Yosemite

Visiting Yosemite National Park was on the top of my California bucket list ever since we moved here 2 years ago. However, with several trips home and to other California hot spots, we just never seemed to get it on the books. I was happy that my parents pushed for a side trip to Yosemite during their recent visit out to California. 

However, as I watched the weather reports and read up about Yosemite during an El Nino winter, I was kind of expecting a wonderland of snow. I urged my parents to rent a 4 wheel drive vehicle and sent them 2 days ahead of Jon and I with loads of snow gear.  When they arrived at the park and they sent pictures of a sunny, gorgeous, and snow-free landscape I was a bit perplexed, but nonetheless excited that our trip seemed to be timed perfectly with the beginning of clear Spring weather. 

The landscape leading up to the park was dotted with bright orange Poppies. Poppies are to California what bluebonnets are to Texas (though California has its share of bluebonnets too) and I loved seeing the hills painted orange. The gentle green hills changed quickly into jagged granite mountains as soon as we entered the park gates. 

The famous vistas and panoramas of Yosemite National Park were absolutely stunning.  The only thing more beautiful than the landscape was perhaps the weather. It was a gorgeous and still 60 degrees and sunny, perfect for getting our hike on! 

Jon, Forest, and I arrived at the house we rented in Yosemite West just after lunch time. Forest had napped on the drive in so we were free to do a little exploring before dinner/bedtime. My parents had already been there for a full day and had explored much of the valley hikes and took us to one they thought was appropriate for Forest to Lower Yosemite Falls. 

We started on a gorgeous bridge which Forest instantly loved and then walked on a path through a meadow, which was the Yosemite I had always pictured in my head. The flat grassy meadow was bookended by dramatic mountains on either side with majestic waterfalls sprinkled in for good measure. 

We passed through Yosemite Village and headed to the falls. Forest is normally a good hiker but there were too many trees and rocks to climb so it took a while. 

Jon ended up giving him a piggy back ride for most of the walk just to keep him on track. 

When we finally made it to the foot of the falls, Forest was ecstatic. He was going nuts trying to drink the water splashes hitting him in the face. He kept saying ‘Awesome!’ before breaking into incoherent joyful squeals. 

I wish I would have got some video because the pictures of his face just really don’t fully capture his awe. 

After our walk we just headed back to the house for dinner and bedtime. The next day my parents graciously offered to entertain Forest while Jon and I did some more intense exploring. Unfortunately many of the high elevation hikes were closed due to snow and rockfalls and other areas of the park were closed for restoration so we were a tad limited in which day hikes we could do. We decided to take The John Muir trail up to Nevada Falls. 

We started around 9:30 and the trails were pretty sparsely populated and the temperatures were near freezing. 

We hiked gradually uphill for 3 miles before catching sight of the Nevada Falls. 

We ended up being pretty high up! 

Unfortunately once we got to this viewpoint, the final mile of the trail was closed due to rockfall danger, so we just hiked down a half mile to catch a glimpse of Vernal Falls before heading back down the mountain. 

We noticed that on our way down there were WAY more people out and about. At the trailhead for the hike there seemed like hundreds of people. I was surprised because everything I read said winter was the time to go to beat the crowds. If that was Yosemite in a low season I can’t even imagine what it must be like in summertime. Jon has hiked Half Dome in summer and he described it as a trail of ants. 

I think part of the crowd was that many schools have spring break around Easter and also, since many of the attractions were closed due to weather/restoration most of the people were being funneled into the valley. It was fine because since we were early on the trail we only ever ran into 2 other groups so felt like we had the whole park to ourselves at some points. 

It was so nice to get to do a long strenuous hike with Jonathan. We hadn’t gone hiking without Forest since he was born, and while he’s a trooper, he does make hiking more challenging (especially for Jonathan who has to carry him!). Jon commented that he felt as light as air hiking without a 31 lbs toddler on his back. 

We made it home just as Forest was waking from his nap. We did not think that part of it through! We were sooooo tired after 8 miles of hiking. But such is parenthood sometimes. We spent the afternoon bringing him up to play in the snow at Badger Pass. 

I was a little disappointed that they wouldn’t let us bring his sled out but he was happy enough just to make snowballs and watch the snow-groomers on the mountain after the slopes shut down for the day. 

The next day we all 5 hiked to Mirror Lake. We planned to let Forest hike a good bit of it but he shocked us by wanting to be in the pack the whole time. Usually he is demanding to walk and we just bring the pack in case he gets tired, but after about 300 yards of freedom he was ready to ride again. 

I think maybe all the people on the trails had him feeling a little shy or something. 

The hike took us about 2 hours to complete and once again, when we got to the trail head it was swarming with people! If you go to Yosemite I definitely recommend getting an early start in the morning to beat the crowds! 

We all went back to the cabin for Forest’s nap and then my parents took him out for some exploring while Jon and I headed to scope out Bridalveil Falls and take pictures of Tunnel View in the afternoon sun. 

In the evening we drank a nice bottle of Pinot Noir I’d been saving from Buena Vista in Sonoma and played Mahjong until our own bedtime. 

Forest’s asthma started acting up in Yosemite which meant some pretty restless nights for everyone. Sigh. The next morning was our final morning in Yosemite. We packed up and then ended our trip at The Ahwahnee/Majestic Yosemite Hotel(going through a name change right now) for brunch before driving back to San Ramon. 

It was a great trip and I feel really blessed to have experienced such unique creations with some of my favorite people. Thanks for the treat and the suggestion Mom and Dad! And thanks for the many hours of babysitting you provided. I know you both say that we were blessing you by letting you have that special time one-on-one with Forest so I’m glad it was mutually beneficial!