Late Winter Yosemite Weekend

     Over the weekend of March 8th, I had traveled to Yosemite National Park with my parents for a small mini vacation.  My mom is a teacher, and was on spring break.  It seems that each year, when she has spring break, my parents plan a trip.  Since I had transferred over to CSUSB, my spring break is not at the same time as my mom's school district's spring break.  This meant that my sister and I was unable to join them.  Two years ago, the parents traveled to Maine, and New Mexico last year.  This year my dad had found a good groupon deal for a two night stay at a loft condominium for Yosemite that had to be used between January and March 31.  After I pushed him to buy the deal, we had set the trip dates and I pushed for a weekend I was able to go.  With this, we went to Yosemite from Friday March 8 to Sunday March 10 (with a stay in Merced on Thursday March 7).  The trip was exactly what I needed, to get me a way from the stresses of school.  Finals are in two weeks, and midterms had just finished.  Sadly, my sister could not travel with us because of her school schedule and other conflict travels.  She seemed to like the idea of having the house to her self for a weekend.  A trip to Yosemite was overdue for me, for I had lasted traveled with Scotty and Emily to Yosemite in 2010.  My dad had last been to Yosemite in 2001 when we did a day trip into the valley when we were camping at June Lake with my cousins in the Eastern Sierras.  My mom has not been to Yosemite since my first time to the valley in 1996, when I was in Kindergarden. 

     The trip started in the late afternoon on Thursday March 7.  To get the most out of our trip, we had decided to travel to Merced the day before our time in Yosemite.  This way we could wake up in the morning and take the 80 mile drive into Yosemite Valley; giving us the most amount of time possible to enjoy this natural wonder.  My mom and I had prepared the majority of things to pack before my dad got home from work at 3:45 pm.  Once he came home, he packed, and we were on the road by 4:30 pm.  My dad first drove (slowly) from Highland to Bakersfield.  We had stopped to eat dinner at the Sizzler's, then I took the wheel.  Now we were making time, for I would drive between 75-80 mph.  My dad would travel around 60-65.  Traffic felt different than a usual trip.  The 99 in the central valley was not that packed with traffic, and we made good time.  We had arrived in Merced around 11:00 pm.  The next morning, we woke up, had the kinda alright hot breakfast (the eggs were terrible) the hotel provided, and hit the 140 to Yosemite.  I was able to convince them for me to drive.  I love driving mountain roads, and since I knew the national park well, it would be easier.

     

     As we entered into Yosemite National Park, the parents had expected us to drive right into the valley.  I had another plan.  As a tradition, I prefer to drive up to the famous tunnel view.  I had turned onto the 41.  The parents thought I was headed to Bridalveil Fall.  I passed that, and they became confused.  Until I pulled up on tunnel view.  This view never gets old.  Unlike the many times I have been at this famous view point, it was different.  The tops of the granite cliffs and high peaks of the Sierras were covered in snow.  Half Dome, the hanging valley behind Bridalveil Fall, El Capitan, the three brothers, eta. were all covered with snow. Bridalveil Fall had ice surrounding the fall on the cliff.  At the bottom of the fall, I saw a good sized ice cone.  The water from the fall of freeze on it's way down to the valley, which would form this mound.  I was hoping to see this for Yosemite Falls.  Never even thought about seeing it at Bridalveil.  It was beautiful.  We spent a few moments there taking photographs.  The best part is that there was no crowd of people at tunnel view.  Normally, there are swarms of people and very limited parking.  The weather was colder than my usual experience, but it wasn't anything I wasn't prepared for.  There was a light wind, and it was around the low 50s.  After this official hello to Yosemite Valley, we headed towards Curry Village.  Our second stop of the day was Bridalveil Fall.  Same experience as with tunnel view, no one was there.  Parking was easy.  Never have I seen that parking lot empty.  I had this feeling this would be the theme for the weekend.  It was great!  

   

     Bridalveil Fall was in the shadow of the cliffs, so it was quite a bit colder.  I was worried that the water mist would be great, so I used my waterproof Nikon AW100 camera instead of my Nikon D90.  As we got to the view point of the fall, the mist wasn't as bad.  Walking up to the view point was quite interesting.  I had ice falling on me from trees that were above my head.  At first I thought it was from the fall, but I only had ice fall on me when walking under the trees.  The fall was beautiful.  I knew it would.  Bridalveil Creek is one of the only year-around water contributory into the Yosemite Valley.  For me, the ice cone at the bottom was the best thing to see.  After Bridalveil, we drove off to Curry Village.  We got there, and it was exactly the same thing.  Parking everywhere.  Since I have been in Yosemite quite a bit, I would become the main guide for this trip.  The plan for the rest of the day was to look around Curry Village, walk over to Yosemite Village, see Yosemite Falls, then go back to the car to head to our loft condo. 

