The direct sunshine created a double rainbow. Water crashed into the rock 300 feet below and formed a big cloud of mist. The view straight down the fall was dizzying. I tested the railing at the edge of the cliff to make sure it was sturdy and secure before I braced myself and leaned over the edge for a better view. Suddenly, the water disappears over the edge. The current was swift but calm with little white caps as it bends around the protruding rocks. What a welcome sight! The view from the top was powerful. Once we reached the top of Vernal Fall, there was a nice flat rock formation with full sun. Drying Out and Avoid the Crowd Top of Vernal Falls My hoodie was wet, my hat drenched, but my camera stayed dry. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally got past the mist area as the trail curved away from the fall. I walked as fast as I could, but had to stop often to catch my breath and to let people coming down to pass. We didn’t have rain gear and certainly did not expect to be drenched, but heck, how bad can it be? Keeping my camera dry was more important than keeping myself dry at this point so I hid my camera under my hoodie as best as I could, put my hood up with my hat on top, and braved the mist. Mist Challenge Soaked on the Mist Trail on a sunny day The leader told them to stay single file to the right, and keep going until there was no mist. When they stopped to put on their rain ponchos, we knew we were ill prepared. We followed a group of middle school kids up the steep trail. ![]() The ascent from the footbridge was significantly steeper. The water flow was massive, angry and powerful and it chiseled away at the rocks to continue the process of carving a deeper valley. The view of the fall from the footbridge was very pretty. Vernal Falls came into view and we could hear it from a distance away, roaring. People were friendly and in a festive mood viewing the water falls. We saw mostly “national park” people at this early time, but the trail was crowded. The ascent to the footbridge gave us pretty scenery and a view of two falls on the way up. We then drove to Vernal Falls trail head parking area and hiked the Mist trail. ![]() The last part of the trail was flooded and impassable so we could not get to the end but I clearly felt the power of the water fall thundering down and splashed off of the rocks at the bottom. The short trail led us to the bottom of the falls with the cold mist blowing. ![]() Since we did not stay in the park, we got an early start and reached Bridalveil Falls before 8:30 am to beat the crowd. We knew there would be lot of people in the park the next day. Click here for Part One Bridalveil Falls in its full glory Beat the Rush at Bridalveil Falls Flooded path at base of Bridalveil Falls This is part 2 of a two part post on Yosemite National Park.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |