Trekking in the Winter Wonderland of Yosemite!
Trip Start
Aug 22, 2011
1
46
54
Trip End
Feb 13, 2012
Yosemite National Park, California
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Yosemite Valley is nestled in the humongous Yosemite National Park and is one of the world’s most extraordinary geographical spectacles. 7-miles long and 1-mile across, walled by near vertical 3000-ft cliffs and tumbling waterfalls. Truly phenomenal.
Once we had parked up and popped into the information centre for some route advice we set off on a trek through the most striking landscape I have ever laid eyes on. The snow started coming down in force and every tree, cliff, and inch of the terrain was like a glistening photograph.
We only walked for a couple of hours as (1) it goes dark at 5PM, (2) it was beyond freezing (even with my new purchases), and (3) we were worried about the car getting stuck in the snow. So we walked in the gleaming snowy landscape for 3-miles along ‘Tenaya Creek’ to the stunningly frozen ‘Mirror Lake.’
The lake is enclosed by ‘Half Dome,’ the sheerest cliff in North America (7 degrees off vertical and 8836-ft in height), and ‘North Dome’ (7525-ft). It was so spectacular that we barley registered how cold it was. A true winter wonderland. Every step we took a more striking view came into sight. I wish I had counted the number of times we said “wow.” Probably more than the number of McDonalds we past on the drive there. It really was - wow indeed.
Nature at it’s best.
We were also on lookout for mountain lions, deer, bears, and other wildlife which kept us on our toes! Although I don’t know how fast I could have run if we’d been confronted by a mountain lion as my feet did not regain feeling until the next morning.
We drove back to the hotel just after dark and finally checked-in to our cosy lodge before going to the nearby diner. Fajitas, fries, and warm buttered rum, mmm! We played quizzes and watched the 49’s on the big-screens in the bar with the excitable locals before calling it a night.
I may be like a whale by the time I return home but it’s easy to ignore here as US dress sizes are smaller - a UK size 10 is only a 6 here!! That logic is really working out for me at the moment… mmm donuts!
From one spectacular landscape to another - 700-miles and we’ll be hitting the Grand Canyon!! I am so excited!
What an incredible country!