     I gave the parents two options on how to get to Yosemite Village and falls.  The normal or the scenic route.  The normal route would be to walk along the bike paths to Yosemite Village.  The scenic route would be to walk from Curry Village to North Pines Campground, and walk over to the Yosemite Valley Loop Trail.  They had chosen loop trail.    The loop trail would take longer, but it was worth it.  We made sandwiches for lunch, and packed them in our backpacks.  The plan was to eat lunch along the way.  I also had habanero potato chips, beef jerky  and cliff energy bars.     We started on our walk to North Pines Campground, which first we had to walk on the opposite direction.  It was quite.  No people, no mass amounts of cars driving around, no noise.  It was quite a different scene that the summer time in the park.  As we walked over the Merced River Bridge before the campground, we saw a guy sitting on the bridge just surrounding himself in the environment and banging on drums.  He was in the moment.  Having a spiritual experience.  I almost wanted to stay and join him, but the parents wouldn't have liked that.  We continued into the campground, which was closed for the season.  It brought back many wonderful memories of the three annual camping trips at that campground with my aunt, uncle, and cousins from 2007 to 2009.  I loved those trips.  Staying 7 days in the first week of June in Yosemite was amazing!  My parents don't seem to understand how good it can be.  They say that is just too much time.  I feel it is about the right amount of time.  I love camping.  I would love to go camping again in Yosemite.  We continued to the back of the campground, where we crossed a bridge over the Tenaya Creek, and into the walk in only campground.  As we got close to the bridge, I could have swarn I heard a large group of frogs croaking in the distance.  I knew there is a meadow to the right of the campground, and figured that was were they would be.  My mom didn't think they were frogs, but I knew they were.  We stopped at a table of one of the walk in campgrounds to eat our lunch.  This would be the moment when I would start feeling surrounded by nature.  The only thing making things not so enjoyable was my parents talking, especially my dad complaining about work (which he does everyday).  I couldn't understand why he can complain so much, and especially now, when this is supposed to be a trip to escape that.  

     

     After lunch, we finally got to the Yosemite Valley Loop Trail, and headed on the hike to Yosemite Falls.  Most of this section of the trail is unfamiliar to me.  I have only hiked from the campground to the Ahwahnee Hotel.  One of my most favorite portions of the trail is a waterfall that a majority of visitors to Yosemite never gets to see.  The Royal Arch Cascade.  You can see the fall from Curry Village and the campgrounds close by, but most people never know to look over there.  The water from the cascade flows over the trail, but I went off the trail to hike up to the base of the waterfall, because from the trail, you can't see the fall.  When you get to the base of the fall, you can look up the 2,000 feet cliff and see the entire cascade.  I could have stayed here for at least an hour to just take in the sound of the water crashing.  The coolest thing about being at the base of the fall was a very small rainbow that was visible from the mist of the fall.  We spent a about 15 mins at the cascade before moving on.  Right after the cascade, you hike past the Ahwahnee Hotel.  We walked inside to find some restrooms.  I had never walked inside before.  It was such an amazing hotel.  Old, rustic, very warm, and amazing.  It made me want to stay there.  Maybe when I am older and camping won't be as easy.  I had a feeling many people who stayed at the hotel stayed in there quite a bit.  People in the lobby were walking around with wine glasses, there were huge fireplaces with nice soft couches to sit on.  It was amazing.  We found the restroom, and then headed back on the trail.  From that point until Yosemite Falls, the trail was all new.  It took a few hours to hike from North Pines Campground to Yosemite Falls.  My parents ended up being the hold up. My mom was the slowest of the group, but it wasn't her fault.  I know she has a problem with her foot, and she will be having surgery on it in the summer.  My dad stopped often to take photographs.  A part of me wonders why he takes photographs.  Every time he takes photographs, it takes him months before he looks at them.  He doesn't even do anything with the photographs.  They end up taking space on a hard drive collecting digital dust.  As we got closer to Yosemite Falls, a storm has been slowly rolling in.  It began getting colder, and a light wind could be blowing.  We did have a few times when we were hiking in a small amount of rain mist and drissle.  The rain did not bother me.  I was absorbed into the nature environment, and to be outside in the rain just added to the nature bliss.  I love the rain!  Another great thing I have always wanted to experience in Yosemite is to hear the shattering noise of ice from the cliffs falling down to the valley below.  Lucky for us, while hiking on the trail, we heard this noise three different times.  I knew that the ice was on the cliff next to Yosemite Falls.  I had wished I was at the fall to see the ice fall, but at least I got to hear the ice.  We were about 2 miles away from the fall, and was able to hear the ice.  It was amazing. 

