Last time we tried to hike in the redwoods, it didn't go so well. At all.
We'd booked tickets to southern California. My wife was checking in our flights the day before and asked if I had my passport. I didn't have a passport. I didn't need one to go to California. She said our tickets were booked for San Jose.
Costa Rico.
We didn't see redwoods that year.
This year, we booked a trip to Yosemite. Not only do they have redwoods, they have Half Dome, they have El Capitan. Unfortunately, lodging in the park was already booked through the summer. October was the only time we could get a room. That time of year isn't exactly off-season, but it's not peak season either.
We booked four nights at Yosemite Valley Lodge. Decent room, plenty of places to eat, and, most importantly, it was in the middle of everything. Total cost of room = $1600.
We flew out of Charleston, South Carolina at 7:30 am on Wednesday. One layover in Dallas, we arrived in Fresno, California at 2:00 pm. Add in the time change, that's 5:00 on the east coast. We'd been up for 12 hours. Yosemite was still a 2.5 hour drive.
Our rental car reservation, however, had been cancelled. The guy at the desk didn't know why. But he could get us another one. An upgrade, of course. A brand new Jeep. Total cost of rental car = $700.
We stopped at Walmart to buy food for the trails and hiking poles. We didn't want to check our poles through luggage, figuring they wouldn't let us put aluminum spears under the seat, and bought some cheapies. If you've never used hiking poles, they're worth it. They engage the upper body, taking some of the workload off the legs. Especially on slopes.
The drive is scenic. Lots of agriculture, big almond orchards, cattle, rolling hills for the first hour or so. Once in the park, you start up the mountain at 35 mph. I didn't want to go any faster. The turns were tight. No guardrails. Sometimes the white line was on the edge of a cliff. I assume the views are gorgeous. My wife said so. I only saw the center line.
We arrived at the lodge at 5:30. We ate, drank beer, chatted with some folks at the bar and clocked out for the night.
DAY 1
Technically, day 2. I'm not counting the day of travel, so day 1.
We're up before 6:00 am. Because that's 9:00 am our time. We're out the door before 7:00. It's not dark, but it'll be a while before the sun comes over the mountains. All the trailheads are in walking distance. That's a bonus, because parking is a nightmare. It's Thursday, so the traffic isn't bad. Wait till Saturday.
First stop, Lower Yosemite Falls trail. It's short, but scenic. An iconic view of the lower falls framed by rocketing sugar pines and incense cedars. October, though, isn't a good time to see the falls. There was no water. It was no less stunning. The verdant undergrowth, the titanic tree trunks, the deeply fissured bark. It had all the makings of a movie set.
 |
| Lower Yosemite Falls |
The trail was paved. All of it. Six foot wide or more. We were the only ones out there, leisurely taking in the sights and smells, weaving our way across the road into Cook's Meadow. This open area, truly a meadow, is surrounded by towering granite walls. They're so big it was hard to grasp perspective.
 |
| Cook's Meadow |
We continued a few miles to Mirror Lake, which, apparently, is quite scenic. When there's water. It was more like a sand pit. Still, gorgeous walk. And all paved. We returned to Yosemite Village about noon. Plenty of stores, cafes, Ansel Adams studio.
After lunch, we rented bikes. These are the big, comfortable beach bikes. We took them down the Valley Loop trail toward El Capitan. This is the chunk of granite famous for climbing. It goes straight up 3200'. People gather in the meadow across the street and climber watch. They're eager to lend their binoculars to the less prepared. Us.
 |
| Climber on El Capitan |
Before hanging out in the meadow, we went to the nose of El Capitan. Some climbers were just beginning to make their ascent. It could take two or three days, depending on the route and skill, to summit the top of El Capitan. We talked to some climbers beginning a grueling journey. It was already hot. Climbing a giant rock couldn't be any cooler.
 |
| Valley Loop Trail |
Every afternoon, Yosemite has an "Ask a Climber" gathering in the meadow. People who had made the climb are there to answer questions, share their experience. They set up telescopes to spot the climbers. It is a fantastic insight into something I will never do.
Advise: Bring a blanket, backpacks and binoculars. You'll want to lay down in the meadow and climber-watch.
 |
| Climber Gazing in El Capitan Meadow |
That night, we drove back out to the meadow just as it was getting dark. Someone told us about this. The sky, as you can imagine, is dusted with stars. But the cool thing is El Capitan. You can see the lights on the side of it where climbers are sleeping on portaledges anchored into the side of it. There are dozens of them. El Cap is so large, the lights look no different than the stars above it.
We were asleep by 8:30 (11:30 our time).
 |
| "Stars" on El Capitan are climbers sleeping on portaledges for the night. |
DAY 2
Day 1 was a warm up day. Day 2 was work.
We had originally planned to hike the Upper Yosemite Falls trail, which is challenging, but were advised to avoid it since there was no water. Instead, we took the Four Mile trail to Glacier Point.
