Tag: Traveller

Half Dome: Nevada Falls and Little Yosemite Valley

You can read part one of our trip up half dome here.

The two trails up Half Dome split at the top of Vernal Falls. The Mist trail takes a short detour to the top of Nevada Falls (adding a little distance on to the journey), whereas the John Muir trail is a more direct route. We never want to miss anything (especially as it takes so much effort to climb Half Dome!) so each time we have taken the Mist Trail.

It’s about a 2 mile hike from Vernal Falls to Nevada Falls, characterised by switchbacks and some rocky pathways through a forest area. The sunlight weaving through the trees and the light reflecting off the water at the bottom of Vernal Falls created beautiful little rainbows in the mist.

The top of Nevada Falls is a beautiful place to sit and chill, having gained an extra 1000ft above Vernal Falls, taking us to a total height of 6000ft above sea level. On our first trip, this was as far as we got. We’d set off far too late in the day and didn’t really want to hike in the dark, so we chose to stop at Nevada Falls, spend some time exploring and then headed back down the trail.

One of my best memories of that particular trip was taking off our shoes and socks and paddling in the calm water of the Merced River before the waterfall. It was a perfect way to refresh ourselves after the steep climb!

Our subsequent trips have seen us hiking much further up the trail. Leaving Nevada Falls behind, Little Yosemite Valley is a much flatter part of the hike. Surrounded by trees, it offers some welcome shade from the blistering heat. I loved the surroundings here; the sounds of the forest and the smell of the trees. The scent was almost overwhelming and it makes me think of adventure every time I smell it. This was a stunning walk with glimpses of Half Dome through the trees.

Little Yosemite Campground was a big milestone for me – I hadn’t expected to make it that far!! If I was to do the trail again, I would definitely consider camping at this campground to acclimatise to the altitude and rest up before attempting the climb to the top of Half Dome.

The Mountains are calling and I must go

– John Muir

Half Dome: Vernal Falls

Half dome is not for those who are only half prepared. We prepped *a lot* and we only made it to the subdome. Only is a funny word though. For me, only reaching the subdome isn’t a failed attempt. What some would call failed, I call successful (and arguably one of my biggest achievements).

Half Dome is probably one of the most iconic sights of Yosemite National Park. It’s hulking outline stands tall over the whole park and it’s easy to see why it’s the one sight that everyone wants a photo with.

Our journey on Half Dome actually started a couple of visits back when we first stayed at Yosemite. Three friends with ambitions of making it to the top. We were fuelled with the optimism of those who have never attempted it before and bolstered by the sense of adventure that can only arise from watching ‘In to the Wild’ in a tent in the middle of Wawona the night before. We thought we could conquer it with gusto. That’s not to say we came to it green – we’d done our research; training as much as we could by getting hiking trips in back home (although to be fair, nothing like the height of Half Dome) and we’d kitted ourselves out in all of the right gear.

On that first occasion, we started out on the wrong foot by setting off far too late for the trek. By the time we had driven from Wawona to the trail head in Yosemite Valley, it was probably about 9am. Although this sounds fairly early, most people recommend that to get to the top and back in good time, you should be planning to set off on the first part of the trail at around 4/5am. As the first part of the pathway is paved, this makes sense. Trust us, you want to make up time on the way up as coming down the route in the dark because you have set off too late is no fun at all.

Getting ready for the hike is no mean feet either. The whole trail takes around 10-12 hours walk, gaining an elevation of 4800ft (8,800ft above sea level). Being prepared is so important. For me, this meant 2 hydration packs, 2 additional bottles of water, breakfast and lunch and lots of energy boosting snacks. That’s a lot to carry on your back for a hike or this length but, it is absolutely necessary!

The first section of trail is only about a mile or so of paved pathway, but it’s very steep (at this point of the trail, we were 4500ft above sea level). After a short hike up this path, the water fountains at the top are a very welcome sight. This is the last place to get water on the half dome trail (and also the last place for flushing toilets – prepare yourself!!). I have to say, this water is the best I have ever tasted. Ever. I actually ended up emptying one hydration pack and filling it up with water from this fountain instead. It’s that good, and I’ve tasted water from a glacier). I have no idea why it tasted so amazing but every time we have decided to do the half dome trail (about 3 times), the thought of that water fountain has been my motivating factor for getting to the top of the first mile!

After passing the footbridge just past the water-stop, the steepness increases massively as huge stone steps lead up to the first major waterfall on the trail; Vernal Falls. This part of the hike, although strenuous, is stunning. The steps are cut into the side of the waterfall, meaning that the water roars down to your left as you ascend. We’ve done this trail in the middle of summer and early spring. In summer, the steps are hot and dry, but in the spring it’s clear to see how the Mist Trail gets its name. In a huge contrast to the first time we took this trail, visiting in spring left us soaked! The force of Vernal Falls generated a spray which make us feel like we were hiking up the middle of the waterfall rather than the side. It was slippy and soggy work, but by the time we got to the top of the waterfall, we were grateful for the cooling effect of the spray.

