Day 15.1

Yosemite National Park, CA—We woke to find ourselves rolling around the edges of our beds (again). We were off to Vernal Falls, a three-mile round trip hike. At the beginning of the hike, it was very shady and lush, a pleasant walk despite the hills. For the most part at the trail was paved and smooth. After about a mile of up and down paved paths, we came to a bridge that had a view upstream from the falls. The wind and mist from the waterfall drifted back to where we were and felt wonderful after the almost all uphill hike to the beginning of the hike to the falls! Yes, and all of this was one and a half mile hike there, I was told. After a couple pictures on the bridge, we moved on and saw a sign: 0.3 miles to Vernal Falls. It couldn’t be too hard, could it?

Yes, it could. First, we hiked on a semi-steep slope along the waterfall until we were about one-forth of the way up. We came across the Mist Trail, and the reason for the name was clear. There were stone steps leading up to the top and there was so much scenery! The stone steps were very treacherous and slick. Higher up, there were railings. There were even puddles and little streams going down the rocks! All the mist created a rainbow in front of the falls, with the lush wood behind it, with mountains behind it all. It was very picturesque. After it was less misty, there was another slope leading up to yet more stone steps. These ones were very very steep, and after about twenty or so steps we took breaks. Squirrels were everywhere. Jake and Dad thought about grabbing one and throwing it over the edge. Then we imagined what noises it would make as it fell onto the sharp rocks below. It helped distract us from the huge staircase.

When we finally reached the top, it was so worth it. The waterfall looked like tiny pieces of silvery glass descending into the stream below. The mountains still towered over us, and the stream on top was very peaceful, and we enjoyed the view for a while and took pictures of all the Stellar’s Jays that were at the top, begging for nuts like the squirrels there. I even saw a jay take a squirrel’s nut and fly away with the squirrel screeching in protest. It was pretty funny. We sat and ate snacks for a while, then began the long walk down. But after the bridge, it was pretty much all downhill, so our first hike in the morning was pretty much over, thank goodness. Three mile round trip, supposedly.

~Marcy