I am on my third assignment now, in Sonora California! This little town in Northern California is only about an hour from the entrance to Yosemite Park, so I'm planning to visit a bunch while I'm here. A couple years ago, when I visited California for the first time, Yosemite was the highlight of the trip!
Last weekend was National Park Day, so I got into Yosemite for free! I took the opportunity to do a day hike to the top of Yosemite Falls. It's one of the hikes that I didn't get to do last time.
Distance: 7.2 miles round trip
Time: 4 hours (2 hours to top, 1/2 hour for lunch, 1.5 hours down)
It was a strenuous hike, and it got especially steep near the top. I was determined to make it up with as few rest breaks as possible. I made it into a competition to see how many people I could beat. I passed a lot of people on the way up without getting passed once (of course no one else knew they were in a competition)! The views at the top were worth every step.
I hiked over the rocks to the source of the waterfall. There were less people over there and it was a great spot to eat lunch and enjoy the view. There's also a few stairs that you can walk down to look over the ledge where the waterfall drops- but be prepared to get hit with some spray!
I loved this hike, even though I had to walk an extra mile to and from the parking lot which added an extra hour of walking time. On the way there I had to walk because the shuttle was full, and on the way back, I decided to walk and look around a little bit more. The valley floor was somewhat crowded due to the free park day. After my hike, I stopped in the visitor's center for a bit and then got a sandwich at Degnan's Deli (their chicken salad is delicious!).
I can't wait to go back to Yosemite for more hiking! I still want to do Lower Yosemite Falls and Mirror Lake (shorter, easier hikes) and Glacier Point (almost 10 miles round trip, which will be an all-day hike).
