadows of the park, to the Yosemite Chapel. The Yosemite Chapel is the only building still standing after massive flood in 1997 and is close to 100 years old. I didn’t go in, but I’m told they have 350 weddings there a year, it’s very popular!

I hopped onto another bus with the hope of reaching Happy Isles where you can take a short walk to a section of Tenaya Lake called Mirror Lake. Its called Mirror Lake because of the reflections on the water the surroundings give. When I got there it was packed with people, but it was lovely. The water is quickly disappearing because its summer, but luckily for me, it was still running. In high summer, it almost dries up.

By the time I had done all of that I decided to call it a day. Also, the shuttle back to my hotel doesn’t run very often and not late so I didn’t want to end up missing out as I’m not sure how else I would have got there. Taxis would not have saved the day.

I got back to the hotel and started to feel worse. I was doing so well, so it was quite disappointing to still feel crock. It was then that I was completely fed up and decided that I would go to the Yosemite Clinic tomorrow to get myself sorted out.

What I learnt today in Yosemite:

• The hikes are quite easy despite what the signs say. I guess they like to show caution!
• Don’t go during school holidays.
• The bear proof bins were actually Bec-proof for about 10 seconds. Oh the stupidity.

Randomness on the way to Yosemite Falls. There are boulders everywhere that have gradually fallen from the cliff faces around the Valley.

A view of Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls at the starting point of the hike to the base.

Me at the base of Lower Yosemite Falls.

Some of the Bear-proof bins that are all over the park.

A Yosemite Chapel, close to Yosemite Falls & Sentinal Bridge.

Mirror Lake. I cant believe i managed to get a photo of it without any people in it!