Sunday 9 June - Left Monterey bright and early to begin the route to Yosemite National Park, definitely one of the locations we were most looking forward to. We had our first Walmart experience along the way, where we picked up some supplies for the next few days (including a bulk packet of Peanut Butter M&Ms). Traffic was a bit slow the closer we got to the park but we were too distracted by glimpses of the immense landscape to care; there’s just no way to describe how epic it is.
Lower Yosemite Fall
After checking in to our canvas tent in Half Dome Village, we stuffed our food into our bearbox (it’s a thing) and went for an aimless wander by the river. We made our way back to the center of camp via a beautiful boardwalk amidst a grassy meadow with an iconic view of Half Dome and El Capitan, then grabbed a Budweiser (all beer was $1.50 here!) before continuing on to Lower Yosemite Falls. The falls are seriously impressive no matter where you are in the park but seeing them up close and standing under the spray gave you a clear understanding of how powerful the water is! We also came across some very friendly horses and mules who were part of the Yosemite Horse and Mule Adoption Program, where you can adopt an ex National Park service animal, of course Steph had to be pried away.
Upper Yosemite Fall Hike
Monday 10 June - We are in no way hikers but we figured we’d give one of the more strenuous hikes a go whilst we were in Yosemite. Enraptured by the falls as we were, we chose the Upper Yosemite Fall Trail, a 7.6 mile (12km) round trip with an elevation gain of 2,600 feet (790 meters AKA steep!) that took us about 6.5hrs to complete. The photos really don’t do justice to just how steep this trail was nor the incredible views it offered. This was certainly a bucket list activity and we’re so glad we did it.
