What is that Nicole up to?

The last time I had been to Yosemite, I was attending the wedding of Jay and Liz. Turns out it was raining buckets and I was experiencing muscle spasms in my intercostal muscles, which lead a trip to the emergency room (I am sure my family is not surprised to learn of this) and a Vicadin-induced experience. I was hoping this trip would be an improvement upon my last visit!

Bob and I headed out, bright and early, to the Valley of Yosemite National Park. Smooth sailing on our drive into the Park, then a quick overview of the Valley from the lookout where we got an incredible view of El Capitan and Half-dome.  It was a brisk, clear-as-a-bell day (we were informed, by a passing guide, of the very low particulates in the air that was perfect for picture taking). We anxiously moved on so we could start our first hike! While the Yosemite Falls trail looked inviting, it also seemed far daunting for our first hike. So we decided to set out on the Mist trail to Vernal Falls. There were a few options and extensions you could do from this trail, and being the ambitious exercise-lover that I am, I asked Bob if he wanted to continue on from Vernal Falls, up to Nevada falls, and then back down the Jon Muir trail. An 8 mile hike - about twice that of just the Vernal Falls hike. Bob hesitated with a "maybe, we will see". Anticipating that we would end up taking "the longer way", I suggested that we make some sandwiches and pack a few snacks ... just in case.  11am and we were on our way to the trailhead.

Yosemite gets millions of visitors each year, so in an attempt to keep the trails intact, they often have to pave the paths. So the first 1.6 miles of the "trail" was paved. Let it be known that it was not a stroll, but rather a push up a somewhat steep slope. This was fortunate for our overly ambitious acquaintances  that we passed on the start of the trail. They decided to take a few things with them including a wheeled suitcase, as well as some sleeping bag/blankets, still in the original shrink wrap, which they must have picked up at the local Target on their way to Yosemite! While I had no idea how far they planned to go, or how long they planned to stay, I was not filled with envy as we scooted past them with one small backpack each. Mind you, if an overnight was on the cards, they would have been far more prepared. It was a crystal clear sunny day, but as soon as that sun dipped below the horizon, the temperature quickly dropped.

Once off the paved path the hike lead us up what was, I think, 600 or so steps, to the top of the Vernal Falls, which was more like a trickle relative to its Spring time freshet, but it was beautiful nonetheless. My knees were definitely not prepared to go back down those set of stairs (see windy trail in picture), and we were both feeling pretty good, so we decided to carry on (yay!). The next stint up to the Nevada Falls was lots more stairs and switchbacks, but it was well worth the view and lead us to a fantastic spot for lunch. And those PB and honey sandwiches that Bob almost opted not to bring definitely hit the spot! The sun started to drop so we decided we had better carry on. We were half way done with the hike - only downhill from here! We decided to take the longer, but less steep way, and my knees were grateful for this. It was a pleasant hike down for the first mile or so, where we had to cross some icy and snowy patches, but we never got too cold. We even ran into our "friends", who were slumped over at the side of the trail, looking mighty deflated  with their cumbersome bundles of blankets and suitcase by their side. When they asked how much further to a "flat spot", we estimated one mile. At first, this did not bring joy to their faces because this was apparently the same story they had been hearing all along. But somehow we convinced them that it was really one mile and there was a great spot to set up camp. This seemed to invigorate them and they literally jumped up and started running up the trail, suitcase in tow.

We got back to the car just before sunset, tired and hungry but excited to head to our wee log cabin in Wawona, about 29 miles from the Valley. We had packed up loads of yummy food and were deciding whether tonight was to be marinated skirt steak or chicken for dinner. When we started driving however, we heard this scraping noise. At first I thought there must be a pine cone stuck in the wheel or the brake. But we couldnt see anything. So we decided to go grab a hot drink in the village and figure out what to do. Lucky us, there happened to be a garage in the village. A garage with super nice mechanics that were happy to help us without charging us an arm and a leg! The mechanic got under the car and came back up with grease up to his elbows declaring that we would not be driving any further: the axle had come apart from the CV joint. Wait, you mean the axle and CV joint that I just had installed, NEW, a few months ago?! Yup. Crap. Oh well, at least I have AAA. (We will skip the bit about the anger-based steam coming out of my ears.)

