Yosemite Day 2 – Hiking & More pictures from Vernal Falls Hike (Merged)

Pam Trainor

July 11, 2022

Post 1: Yosemite Day 2 – Hiking

Day 2 was a rough one (hence the late post). Lots of hiking… not necessarily the distance but the elevation. The smoke from the Washburn fire was evident in the morning and ash was falling, reminding us that it’s not far away. As of Saturday night, there were taking steps to hopefully protect the giant sequoias in Mariposa Grove and evacuated more of the area.

We hiked to Lower Falls first in late morning. It was just under 2 miles round trip and we got great views of the Lower Yosemite Falls.

After lunch we tackled the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls. Joe failed to mention to Pam that this was considered a “strenuous” hike. 400 feet of elevation in 1 mile and Pam stopped at the falls footbridge due to a bad headache… most likely not enough water/slight dehydration and possibly altitude. The rest of the crew continued on. It was only another 3/4 mile to to the top, but that was another 600 feet of elevation including more than 600 steps! The teenage boys continued when daughter thought she couldn’t go any further and stopped with Joe. Once she saw the boys reach the top, she wanted to get there too! Joe said it was amazing to see her determination to get through it, pep talking herself all the way. They all had stories for mom when they got back to the bridge.

So Pam still not feeling well had to walk a steep mile downhill to get off the trail and take a bus back to the car. None of that sat well along with the winding roads out of Yosemite… she got sick on the side of the road. Not the best memory of the trip so far… but we keep rolling on 🤷🏻‍♀️. Four of us had a great day anyway. BTW – a shower, ibuprofen and sleep and Pam was good to go!

Lower Falls Hike