Dream Trip with Dad and Paul a.k.a Catharsis Part II

I hope that picture got your attention, but stay tuned, there are a lot more where that came from.

Sometimes things are so long in the planning that it almost seems unreal when it comes to fruition. I think we started talking about a Yosemite trip about 2 years ago, but it wasn't until a couple months ago that we had managed to get vacation, book flights and lodging. By that time, I was in the depths of hell (studying) and barely had time to look forward to the trip. After the exam was finished, I was so enthralled with return to normal life, that the Yosemite trip was upon us before I knew it.

The flight was remarkably easy (without a child) until I arrived in San Francisco and my luggage didn't. Go! airlines strikes again. Go! is almost surely the worst and most unreliable airline I have ever flown. Not once have my bags arrived on time at my destination when Go! was involved with luggage transfer. Normally this is merely an annoyance, but this time it was a real problem since we weren't staying overnight in San Fran. However, they ensured me that they would deliver it to the crappy town of Tracy, CA even though it was over an hour away. Upon calling the baggage mishandlers the following day, they were happy to tell me (in a Hindu dialect of English I could barely understand) that my bags had been located and I could expect them to arrive in Tracy only 4 days later via FedEx (thank you United airlines). That was a huge help since we were going to be in Yosemite and all my hiking clothes/gear were in the bag. Thankfully, the bag was still at the airport so we wasted 3-4 hours driving to and from the airport to pick up the bag.

By noon, we were passing through Tracy and on our way to Yosemite with all our luggage. We made a grocery and (really great) beer stop and were soon following the raging Merced river toward the park. Traffic was bad since they were doing road construction and the weather was extremely hot due to a heat wave sweeping over the west coast. We were thankful for the lack of humidity.

We made intermittent progress towards our chalet between the traffic and the breathtaking views which are very difficult to pass up, especially when you see them for the first time (Paul and Erv). The scenery is so utterly amazing that I think it's impossible to take a bad photograph.

We arrived at the yosemitechalet.com and were very happy with our accommodations - simple, all the necessities, plenty of room, woodburning stove and a huge stack of firewood. Thankfully the weather would cool throughout the week so we could enjoy cocktails by the light of the fire.

After an enjoyable evening and a good night's sleep we drove past Washburn Point to Glacier Point and embarked upon what would end up being a truly legendary hike. Definitely top 5 of all time, which after the recent Blue Hole hike makes for a pretty good couple weeks of hiking. Glacier Point Road was closed on my last visit to Yosemite, so the area was completely new to me and I'm glad I didn't miss it this time.

Ascending Sentinel Dome
Atop Sentinel Dome

We ascended from Glacier Point on the Sentinel Dome trail with spectacular views of Half Dome along the way. Proceeding through some snow, we reached the top of Sentinel Dome and were greeted by 360 degree views of Yosemite including Half Dome, Liberty Cap and El Capitan, along with Yosemite, Nevada and Vernal falls.

Liberty Cap, Nevada Falls

Liberty Cap, Nevada and Vernal Falls
Yosemite Falls from Sentinel Dome

Though difficult to leave, we continued to Taft Point through some snow along a less crowded trail and were granted amazing views from a different perspective. We returned to Glacier Point on the more difficult and completely unpopulated Pohono trail and enjoyed almost continuous views of Yosemite Falls and El Capitan, as well as Sentinel dome from below.

On arrival to the car, we were pleasantly exhausted, but agreed the hike was superb. Erv and Paul said it was the best hike they'd ever done. "Unfortunately" we had to retreat to the chalet and enjoy some excellent brews, food, solitude and relaxation to recharge for the rest of the week.

The Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias was our destination the following day. These trees are BIG! I've seen them before, but they are quite impressive and certainly the scope of their size cannot be represented well in pictures.

On return from Wawona, we saw a bear in the woods. Actually we saw 50 retarded tourists and their mongoloid offspring running through the streets without regard for traffic...then we saw the bear.

