I started posting my weekly hiking posts the week territories first got released on this site and had not miss a week until last week. The 15 week streak finally got broken on the 16th week for a very good reason; I went on a road trip with my family, driving from BC, Canada to Yosemite National Park. It was quite a bit of driving, as we drove almost 3800km in 6 days, but it was well worth the drive.

We reached Yosemite around early afternoon on our third day of the trip. Due to being still early in the year, Tioga Road and Glacier Point Road were still closed for the winter. As such, we were unable to visit Tenaya Lake nor Glacier Point. We drove in from highway 120 as we stayed at Santa Rosa the night before. Going in through highway 120 took us up into the mountains. We reached the Yosemite Valley Vista Point quickly after passing the national park toll booth where we could see the valley below and also Half Dome from afar. As we make our way down the Big Oak Flat Road, we decided to first visit Bridalveil Falls. The viewpoint to the falls is a very short walk from the parking lot.

View of the valley from the vista point

Bridalveil Falls seen at viewpoint

When we left Bridalveil Falls, we continue to make our way towards Yosemite Valley, but was stopped by the majestic views of El Capitan to our left and more of Bridalveil Falls to our right. We stopped the car to admire the views, while at the same time searching online to follow the Freerider route on site with my daughter. My daughter had been gym climbing since 7 years old and is a fan of Alex Honnold, so of course we will try to visually follow the route that he famously free soloed on El Capitan. As I had mentioned several days ago in the Saloon, seeing El Capitan up close in person made me appreciate what Alex Honnold achieved and the greatness of that achievement.

Bridalviel Falls seen from the road

First glimpse of El Capitan

We drove further towards the valley, but made a stop at the Swinging Bridge, where we spent over an hour just chilling at the beach and me showing my kids how to skip rocks on water.

Upper Yosemite Falls and the rock walls ahead seen on the Swinging Bridge

Teaching my kids how to skip rocks

We finally reached the valley welcome center late in the afternoon. We walked around the various buildings in the village, bought a few stickers and fridge magnets and made our way to the food court to buy our dinner. We left the park before it got dark, which turned out to be a mistake, as my friend later told me that the park is very pretty at dusk, and its night sky is also perfect for star gazing. We went back to the park the next morning to hike the Lower Yosemite Falls Loop. The trail is a short and easy 1.9km loop trail with minimal elevation gain. Because we went in the morning, it was the time when the water droplets from the falls would refract the direct sunlight to form a rainbow next to the falls. In other words, we hiked just in time to see the colors of Lower Yosemite Falls. We were also able to catch the sight of Half Dome in the distance during our short hike.

The little one pointing at Half Dome

Colors of Lower Yosemite Falls

Half Dome seen on Lower Yosemite Falls Loop Trail

After the hike, we went to the food court again to get breakfast. My older son was observant and saw an exploit on the food ordering kiosk, which he took advantage of with his quick hands. As a result, he was able to fire up Minecraft on the kiosk and allowed his little brother to play for a bit before returning the kiosk back to normal operation. What my son did put a huge grin on my face and really made my day. We finished our breakfast late in the morning and started to leave the park.

Little one got some Minecraft action thanks to older brother

Yosemite is very beautiful and my photos really don't do this place justice. I highly recommend anyone who have not been there to visit and experience this beautiful place in person. To not only see the amazing views, but also to hear the ravens croak and the waterfalls rustle, to smell the fresh leaves and the damp earth, and to feel the icy waters. Of course, you need to be there in person to exploit the food ordering kiosks and load Stacker News on them (one thing I did not think of doing at the time, and need a fellow stacker to complete the achievement for me).

Check out my previous adventures.