     

     We arrived at the lower Yosemite Fall.  It was a beautiful 2.3 mile hike.  We took photographs, and I asked a guy to take a photo of all of us at the fall.  I had the mistake of trusting the guy, and not looking at the photograph he took.  He didn't take a photo of us with the fall in the background.  We were in the middle of the image, with the ground taking up the photograph and mostly nothing of the fall.  Come on dude!  Why else would be want a photo there?  Because of the damn waterfall!  Oh well, it was nice to at least have a photograph.    While at Yosemite Falls, we realized it was around 3:45-4:00.  With it getting cold, my mom was ready for us to head back to the car.  With every minute that passed by, the storm came into the valley.  Before we headed back, we stopped in Yosemite Village.  We first stopped at the Native American Museum.  The museum is about the Ahwahnee Native American's who used to call Yoesmite valley their home.  Afterwards, we headed to the Ansel Adams Gallery.  As we were in the gallery, the rain really began.  It was around 4:00, and we decided we would return.  We knew if it was raining in the valley, it could be snowing at the higher elevations, which is where we were headed next.  We decided to take the free shuttle back to Curry Village.  We got to the car around 4:30, and the rain had stopped for a little bit.  We headed on out to where we were going to stay for the weekend.  We stopped at Valley Floor View, and then tunnel view to see the storm in the valley.  

     

     Our loft condo was located at a place called Yosemite West.  If driving out of the Yosemite Valley via the highway 41, it is located on the right hand side, after you pass the turn out for Badger Pass and Glacier Point.  It is a private area just outside of the national park boundary.  The only way to access the area is through the national park.  In order to get to the condo, we had to put on tire chains.  I was surprised the parents were up for this.  They never seem to go places that require some trouble to get to, even if it means you will never experience some of the most breathtaking experiences of life.  The place was covered in snow, and it was beautiful.  We got there, and when I opened the door.  It was love at first sight.  There was a fully stocked kitchen, two full bathrooms, a nice living room with a couch, chairs, a TV, and a table, a gas fireplace that is used to heat the condo, and two queen beds up on a loft.  Once we got settled in, my mom and I started working on dinner.  I had taken charge of the food for the weekend, and my mom helped cook.  For dinner that night, I cooked a pesto pasta with chicken.  The biggest difference was how we ate dinner.  We all ate at the dinner table.  This would be the first time in over 15 years that we would eat together at a table for a home cooked meal.  We would only eat at the table when eating out or at a holiday at a family member's house.   If eating at home, we never eat at the table.  The rest of the night we watched Skyfall 007 on the TV.  There was no cell reception and no internet, which was nice.  Nice to get away from the usual needs of suburbia.  Before going to bed, noticed that outside was a white haze.  It was very lightly snowing.  It was amazing.

     

     The next morning started with my and my mom cooking Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes for Breakfast, and preparing the crockpot to cook our dinner, which would be Cheeseburger Soup. After breakfast, we headed back out to Yosemite Valley.  We got out to the car, and a 1/2 an inch of hard ice/snow was all over the car.  I broke a spatula when trying to scrap the ice since we didn't have an ice scrapper (no need for one when living in SoCal).  We also had Icicles hanging from the car.  Today was the hike to Mirror Lake, via the same trail we took to Yosemite Falls, but the opposite way.  First, we stopped back at Bridalveil Fall.  I had seen a photo opportunity the other day, and felt I needed to be their earlier for the desired light.  Spent a good 30 mins photographing what I was, and the result is below.  I think it was a alright success.  If I was there earlier, it might have been better. 

