Yosemite - Glacier Point, Nevada + Vernal Falls

Postcard X - Sunnyvale 13/10/94

[ Direct from Danny. Postcards IX (day one in Yosemite) and XI (an attempt to compare Australia and the US) are being sent snail mail (so some of you at least can see how pretty Yosemite is) so you'll have to wait for them. ]

Back from Yosemite safely - I was tempted to stay another day, but I could easily have stayed another week, and the trail I particularly wanted to walk (Half Dome) was closed the day I arrived. Yesterday I walked up to Glacier Point and then descended via Nevada and Vernal falls. A great walk, with some reallly stunning views from Glacier Point and three pretty waterfalls, but there were lots of people on the track (GP is reachable by car, so lots of people ride the bus up and walk down), so it wasn't as serene as the walk the day before. At the end of the trail was a sign listing destinations and distances, and at the end was "Mt Whitney via John Muir trail - 212 miles/340 kilometres". Now that sounded really tempting, and one day I am going to have to return with more equipment and some fellow bushwalkers/hikers and spend a month or two wandering the Sierras...

Anyway, as you will all have gathered, I was really taken by Yosemite, and if you are visiting California it should definitely be on your list of places to see - one day if that is all you can afford, but do see it. (Don't be put off by my 18 and 14 mile hikes, as there are lots of shorter walks and you can just catch the shuttle bus around the valley floor and marvel at the granite cliffs and features and the waterfalls from there. You can always catch the tour bus up to Glacier Point if you can't cope with the 4.5 mile walk up.) I shot a whole roll of film (36 photos) in just two days, which isn't like me at all.

[The weather was really pleasant. It was cool in the mornings and evenings, but comfortable in one thin (almost worn through) cotton shirt while moving, so it was great walking weather all day. The nights were cold, but my sleeping bag coped fine. The 99c pair of socks I bought in San Francisco (to replace the two pairs I had to throw away in Banyuwangi) were in shreds after just two days walking! Serves me right for getting a cheap pair, I guess.]

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