The top of Vernal Falls was incredible. At 5000ft up, rushing of the water and the view across the valley below made the hard climb all the more worthwhile.

Travel Music

We all know that travel is life, but there is something that I consider to be just as important when I’m getting ready for a trip. Almost as soon as I’ve booked my ticket, I’m popping in the headphones and starting a new playlist. I don’t mean finding a new playlist – I’m talking about setting one up, from scratch and searching out the best music for my trip, because for me, music is also life.

I use music before a trip to set the scene, build a picture of the place I’m visiting and generate excitement. Whilst I’m there, I use music to help me to link memories and create an atmosphere of the trip. Those of you who are into your music will be nodding your head at this point – you get it. For those of you who are wondering why I’d dive into a playlist rather than shopping for holiday bits and bobs – I’m sorry, this post is probably not going to make much sense to you!

I’m talking to those travellers who need music to create the heartbeat of their trip. Who plan 3 hours of driving tunes to perfection to meet the tastes of all of the travellers on the road (I’ve absolutely done this!) and who download playlists to their phone ‘just in case’ it doesn’t work online (I’ve done this too – this can wreck the pre-night out preparation time). I wanted to share with you some of my song choices for road trips we’ve taken – it would be great to know if we have any choices in common!

New York Tunes

  • No Sleep Til Brooklyn – Beastie Boys
  • Empire State of Mind – Alicia Keys & Jay Z
  • (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher – Jackie Wilson
  • New York, New York – Frank Sinatra
  • NY State of Mind – Nas

Vegas Party

  • Can’t Tell Me Nothing – Kanye West
  • All I do Is Win – DJ Khaled
  • The Joker And The Thief – Wolfmother
  • Dynamite – Taipei Cruz
  • Viva Las Vegas – The Blues Brothers
  • Right around – Flo Rider

California Road Tripping

  • Good Vibrations – Beach Boys
  • California Dreaming – Beach Boys
  • California – Phantom Planet
  • Surfin’ USA – Beach Boys
  • California Dreamin’ – The Mamas and the Papas
  • I Get Around – Beach Boys
  • All Summer Long – Kid Rock
  • Hotel California – The Eagles
  • Beverly Hills – Weezer
  • Yosemite
      • Society – Eddie Vedder
      Hard Sun – Eddie Vedder
      In fact, anything off the ‘In to the Wild ‘ soundtrack – nothing can beat this when you are surrounded by trees and campfires. Nothing!

    Road Trip Pit Stops

    Often when we travel, if there are a few of us, we’ll hire a car to get about. The flexibility it gives us is well worth the money and allows us to see things that are a little off the beaten track. It also means that if we see something interesting, we can just pull over and investigate – on a bus or a train that’s much harder to do!

    This weeks post is dedicated to some of those little pit stops, sights and experiences we’ve had that were unplanned but added to our adventure.

    Sea Lions on the Big Sur

    Driving down the stunning coastline of the Big Sur, we spotted a group of sea lions hanging out on the beach. We pulled over for about half an hour, watching them from a safe distance.

    Ghost Town Near Vegas

    Much of the surrounding area of Vegas is rock, dust and highway. To break up our long and dry drive, we followed a road sign to a small ghost town – an abandoned town rising out of the dust. It was one of the smaller towns and I’d love to go back and check out one of the larger ones at some point.

    Model Town Near Zion

    Stopping for a much-needed loo break, we pulled into a store which had a large scale model town outside. It was certainly pulling in the visitors and the inside of the store was also really cool, with lots of interesting trinkets.

    Santa Barbara

    Santa Barbara was one of our best finds. We needed somewhere to pull in to take a rest on a long trip from San Francisco to LA and Santa Barbara was it. It was beautiful and I could have stayed for so much longer. You can read more out our stop in Santa Barbara here.

    Boulder

    Boulder was an interesting stop over. After a long day driving, we stopped at a hotel in Boulder before continuing our route the next day. With not much around, the stand out feature of Boulder was the sunset – although the Shining-esque hotel corridors were a big talking point – we spent the night listening out for echos of ‘Redrum’!!

    Cliffs Overlooking San Francisco

    This was one of the most beautiful pit stops I remember. Heading out of San Francisco, the winding roads stretching out before us, we pulled over to the side of the road to check out the views.

    The cliff edges floated out into misty nothingness and it felt like we were standing above the clouds. We could hear the water below and glimpses of the stunning drops peaked through the clouds.

    Where has been your best unscheduled pit stop?