Hi there,
finally I get to tell you about our stay in Yosemite National Park. Yosemite is definitely one of my favourite places. Since we had travelled so fast for the first 1.5 weeks, we now had 3 days for Yosemite. After the park was closed due to bad weather and heavy rainfall on Saturday, it was re-opened at noon on Sunday. We arrived sometime in the afternoon and drove on Highway 120 towards Yosemite Valley. In the park we passed an insanely raging waterfall on Big Oak Flat Road, because after the storm just an enormous amount of water came down. After I saved a picture-taking lady from being run over by the next car, because she just stood in the middle of the road and took her pictures without even thinking about, that maybe a car might come (which can happen at one of the main entry roads), I was able to dedicate myself to the waterfall. Here you can see the river running away from the waterfall:
After that we went on to Yosemite Valley. It was interesting that Markus knew the valley in summer and could always tell me where normally there was no lake but a hiking trail.
Markus was determined that we wouldn't have a chance to get a camping site in the park, but we could just catch a ranger shortly before closing time and he said that we would definitely get something at camp 4. Camp 4 is actually the climber campsite. And there they were: The super hipsters, climbing groups, lots of squirrels and us in the middle of it... There was a lot of space left, so we settled down at home and pitched our tent for the last time on our USA trip. Right after that we started making the fire. We thought it was difficult to get our fire going back at Don Pedro Lake, but we didn't know the damp wood in Yosemite yet. After this time even our propane stove flame method could not achieve anything, Markus had the idea to build a "Chilean". He saw it once in a TV documentary. All we needed was a bottle and a newspaper. Unfortunately our Yosemite Info-newspaper had to die for this purpose. We have built the newspaper fireplace (for instructions see e.g. here). And actually, it worked. So we could cook and eat our dinner (noodles with pesto and vegetables) on a warming fire. Afterwards, everything was stowed in bear-safe boxes so that no uninvited guests would enter the tent or brake into our car at night. Yes, and that night Simi's warming surgical blanket was used (I suspect it was the first of its kind ever to be in Yosemite). After my great experience with the blankets on my Kilimanjaro ascent in 2014, I was happy that I could take two of the blankets with me on the journey again. Pads are incorporated in the blanket, which react with oxygen when it is unpacked and then become warm. It's like a flat hot-water bottle. So we made it through the night well.
The next day we started hiking. On the agenda was a hike passing two waterfalls: the Vernallfalls and the Nevadafalls. The hike passed along the raging river, which was pretty cool. And it got even cooler - unfortunately in the truest sense of the word - and also wetter - when we reached the height of the Vernallfalls, where we had to climb up along the rocks at the waterfall. With all the water and the strong wind you can imagine the ascent like being in a cool shower. Unfortunately, the outside temperature was not really that hot that one would have wished for a cool shower. Of course we weren't well equipped again and had neither rain jackets nor rain trousers with us. Arriving above the waterfall, we first dedicated ourselves to drying our fleece jackets and jeans, luckily the sun was just shining. In fact, the sun was strong enough to dry us out again and we went on. After a few more miles uphill we finally reached the Nevada waterfall in the best sunshine. Here we tested our water filter in the river for the first time and were glad that it worked and that we had unlimited water available for the rest of the hike. Here are some impressions:
We definitely didn't want to walk down the same shower path we came up. So we looked for alternative routes. The first route we tried directly at the Nevadafalls was closed due to the weather. So for a bit we went down the same way we came and there was another junction. According to the plan, only a small section of this route should be closed. Since we had good hiking boots and enough water, we decided to take it. After we had walked the route for about 20 minutes and it went further and further uphill instead of downhill and the path suspiciously took the direction to the Nevadafalls, I got nervous for a moment whether we would come down the route at all. The uncertainty briefly after was rewarded by an incredibly beautiful view, in which we could see both waterfalls at once:
After our short filming braek we went on and finally we reached a signpost and actually we were on the right path back into the valley and from there on the path really led downhill :). Now only a small uncertainty remained: The path led downhill in serpentines and at the end of each bend the path was interrupted by an avalanche, but you could still walk it well. After 11 km and about 800 meters of altitude difference we came back to the valley and promised to take more food than a quarter pack of chips with us on the next hike.
All the better we enjoyed our dinner and as if it wanted to reward us, this time our campfire succeeded immediately with the use of a single match and without Chilenean tricks. After our last camping night (again equipped with a second warming blanket) we took down our tent a bit nostalgic.
That day we wanted to take it a bit easier and just go to Mirrorlake, walk a mile, take photos and continue. That was the intention... So we went to Mirrorlake and started. In the forest we were looking for Mountain Lions (yes, I know the chance to see one is tiny), but our Argus eyes saw at least a bobcat. Then we just wanted to walk around the lake. But the path then led into a pond. The water from the storm hadn't run off here either. We figured it couldn't be that bad, so we turned off into the woods to avoid the road. But after a few meters it became a real climbing course. It looked like this:
After a while, beside the flooded area next to us, there was also a raging river. The dilemma was that we didn't know if we would get a chance to cross the river at all. And always wondering if turning around or climbing further into the forest would be the better alternative. I had still thought about one or the other tree trunk that had fallen over the river, over which we could perhaps balance in order to get to the other side. But if we had slipped, it would have been really stupid, so we let it go for now. And then after about one hour of climbing over rocks, through scrub and over or under fallen tree trunks we could finally see a bridge. You don't believe how happy I was.
Of course we didn't have any food here either, because we just wanted to walk to the lake for a quick photo. So we came back to the car on a normal hiking trail and ate tacos, gummy bears and Reeses. As for the hiking provisions, I really need to get better. With that our Yosemite adventure was over and so was our national park series. So we left Yosemite and went to Palo Alto, Silicon Valley, to visit my dear friend Bonnie.
