Vernal Falls and Touloumne Village – road trip day 4

A good day, you can see it from the morning…and here it is never a bad day!

We drive back to Yosemite Village and have a stop at the visitor center and decide what to do. The choices are endless, but once we discar the trail which would be too long for a day-hike – those that would be the greatest ones, if only we were equipped and we had more time – what remains is a series of nice hike, most of which very crowded.

We are compelled to stop in one of the many meadows under the majestic El Capitain

Our one and only concern is to find many, too many people and not be able to enjoy the amazing landscapes of the Mist Trail, this very long path with lots of carved into the rock, that leads to the base and then on top of these two amazing waterfalls.

Some minutes of pause before to reach the top of the Nevada Falls, under the always-present Half Dome

Refreshed by the wind which blows up here – finally, the temperature at the bottom was pretty hot – we enjoy the Yosemite Valley landscape.

There is not much to say, it is just majestic and wonderful, a great strenght exhibition by the Nature, a place where forests still are reigning and the water is carving the rock grain after grain, modelling the landscape to its will.

Just a couple months ago, it would be impossible to take this picture: I would have been flushed away by the raging water

On top of the waterfalls there is quite a crows, since right up here a few well known path cross, each of them leading to amazing places – but some days of hiking from here, so not affordable for us – all of this without getting out of this park which has already found a place in our hearts.

We enjoy the view and some minutes of pause, taking the risk to slip down from the edge of a cliff to take the perfect photo – yes, I know, I will find myself falling down faster than I should, it’s just a matter of time!

Indeed, un unforgettable view

As we have decided before, to get down we walk a brief part of the longer John Muir Trail, 338 kilometers of paths among the most beautiful natural parks in California – and I would say in the whole US – far away from the society.

Wondering about how such an adventure it would be to walk it thoroughly, we get on the way back, stopping more than once to stare the wonderful panoramas of the Yosemite Valley peaks from a different point of view.

The Vernal Falls, from up are, seem just like a little river, under the towering Half Dome

In something more than three hours from the beginning, we walked more than 11 kilometers and around 600 meters heightdrop. It is weird, on our Alps the heightdrop would have been at least twice it, here everything is flatter, but not at all less fascinating.

Just before getting to the end of the trail, we meet a man who ask us to take a picture of him with the billboard of the trail lenghts, signaling the kilometers he has walked with his huge backpack. He explains he just finished walking the whole John Muir Trail, even starting 30 kilometers before, for a total of something more than 350 kilometers, we are so envious!

Then it’s time to go, we have to find a place for the night.

Porcupine Campground, the best campground we have been to from the start of this road trip

We have a quick stop in Yosemite Village for some grocery – don’t ever do that, everything is so expensive! – and then we hit the road, driving towards Tuolumne Valley, the less known valley of the Yosemite National Park, but totally worth a visit.

We stop somewhere around half of the way, at the Porcupine Flat Campground, where we find a nice campsite and for the first time, after the usual dinner cooked on the fire, we finally are able to hang our hammocks and have some plain relax, hearing the guitar music played by the neighbor. Everything is perfect, there is nothing left to say!

There is nothing left to do than going to sleep, dreaming about California…California dreamin’ !

AP