Yosemite National Park is only 3 hours East of San Fran. I was able to convince my San Fran friend Emily to join me for some hiking. It wasn't hard considering it's one of her most favorite places. After being there, I can see why.
Emily actually leaves for a year in Japan around mid September. She's going to teach english. An awesome experience and opportunity for her. This is one of the most famous water falls in the park. In the spring the water flows so heavily you can hear it crashing down for miles. Here it looks like just a trickle and it's hard to imagine the entire valley below being flooded with rushing water several feet higher. It was a short hike, only about 2.5 miles round trip, however it was very aggressive. I think people are tricked into doing it because of the short distance. Basically it's a mile of rock stairs. Some people were in jeans, flip flops, and looking like they were really hurting. However, I'm sure once they made it to the top they would agree the waterfall view is worth it.  Had to get in a Ranger led hike. This guy was so funny (and wasn't trying to be). He has been a park ranger for 43 years. He was a high school biology teacher prior to becoming a ranger full time ranger. One small question was a 30 minute answer. After the second hour of this one hour tour we decided to pick up the pace.
The most interesting fact learned is that the shear cliffs of Yosemite were not originally formed by glaciers. They were formed before the ice age. After the magma in the area cooled underground they actually pushed up over thousands of years. Uneven cooling formed cracks in the rock and these cracks over thousands of years would separate. You can see these rock slides all over the park. Glaciers later covered the entire park and over time carved the U shaped valley. |