Tuesday we booked a ride on the shuttle bus from the valley to Glacier point because it afforded us the opportunity to cover about 9 miles one way back down into the valley while viewing some of Yosemite's most amazing sights. This was the Panorama, John Muir, Mist Trail combo hike. En route to the valley floor we hiked past Illilouette, Nevada, and Vernal Falls as well as Liberty Cap and Half Dome. Unfortunately, as we neared the valley, the trail became more and more crowded, but we didn't allow this to interfere with our enjoyment. We capped the day with Mammoth IPA and pizza on the pizza deck in the shadow of Half Dome. While in the valley, we learned that Tioga Road had opened that day allowing access to the more remote Tuolomne Meadows. We planned to go there the following day and do a few short hikes to rest up from our 3500 foot descent from Glacier Point.

Half Dome, Liberty Cap, Nevada and Vernal Falls (clockwise starting top L)



Half Dome above Illilouette Falls
Upper Yosemite Falls in the distance

Liberty Cap above Nevada Falls

Nevada Falls

Vernal Falls from the Mist Trail (you'll see why)

Vernal Falls from further down the Mist Trail...and the sky really was that blue (I looked at the other pictures).

After lunch surrounded by the beautiful scenery at Tenaya Lake, our proposed May Lake hike was shutdown by a road closure. We settled on an alternative hike to Dog Lake and managed to find the trailhead after multiple turnarounds. The higher elevation was painfully obvious once we started hiking on the moderately sloping trail. Dog Lake was nice and it was fairly quiet and undisturbed on a beautiful late spring day. Anywhere else, this would be a tremendous hike, but after being spoiled by recent earth-shattering scenery, the Dog Lake hike was a little "ho-hum". Tuolumne Meadows had not hit it's prime yet due to the very recently melted snow. I hear that July and August in the Meadows are amazing due to the vast array of wildflowers.

Tenaya Lake

Dog Lake


Tuolumne Meadows

We earmarked the following day for visiting the "touristy" sites in Yosemite valley. Probably a bad choice after visiting so many beautiful, more remote locales throughout the park. The crowds were nearly unbearable. Through the throngs of people were able to sneak a peek at Bridal Veil Falls, El Capitan and the meadows below, Mirror Lake beneath Half Dome and Yosemite Falls. I know I shouldn't be complaining, but the masses really detracted from the whole experience. John Muir would be pissed. After having more than our fill of the crowds, we retreated to the chalet and prepared for a drive to the more remote Hetch Hetchy Reservoir the following day. Memorial Day Weekend was upon us and the crowds would only get worse.

Bridal Veil Falls

El Cap

Lower Yosemite Falls

Retarded tourist (and the guy that took the picture of the three of us below the falls)

Hetch Hetchy was a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of the valley. Though I'd done the hike to Wapama Falls 3 years ago as part of backpacking trip, I thought it was worthwhile for Paul and Erv to see and to escape the crowds. The weather had cooled tremendously over the past few days and Hetch Hetchy, being a couple thousand feet lower in elevation, was an ideal spot to enjoy 60 degree temps rather than 40 or 50 degree temps elsewhere. We made quick work of the trail to the falls and had lunch on the rocks at the shoreline while viewing the waterfall. After returning to the car, we decied to check out Lookout Point, high above the reservoir. As we reached the point, we felt a few raindrops, the first of the trip. The rain didn't really start until we were in the car and didn't stop until we left the park the following day. We had no complaints since our only plans for the evening involved a fire and some excellent beers. We relished our last evening in the chalet knowing the following day we had a long drive back to reality.

Lookout Point

Our last night in California, we went to Steelhead Brewery for some upscale pub grub and I even convinced the guys to help me find some beer to take back to Hawaii. Great success! We found a store that had Stone beers including Oaked Arrogant Bastard (that was priced totally incorrectly in my favor) and Ruination IPA in 6 packs.

Unfortunately, our departure from California and the cameraderie we shared over the past week weighed heavily on our minds as we returned to the hotel. Fortunately, we were looking forward to seeing wives and kids for the first time in about 10 days.

I was very excited to see Em and Maddie at the airport, but less than excited to see that my bags had not arrived. Let me reiterate: Go! airlines = Terrible. My bags arrived intact about 7 hours later.

In closing, I'll say that this Yosemite trip with my father is something I'll always remember. I'm glad I'll never have to say "I wish I would have planned that trip with my dad...".

Live without regret.

That being said...where are we going next year?