Yosemite Valley

The thrill of a spontaneous adventure is really the uncertainty of the situation. These uncertain situations require an amount of adrenaline and quick-thinking in order to make the trip a success. Jolene and I love being spontaneous for this very reason. Hence, while we always wanted to go to Yosemite but never had the time, a last minute trip seemed the perfect escape to our ‘ordinary’ lives here in Dana Point. And as it turned out, it was the best idea we have had in a long time.
We arrived in the valley late Friday night, exhausted from the 7 hour drive and crashed on the air mattress. We awoke to a beautiful, but cold, morning on the valley floor. After breakfast Jo’s and I drove to “Four Mile Trailhead” and commenced on trek up to Glacier Point.
There are certain words that I reserve for only some of God’s creations. This one definitely deserved the word Epic. Climbing from the valley floor to the ridge really allowed us to admire the majestic valley as it unfolded below and around us. While the hike was definitely difficult (50+ switchbacks), its unveiling effect was spectacular. The view from the top promised to be amazing. And just as we were cresting the ridge, we see a parking lot full of cars.
“You can drive up here?!?!????” said Jolene.
It kinda killed the victorious feeling of hiking to the top of a mountain only to realize that it’s crowed with fat tourists but still the view was great. Our sore muscles thanked us when we got back to the bottom after the 9 mile round trip hike. We cooked dinner at the campsite and roasted marshmallows for s’mores before we headed to bed. The spontaneity of the trip made it a lot of fun and we couldn’t ask for a better pair of days. On the way back, Jolene and I were thinking “next time we drive this far we’re going to go skiing.”