So I call AAA to see how many miles of towing I had. When they told me that I had 5 miles of towing -  their treat - I quickly calculated the 200 miles times $7-9 per mile extra it would cost to get my car back to Santa Cruz and even more quickly, I became deflated. Luckily I was able to upgrade my AAA to the premium package that gives me 200 miles of towing, but it would not be available for 2 days (I highly recommend that you sign up for your premium AAA package today)! LUCKILY, Bob had signed up for his AAA plus package and had 100 miles of towing. And luckily Bob had booked a wonderful, warm, comfy cabin in Wawona (only 29 miles from the Valley) to stay in for two days (thanks for not listening to me about getting an inexpensive hotel Bob!)! So within 20 minutes, our car was up on the tow-truck bed #1, and we piled in the cab for a very slow drive to Wawona. Little did I know that our tow truck driver would also be a bit of a tour guide. Bob tried to engage the driver by talking about the "jake-brakes" on the vehicle and all sorts of other "guy talk", but the driver did not seem interested. Then Mr. Tow truck driver points out a lookout where he likes to stop and have his cup of tea?! This topic is right up my alley, so I asked him what types of tea he liked to drink. The next thing you know, we are discussing the ins and outs of different types of teas such as herbal versus caffeinated versus medicinal, the types of teas available within the Valley, and what our favourites are. Our driver goes onto say that he tried a new tea, but he didnt know quite how to pronounce it, so he spelled it out for us: "C....H....A....I". Chai! My favourite too- we bonded. Now, you might make some sort of judgement about the pronunciation capabilities of my new-found tea drinking friend. Never fear. As we headed into Wawona, we turned onto a road called "Chilnualna Falls" which seemed to just roll off his tongue, yet took days for me to get straight. Our driver was kind enough to give us a wee tour of Wawona as we entered, including pointing out the sewerage plant. At least this was civilization. Please get me out of this freezing cold tow truck!

It was dark by the time we got there, but our cabin was perfect! Perfect to hang out in without any form of transport for two days! And we were stocked with food, wood for the fire, and even internet, phone, satellite TV, DVD player, and stereo, should we resort to such things. This place was better equipped than my own studio in Santa Cruz!

Wawona is a great wee spot. Although it was out of season, and there were few people around, there were plenty of hikes out our back door, as well as a little historic town to peruse, the historic Wawona hotel, and the Mariposa Redwood Grove just up the road. We saw it all, in Wawona!

The day before we were to get the tow truck, we also managed to get the nearest car rental company to bring us a vehicle, so that we could take the "long" way home via the Valley, while our car took the tow-truck #2 lift back to Santa Cruz. Yay AAA! So in our rental car we went, well rested, fed and inspired to do another Valley hike!


Now, back to that Yosemite Falls trails, which prominently stands out above the Valley revealing the elevation one has to climb in order to reach the top. An amazing fact about this trail is that it was blazed back in the day when apparently the most direct route was thought to be the best way to go. It was somewhat daunting, and we really had not anticipated doing this hike on this trip, but over the past few days we psyched ourselves up for it. Another incredibly clear day and up the steps we went - apparently 140 switchbacks of steps, over 4 miles plus, and 3000 feet or so lead us to another one of those fantastic lunch spots with a view of Half Dome that planted a seed for our next hike in Yosemite (this is a 15 miler!). This time, we had no choice but to go back down the steps from which we came (unless we wanted to hike much further to Tuolumne). I was scared for my knees but they held up. While we were both pretty tired, it felt good to do the whole hike, and even better to sit! We got back to the car, made a quick trip to the Village for a hot drink, and then the Ahwahnee Hotel to warm up by their big, gorgeous fire place. And then smooth sailing back to Santa Cruz, where my car was waiting to be repaired.  Happy endings are great, arent they?

You can check out the other photos here if you like!