Hetch Hetchy Vernon Lake Loop

Look at those beautiful behinds!

We decided for our annual Memorial Day backpacking trip that we would take the Vernon lake loop out from the controversial Hetch Hetchy Damn. They say that less than 1% of visitors to Yosemite travel to Hetch Hetchy, but Memorial Day is suppose to be the busy time as it is at a lower elevation than many popular areas of the park and therefore less likely to have snow on the ground. We got out to the trail at around 7:30 AM on Saturday morning. The weather was a bit cool, but we did not think much of it. We got started promptly after our arrival and were able to see some breathtaking views of the reservoir.

 

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir Through the fog

About an hour into our trip, it began to drizzle just a bit and within a few minutes it was coming down pretty good.  We thought we were prepared with our fashionable five dollar ponchos, but within an hour mine had split right down the front.

We look like camels...

Soon enough the rain turned to snow which we were not quite prepared for.  I think snowstorms at this time of year in Hetchy Hetchy are a bit unusual.  We hiked about 10 miles this first day.  It wasn't that bad, not a lot of switch backs, but the weather did bring moral down a bit.  By the time we made it to camp, we could not even see the lake through the fog and were unable to determine if we weer even in the correct camp.  We did decide on a place to sleep for the night, and ran into some other backpackers who shared the camp with us and helped us make our campfire (necessary for drying wet shoes, and lifting spirits).  By the time our tents were up the campfire was roaring and we were able to try out our new Jetboil Flash which boiled water for our freeze dried dinners in about 3 minutes.

After the nice warm dinners, and some much needed Bourbon shared with new friends, we were off to bed to get some sleep for our 10 mile hike the next day.

Hooray for clear skies!

Waking up Saturday morning could not have been better.  I felt nice and rested, and within an hour the sun was shining through the clouds.  We were able to lay our wet rainflies and sleeping bags out on a rock while we ate breakfast and packed away camp to dry.  To our amazement, we were super close to the lake, and were able to see some amazing views on our way up the switchbacks leaving Lake Vernon:

Lake Vernon

From this point we hiked up and through the soggy Till Till valley and camped at Rancharia Falls. We met up with our friends again for dinner and drinks and shared stories of adventured had that day.  We were up and at em early the next day, said saynora to our buddies, and were ready for the final leg of our trip.  Again, we got some amazing views of the lake, sunny this time, and even saw a mamma bear with her cub (super cute I must say)

All in all, I would say this backpacking trip had everything that a trip should; beautiful views, unexpected surprises and new amigos.  Although I would not plan to hike this particular trail again, it was an amazing adventure with great friends!

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir

Yosemite hike to Nevada Falls

After not taking advantage of nearby Yosemite National Park all summer, we decided to try to get in a hike before the weather changes for the winter.  After scouring through our Yosemite book, we decided on the Mist trail to Nevada Falls.  The hike was listed as strenuous at 6.8 miles and a 2600 feet elevation climb.

We entered the park at about 7:45am on Saturday morning, and by the time we got to curry village and got ready it was already 9am, a little later than I wanted to leave.  There were a fair number of hikers headed up the hill with us in the beginning, but we powered by them, and ended up by ourselves for much of the hike.  We did under estimate the incline though, as we were both feeling pretty breathless after our speed walk up the trail.  Another note about Yosemite in late October; the morning was very cold, and I was not prepared so for the first 2 hours of the hike, I was freezing and dreaming of a nice warm beanie to cover my frozen ears.  Note to self: please be prepared next time.

Vernal Falls

the granite staircase up the Mist trail were most definitely intense. A great workout and challenge with very rewarding views of Yosemite Valley and the falls.

 

Once the intense climb was over, the rest of the trail (we took the John Muir trail to loop back to our starting point) was a nice steady downhill walk through peaceful woods.  Yosemite was beautiful this time of year with all the leaves changing for Autumn, and the park was relatively empty compared to summer months. Fall is always a great time to miss the heavy summer crowds, and beat the cold winter snow.