The day started off badly, and all because of George Barna’s ‘Revolution’ CD: I put the CD in the car player, and started listening while reversing out of my parking space. Distracted by what Barna was saying, and the loudness, I forgot the second metal pole on my left, and turned too early, leaving a nice dent in the front left wing (fender). (That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it 🙂 )
Having recovered from my frustration, and very relieved that I had paid for the insurance, I drove into the valley, stopping to take the classic photos from Tunnel View. I had wanted to hike up to Yosemite Falls, but there was no water where I thought they should be, so I went to the visitors’ center to ask. I was too late in the season, and the Yosemite Falls were almost dry; there was nothing visible coming over the top fall, and the lower fall was only a trickle. The woman in the visitors’ center advised me to go up to Vernal and Nevada Falls.
The hike up to Vernal Fall starts off easy and almost flat, but soon climbs quite steeply. It was already midday, and quite warm. With my poor condition, I was soon breathing heavily, but kept moving quite fast until the falls came into view, at which point I stopped to take some photos. The path continued up past Vernal Fall, heading on towards Nevada Fall. The climb up past Vernal Fall is very steep and strenuous, but also very pretty.
Above Vernal Fall, I enjoyed a few minutes’ rest beside the beautiful Emerald Pool and the sluice into it, before continuing on my way up to Nevada Fall.
Somehow, I got onto an old path instead of the current one, reaching a dead end in the middle of a number of fallen trees after about 10 minutes. I am probably the only person to have taken this photo of Nevada Falls in recent years! I had the vague impression that I should just climb up the slope I was on to reach the new path, but, somewhat nervous because I was alone, with no voices in earshot, I decided to retrace my steps back to the new path. Some 25 minutes later, I found myself about 30 feet above and 50 feet to the left of the dead end on the old path! Following my impression would have saved me a lot of walking.
I was starting to tire, and the afternoon was progressing. The people coming down told me that the view from the top of the falls was good, but that the climb was steep, and would take about 30 minutes. I decided to follow the old proverb “Discretion is the better part of valour”
, and turned back. It was a good decision; the descent was hard on my knees, which were shaking by the time I reached the bottom again. It had been a tough afternoon, but well worth it.
I drove out of the park to the south, towards Oakhurst, as the sun was setting. Sunset was beautiful, but I decided to simply enjoy the view and not take photos. Tired as I was, the drive out was taxing; I was almost alone on a winding road in near total darkness. Inside the park, the road was mostly lined by trees, so I could not see the sky. Outside, though, the trees were not as dense, and I realised that the sky was perfectly clear, so stopped to look at the stars. The view was fantastic; the Milky Way was more clearly visible than I have ever seen it before, with an astonishing number of stars. I also discovered, though, that I am still a little afraid of the dark – or at least, of a moonless blackness, with unfamiliar sounds around me 🙂