The park is Yosemite National Park. The river is Yosemite River. The falls are Yosemite Falls. Given the prominence of these fixtures in this park. Given I’d taken pictures of them during each visit. How was it that I still hadn’t climbed the trail leading to these sites called, appropriately enough, Yosemite Falls Trail? It was time to right this wrong!
To be fair, during some visits the river was hardly flowing making the walls barely wet. To be fair, during other visits, just visiting where the falls landed in the valley floor was a satisfying, bone-rattling excitation. Still, I couldn’t be in love with this park and not experience its namesake sites. Today I did.
Somewhat naively I started out. Knowing only that I had hiked tougher trails in the park I didn’t properly appreciate what I was setting out to do. I wasn’t expecting the unrelenting climb. From the valley floor past Lower Yosemite Falls overlook and on to Upper Yosemite Falls this trail is an broken escalator that goes on forever. Once I reached to top I had to pause, out of respect for the beauty and awe for the power of the fall … and to rest.
When you reach Lower Yosemite Overlook the power of the fall is clear.
Here, famously, is the lip of the fall where people often slip and flow over.
There is a cliff on the side of the falls that allows you to look down at it path.
Looking up river you can see the beauty that the Yosemite flows through.
From here I was off to Yosemite Point. Honestly, when I started this hike I knew nothing about the point and only through talking with trail mates did I learn it was a must-do extension. Who was I to argue?
Unfortunately, having climbed from 4,000 to 7,000 feet the temperature had cooled quite a bit. While the valley floor was a beautiful Spring, the path to the point was still covered with snow and trail markers were hard if not impossible to find. We hikers looked like ants systematically probing to find our way. Word of mouth from returning hikers did the trick. A short mile further on I came to the point and its amazing views.
On top of the world with the vast void of the valley spread before you.
Similarly, looking west down the valley gave an equal sense of vastness.
In the end, the hike was about nine miles and the elevation gain was 3,000 feet. Nothing outrageous but certainly a hike worth of treating with more respect than I did at the outset. When I made my way back to the valley floor I looked back and had a whole new level of appreciation for why this park is called Yosemite. The river and falls and point all command respect.
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