The Hike of a Lifetime (a.k.a. The Hike of MY Life)

Exercise. There are a lot of things that are positive about exercise. One of the big ones is that it generally results in a longer life. Kind've something you'd think everyone would be doing then wouldn't you? Well, let's just say that I'm extremely lazy and don't purposely go out of my way to exercise. I just live life and call it exercise.

As a result of this, even though I have a wonderful metabolism and look in shape, I'm actually not really. I mean, yes, I can go play some games of Ultimate Frisbee whenever I'd like, but let's just say I'm not a marathon runner or an extreme sport person. I'm not anything of the sort. I don't prepare myself to go hike Mt. Everest.

Well, I have a story for you.

I went on a hike.

Now, at this point, my family would usually interrupt me with sounds of disbelief. In fact, most of those who were around during my teen years would have come across my expression of distaste of hiking. What's ironic is that I actually enjoy it. I'll blame the teenage brain. I mean, teenagers are certifiably insane. Before and after those years we're pretty normal. Before I was 12, my family used to go camping all the time. As a result we'd be hiking as part of the trip. Then the teen years hit and the phrase was "I'd rather go horseback riding." Which was true. I really would have rather gone horseback riding at the time then hike some volcano in Hawaii.

Basically, I haven't actually gone hiking for a long time. Unless you count hiking up to the "R" near Rexburg, ID. Thus, saying "I went on a hike", well, it has a lot more meaning then is normal.

How did I end up going on this hike? Well, I had this guy coming over to visit for awhile and I was trying to think of things we could do while he was in town for a few days. I came up with a few, but then ran out of ideas and still had a lot of time left over. My mother then suggested going to Yosemite which is 2.5 hours away from my house. Apparently it is the destination spot for people all over the world. I've actually only been there once; I was 9. I fell in the river that time. The words I wrote in my journal at 9 years old shows me that I thought I was this close to floating down the river. (Imagine your thumb and forefinger almost touching, and reread the previous sentence.) It's been quite the time since going to Yosemite. The only thing I remember about it is that I learned how to braid via pine needles and almost floating down the river.

Well, it soon became apparent that I'd have an entire free day with this guy and zero plans. So I mentioned my mother's suggestion. We decided we'd go. The next morning, after scriptures, prayers, driving my sister to school and breakfast, we left.

When we arrived, the sun was just getting over the mountains. It was odd. Because the sun had been up for awhile. And guess what? There was frost on the ground. It was a good thing that my parents had warned us to bring almost winter clothes. After looking around a bit, we then began to figure out which trail we were going to take. We looked at this awesome 3D map and then at actual maps. I noticed where we were on the map and the closest trail and pointed to that one. It didn't look to bad. It said it was 3 miles. I ran 3 miles every once in awhile in junior high. I could walk it, easy.

Yosemite Valley Map

False. False. False.

But that's later.

First, we took the Lower Yosemite Falls trail to the bottom of Yosemite Falls. That was fun. Really easy too. We saw families there playing on the rocks. As well as lots of people taking pictures. Of course we had our picture taken too.

We then started on our way to the Upper Yosemite Falls trail. We saw some deer. That was cool. It was odd though, because they weren't even scared of all the people staring at them and taking photos. Guess it happens all the time to them.

Well. After starting this Upper Yosemite Falls trail, it was extremely zig-zaggy. I had no idea how extremely tired I'd get of those zig-zags. They lasted forever. People on the way back down informed us how many more zig-zags there were left to the top. They'd also give encouragement such as: "you're almost there!" "The view's worth it!" etc.

We stopped often. I'll blame it on the fact that I wished to take pictures. and drink some water. and see all those people behind us as they became people in front of us. It was totally just so I could make new friends. No! It was the altitude. Definitely. That's it. Poor guy. Luckily he didn't mind all that much stopping every time I asked.

Apparently, though, my almost is not other people's almost. Seriously. See, to actually get to the top of Yosemite Falls you begin your hike up one mountain, then head down the other side almost to the valley floor I'm sure, then straight up to the top. With more zig-zags. But people were thinking that the top of the first mountain was the end of the trail. I do have to agree that the view was spectacular.

After a longer break, I was asked if I'd like to continue on. I said, "of course!" I'm blaming altitude and dehydration at this point. Naw, I'll just fess up and tell you that I really did want to accomplish getting to the very top. Also, well... I was kinda hiking with this guy... lol. I also thought we were a lot closer then we were. If we looked straight across the valley at the other mountains, we looked to be three-fourths of the way up. I was pretty sure that meant we were near the top.

Wrong.

Remember what I mentioned before? We headed back down, almost the the valley floor (it seemed). There was a point when we had a really good view of Yosemite Falls though! ➜

See? I'm pretty sure we were almost near the valley floor again. Except for the fact that the snow on the waterfall seemed to be at eye level. And I knew there was no snow on the valley floor. But still... we were not as high as we once were.

At this point in the trail is where we think even more people stopped and turned around. I'm pretty sure I would have, except for the fact that I was with this guy, and we didn't have another friend with us that I could send him up the rest of the way with.

Anyways, after this point I began noticing that all the hikers I had begun to see were all dressed as people who are professional, serious hikers. There were no longer any people with kids, nor any people who just decided to randomly pick a trail and take it without any serious preparation. Oh, wait! There was us!

Then, after a bit longer. And a "few" more zig-zags, we no longer came across people passing us up the mountain. In fact, it seemed like everyone was coming down the mountain. We were even told by one professional looking hiker that we must've had a late start.

