We're in Yosemite, on a trip with the 'Bug Bus'. They picked us and 10 others up from San Fran, and brought us here, to Yosemite Bug Hostel, in the heart of the national park. We had a late lunch before driving down to the River to walk the 4 mile round trip Merced River Trail. The walk had gorgeous scenery - the trail ran alongside the river, and the weather was gorgeous. Sadly we couldnt see the scenery too much, as the path was very uneven, covered in huge rocks and sheets of slate. Combine that with a guide who walks far too fast, and u dont get much time to stop and marvel in the gorgeousness!
Back at the hostel for dinner and an early night, as the 'day hike' we were going on the next day stared at 7.30am!! First stop on the hike was the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. Was an hour and a half drive from the hostel, through twisty turny roads, causing many of us on the bus to cling on to prevent falling off the seats! The trees were amazing, so tall and wide - there was one cut down on its side, and it's diameter was larger than anyones arm span! Was saw the Grizzly Giant, the largest sequoia in the park, who was hefty, and the tunnel tree which had, well, a tunnel cut out of it. Our guide, Dave, told us a lot about the nature and wildlife, and we even saw a deer, some rare woodpecker bird and bright red snow flowers which were pretty.
Next stop was a 'moderate' hike up Centinal Dome - a huuuge granite boulder that we climbed to the top of. It was steep, but not tooo bad a climb. And the view at the top was amazing! 360 degree view of the park. We could see Half Dome, El Capitan and the Cathedral mountains. We could even see the white mountains that were still snow capped, even in this heat!! We ate lunch at the summit, surrounded by cute and very confident chipmunks and squirrels who eyed our trail mix greedily!
Final hike of the day was up to Vernal Falls. OMG it was tough! Even the guide said it was a 9 out of 10 on the difficulty scale! It was about a mile to the bridge over the falls, with some very long, steep walks. At the bridge, becky went back with one of the other girls, and went shopping in the gift shop and chilled out at the cafe. Lynsey however gave into peer pressure and attempted the mammoth climb to the top. Although only 30 mins further, it involved an unreasonable amount of steps that seemed to go on forever!! The view from the top was amazing though as they were right at the top of the falls. During sections of the walk, it was so misty they got soaked, which was a relief in the heat of the day!
Last stop of the day was to El Capitan Meadows, where not only could you see the Monoliths full might, but you could also see the crazy people trying to climb it!! Using binoculars, we spotted several groups, either climbing or tented down for the night. Apparently the average time it takes to get to the top is 3-5 days!! It really is huge.
Yosemite is really very pretty, with lots of trees and interesting rock formations. They seem to have pockets of either slate style rock, or granite, which offers very different views. The rivers seem to be rather shallow, but filled with rocks causing frequent rapids and little islands. Its different from the other parks we've been to so far as it has many more different types of flora and fauna, and of course it is less snowy. The hostel is nice, with wood cabins as the dorms. it even has a Berman hostel cat
Back to San Fran in a couple of hours, where we can start exploring the city properly!!