We started at 7:00 am. Based on how thirsty we were on day 1 (the air be dry), we packed a ridiculous amount of water. Did not regret it. I drank about a gallon throughout the hike. Peed once.
The trail is nearly all switchbacks, ascending the height of El Capitan. That's about 3000'. I had no idea we would go that high. The trail was paved. Nearly all of it, all the way to the top. It was generous in width, about four to six feet wide, which made for navigating the inclines easier.
The construction of the trail was remarkable. The number of walls that were built thousands of feet up the mountain was impressive. The trail often times jutted out from the mountain over a long drop. I'm not great with heights, but these were pretty manageable.
The views the trail offered were constant and glorious. So different than hiking in the Southeast where the trail is enclosed in trees with the payoff at the top. This was just a stunning view the entire way.
 |
| Four Mile Trail |
The people on the trail were friendly. We stopped many times to chat. Very pleasant, amiable. It seemed half the people spoke another language.
It took us four hours to reach the summit.
 |
| Glacier Point |
There's a road to Glacier Point. It's been closed all season, but when it's open you can skip all the suffering and drive up to see the breathtaking view. The area is well developed and broad. Plenty of places to scan the entirety of Yosemite. And, if you're lucky, you get to watch a young, fearless person walk out on the ledge for a photo.
Yep.
They step out on Overhanging Rock--a rock that juts out like a plank over 3000' of space. The people we saw do this seemed to have no fear. I could barely watch. One guy did it and I took his picture. He said he never would have forgave himself if he didn't do it. I forgave myself instantly.
 |
| Someone going out to Overhanging Rock. |
The way down took 3 hours. The diversity of people making this trek was surprising. People in their 80s, people with little kids, people who were not in good shape, people wearing flip-flips. People who didn't bring water. (We gave them water, we still had a stupid amount left). We couldn't help wondering what they felt like the next day. We're in decent shape and was feeling the aches. For us it was all in the calves.
We got back to the lodge by mid-afternoon. Showered. Strolled about, ate dinner.
That night, we went out to Cook's Meadow to see the stars again. Asleep by 8:00 (11:00 our time).
DAY 3
Our last day was a Saturday. What a difference.
By the afternoon, cars were lined up on the road. The crowd we heard about was inbound. Cell service, which had been reliable all week, went to zero. The Verizon bandwidth was sucked dry. Before that, we were getting reception all the way up to Glacier Point, which is convenient to navigate the trail. Now nothing.
We were out the door at 7:00 am. It was a long walk to the Mist Trail from the lodge. About 45 minutes. Pleasant, saw much of the valley along the way. Went through Curry Village where people rent small white tents. Considerably cheaper than the lodge we were at. It looked like hundreds of them, each with a food locker to keep out the bears. It looked like a Civil War encampment. With bikes.
 |
| Curry Village |
Mist Trail was all paved and steep. And crowded. We took it to Vernal Falls where, yay!, there was water. Not much, but enough. Evidently, it roars during the season and sprays mist over the trail. Not this day. There were steps to reach the top of the falls.
600 of them.
 |
| Vernal Falls |
They were carved from the mountain. Again, the extent of craftsmanship was astounding. Obviously made for everyone to navigate. My wife opted not to make the climb. Her knees weren't reliable for that climb, not after a long hike the day before. I went to the top alone.
There were very few railings. So watching your step is essential or it could be a long tumble. There are some narrow parts of the trail with a steep drop that are safely hemmed in with sturdy railings. The view down the valley was worth it. I leaned over the railing to get a hair raising shot before coming back down.
 |
| Top of Vernal Falls some 600 steps later. |
We opted not to continue the trail to Nevada Falls and returned to the lodge for lunch.
That afternoon, we gave up our parking spot to drive down to Mariposa Grove to see some real redwoods. We were advised by a hiker to skip it. "You know what trees look like?" he said. "They're trees." Evidently, he wasn't a fan of trees.
The rental car snafu ended up being a benefit. We took the top off the Jeep (someone waited fifteen minutes to get out spot) and drove an hour down the mountain. The roads are winding. Being in the outside lane was more stressful. Some of the curves looked like a precipitous accident that, if no one saw you drive off of it, who would know you were down there?
Despite the racking of my nerves, it was a nice afternoon drive. Mariposa Grove has a shuttle that takes you two miles to the redwoods. It was crowded. But the trees were so worth it. Couldn't touch them, but just seeing those staggering behemoths was worth the admission. Which was free. Well, not exactly free. It's $35 to enter the park. Mariposa Grove is inside the park and, apparently, no one is collecting money after 5:00 when we got there on Wednesday. So free.
 |
| Redwoods at Mariposa Grove |
We returned to the lodge to find parking. It was late afternoon, so the day-trippers were starting to clear out. Dinner. Beers. Showers. Not in that order.
5:30 am the next morning, we were back on the road to Fresno. Two and half hours later, we were at the airport. We were home by midnight. And that was with no travel complications.
From the east coast, it's two full days of travel for three days of hiking. Worth it?
For sure.