More zig-zags. And the top of the mountain never looked closer. I'd even purposely stare at the trail for 10 straight zig-zags and look up again on one of my breaks to see if it looked any different. It didn't. It felt like some sort of nightmare. You know, where you are trying to reach something and you never get closer, then you turn around, and you are now farther away from the place where you started than where you are trying to go, so your only option in moving towards that place you were trying to go because you really hope that your closer than you think. It was like that.

Suddenly we were at the top. Well, sorta. We reached a spot that had this old rusted-looking sign on it.

It was very wet up there. And windy. Wasn't expecting that. Though it totally makes sense. We were on the top of a mountain. There was also snow every once in awhile. Sometimes ice. Sometimes slush. Sometimes nothing. Mostly it just looked like it had rained. Actually, it reminded me a lot of Oregon. Especially with all the moss. And the whole mountain part. and the wet. and the cold. It was a lot like Oregon.

After a bit more walking on legs that really just wanted a break we reached the part where we could see the entire valley. I had flashbacks to the Alps in Switzerland (especially the view from Mt. Rigi). It was gorgeous. Totally worth the hike.

Photographic evidence that we totally made it to the top!

There was an earlier photo of almost this exact angle. But look at the shadow differences. Also, this is the photograph that really reminds me of the Alps in Switzerland.

Top of the Yosemite Falls!!!

It was awesome. We ate some of the food we brought up with us. We took some pictures. We sat down and just enjoyed the view and the feeling of success. It was really just amazing that we made it. Especially with me in the equation. Yay us!

Coming down was also it's own adventure. By the time we were heading down the last bit of the trail, it became dark. Like, really. It was dark. And guess what? We didn't have a flashlight. Though, I then realized I had my iTouch and it had a flashlight app. And even though it wasn't exactly like a real flashlight, it did it's job wonderfully. Ha! Then we had to figure out where in the world we parked. We knew. But we couldn't figure out which way to go to get there. It was dark. Haha. After a bit more wandering and walking on frost and using the light and the unlocking button on the truck we found it! It lit itself up for us. Instead of keeping to the path, we cut straight through the woods to the truck. We piled in, and off we were. Though we still had a few hours of driving. But goodness, it was exciting.

So remember how it said the trail was 3 miles long? Well, after having been on it for a good while one of my most common topics was how it was totally not 3 miles. I mean, it took us 4 hours to get to the top! And it took 2 to get down. But still. There is no way that was 3 miles long. I googled it the next day and found YosemiteHikes.com. Here is some of what it said about the Upper Yosemite Falls trail:

Distance:  7.6 miles (12 km) round trip from the Lower Yosemite Falls trailhead; 9.4 miles (15 km) including Yosemite Point

Read: not 3 miles

Elevation gain:  2,600 feet (790 meters) to the top of Yosemite Falls; 2,969 feet (890 meters) to Yosemite Point

No wonder I had to stop all the time!! Right?

Hiking Time:  6 - 10 hours. Don't double-book hikes on days when you've got this one on your schedule.

Ha! We did it all in 6 hours! Go us! And we did the Lower Yosemite hike too! Ha!

Why hike to the top of Yosemite Falls?  It's the mother of all stairmaster workouts, but with one-of-a-kind payoffs you won't get in a gym: panoramic views of Yosemite Valley; the only place outside Sentinel Dome where all of Yosemite Falls is visible (though you can't actually see it all at once unless you've got Exorcistesque peripheral vision); the chance to walk through the spray from upper Yosemite Falls; the chance to photograph Yosemite Falls and Half Dome in the same frame; and from Yosemite Point, closeup views of Half Dome that you can only beat by climbing North Dome.

True. I never want a stairmaster. Nor do I ever want to work out on one. Especially if it is anything like that hike. Minus the view. No way. The view is absolutely amazing though.

Crowd Factor: As with any trail that starts in Yosemite Valley, this one has plenty of people on it. It's got a friendlier vibe than the fall-out-of-your-car-and-you're-there attractions, though, because of the strenuousnosity of this hike. Your fellow hikers know they might need your help to carry them back down the trail again.

See. They were all serious hikers. Meanwhile we just decided to go to Yosemite the day before, then actually chose the hike while in Yosemite. Everyone was friendly though. And it's true that by the end of the trail we were helping each other out, though that was also from the lack of any light whatsoever.

Difficulty:  High. It's a long, steep climb from the valley floor to the valley rim, and easily rates an 8 out of 10. Consider this question: would you climb the stairs all the way to the top of the Empire State Building? Well, in the course of your hike to Upper Yosemite Falls, you'll climb the equivalent of just over two Empire State Buildings.

It was not an easy hike. Not at all. My dad goes hiking all the time. I was told I should make a T-shirt with the words "I've gone on a hike my dad's never been on." Because he hasn't. And he could be one of those serious hikers.
P.S. Never take the stairs in the Empire State Building. They have elevators for a reason.

Hazards: There are mosquitoes along this route. There are a few spots, particularly the viewpoints, where the dropoffs are sheer and the guardrails welcome. Don't bring along any friends whose medication has led them to believe they can fly. And don't, under any circumstances, fall into the river above the falls.
This hike is a challenging workout. You won't make it unless you're in decent shape and you've brought enough food and liquid to carry you through a long, hard climb.

Basically, don't be me. Be in shape. Exercise is good for you. Start early. Eat food the whole time. and bring a lot more water so you don't have to ration it.

Totally recommend it though.