     We headed over to Curry Village, and we started on out back to the same start point we did the other day, but went right instead of left to Yosemite Falls.  My dad had thought it would be a quick hike, then we would go back to Curry Village.  That was not the plan.  We would hike to Mirror Lake, then to Happy Isle.  My dad was supposed to bring lunch in his backpack.  Nope.  He left them in the car.  Leaving a lunch would not be great on a long hike.  Lucky, I always prepare with a Cliff Energy Bar and some beef jerkey.    Never go on a major hike without those foods.  The forest was beautiful. It was a beautiful day.  Nice, warm, and sunny.  Different from the day before.  The coolest thing we experience in route to Mirror Lake was to hear to tons of Tree Frogs I figured we heard the other day.  The trail passed by a meadow, and we went off the trail to head to the edge of the meadow near the back of North Pines Campground to listen to the frogs and hope to see some of them.  We were unluckily at seeing them, but just listening to them was amazing.  We also had an amazing view of Half Dome.  Watch the video at the bottom of this blog.  There is a clip in there with the tree frogs at the meadow.  

   

     We got to Mirror Lake, and I wasn't expecting there to be much water, but there was a decent amount.  A small portion of the lake was still frozen at the surface which was awesome.  The view of Half Dome was beautiful, and it was nice to see Half Dome covered in snow.  We stayed there for a little while.  I shared the beef jerkey with the parents and we continued on.  Before we left Mirror Lake, we saw something that wasn't expected.  There was evidence of a North American Beaver being at Mirror Lake.  Multiple trees had the bite marks that resembled a beaver.  We took photographs and we planned to show a ranger to get more information about this.  I had never heard of beavers in the national park. We next headed to Happy Isles.  My dad didn't realize how far it was from Mirror Lake.  Instead of taking the paved way, we continued to take the Yosemite Valley Loop Trail, which I had never hiked this portion of the trail.  We had arrived at Happy Isles, and time has caught up with us.  A part of me wanted to go up to the bridge to view Vernal Falls.  I knew we wouldn't have time for that.  We headed towards the nature center area, then I noticed the time.  It was 3:00 pm.  We still had to hike a mile back to Curry Village and get to Yosemite Village before things close down.  We had decided to skip exploring Happy Isles, and hiked back to the car at Curry Village. We hiked 4.6 miles that day.  With the day before, that totaled to 6.9 miles hiked in two days.  I felt accomplished!  We got to the car, packed up, and drove over to Yosemite Village.  Went back to Ansel Adams Gallery, went to the visitor center to look around, and to the main gift store/grocery store.  

     

     Things were normal feeling to me while there.  A difference was right as we exited the visitor center.  We saw a few rangers outside the visitor center back doors looking at something.  It had seemed that they had rescued a Pacific Tree Frog from inside the center theater.  It was great!  We got to see a frog up close.  It is the same type of frog, which is native to the valley, that we heard early at the meadow earlier that day.  We also asked the rangers there about the beaver.  The naturalist ranger was not working at the time, but the ranger said that it is very possible for having a beaver there.  He didn't know much, so I searched around the internet with google on the phone when I had cell service, and found out beavers are more found in the high country and the eastern Sierras.  This beaver probably came down Tenya Creek to look for a new place to live, and tried Mirror Lake.  I bet with the amount of people who visit Mirror Lake, it wont make that location his/her home.  Also the fact that Mirror Lake can dry out in the summer months.  Afterwards, we went to the gift store/grocery store where we bought some souvenirs and eggs for the mornings breakfast.  We headed back to the car and headed back up to the condo.  Our Cheeseburger Soup was ready, and we just got comfortable, ate dinner, and watched a movie called The Island.  

     

     The next morning started off slow.  I cooked egg ham cups and jalapeno home fries for breakfast.  Afterwards, we slowly packed up and prepared to leave.  I did not want to leave.  I wanted to stay for a few more days.  The parents thought it was just the perfect amount of time in Yosemite, but I fully disagree.  They just don't understand how amazing is to surround yourself in this natural temple for an entire week.  The experience is so different.  We drove down to the Valley, drove around, stopped at the Valley Floor view, and headed on the long drive home.  We had stopped in Clovis for Jimmy Johns, which is one amazing sandwich place. 

     This trip was short but good.  It was much needed with the stressful quarter this year.  Finals are around the corner, and having this break from that stressful school was just what I needed.  Here is a video of highlights from the trip.  Wow.  I just realized how long this post is.  Sorry about that!  I can go crazy at times.  I have way more photographs of the trip, which can be seen on my facebook profile.