Thursday 5 June 2014

Hiking, Yosemite National Park

                                             Four Mile Trail
Distance:                   4.8 mi (7.7 km) one way to Glacier Point.
9.6 mi (15.5 km) round trip Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point and back.
elevation gain :         3,200 ft (975 m)
Dififficulty:                  Strenuous

Time:                          Official time , 3-4 hours one-way, 6-8 hours round trip




Nervous, hell yes!

When I first suggested this hike to Sharon I was surprised with her immediate “lets do it !” especially knowing that this was a wopper. Our years of walking in Norwood and those wonderful Cape Town Table Mountain walks paid off. Officials told us it was a 6-8 hour hike , up and down, well, we did the up in 2.5 hours and the down in 3 hours. Well done Sharon. This trail begins in the beautiful Yosemite Valley , where we parked our car, and climbs 3200ft to Glacier Point. The trail is switchback after switchback and maintained a continuous VERY steep grade . At one point along the trail we had spectacular views of all three major Yosemite Valley features, , El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, and the famous Half Dome . Even though the going had been tough to the top, two hotdogs, an ice cream, and an ice cold orange juice re-vitalized me. ( Sharon had her usual coffee and  one biscuit ) and so we chose to hike back down to the Yosemite Valley where our car was parked.



A great day, a great hike, and a wonderful achievement . 
Well done Sharon and thank you for making this hike so memorable .

Half Dome from Glacier Point

Half Dome

The remarkable face of Half Dome

View across the u-shaped Yosemite Valley from the trail - El Capitan on the right and Cathedral Spires on the left

El Capitan

Sheer faces!

 Yosemite Falls from the trail


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