Springtime in Yosemite

If you recall, or if you don't then take a lookhttp://aks-adventures.blogspot.com/2009/01/yosemite.html. Last fall we took a trip up to Yosemite! We really wanted to see it with all of the waterfalls in full flow, so this past spring we hit it up again. Just amazing.

One of our favorite spots in the park is Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, it doesn't get the notoriety of Yosemite Valley, which makes it a bit more peaceful with less people. When you get up to the dam you can see the waterfalls on the other side of the reservoir, so this time we decided that a hike was in order. I got packed around by mom and dad, so I really didn't mind a couple mile hike, I even took a couple of naps. There was a great progression of waterfalls along the trail, from the 'small' stream coming down the mountain, to the larger flow flooding the trail, which is where mom almost stepped on a water snake twice. And finally to the big daddy that we saw from the other side of the reservoir. The park had kindly built these great bridges, so you could get right up and over the falls, but that wasn't good enough for us. SO, we scaled down one and had a nice little picnic under the bridge. It was hard to hear anything from the roar of the water, but it was fun putting my feet in, even though it was freezing. The waterfall provided a great cool down after a nice hike. My springtime Yosemite tip: Bring an umbrella, even if there is no rain in the forecast, 1st it keeps you in the shade on the long, sunny hikes, and 2nd it provides a great breaker from all the waterfall spray. (Don't worry you can still get wet, but it just helps control the degree to which you get wet, light spray or soaked through).

The most adventurous part of the hike came on the hike back. Mom was walking in front and Dad was carrying me, when all the sudden mom stopped, stepped back and stammered her words until she could get our "It's a bear." No more then 10 yards in front of us, hiding behind a rock was quite a large brown bear. Our noise spooked him a bit, so he took off, but he took off up the trail, the direction we needed to go. We gave him a bit of a head start and then slowly continued along the trail, all the while Mom trying to make as much noise as possible. Mom & Dad couldn't remember what you're suppose to do around a bear (yes we know make noise, and DON'T run away), but was it make eye contact, or don't make eye contact, walk away fast, slow, with our backs turned or stare at it. But at least this conversation generated a good amount of noise. About a 100 yards up right in the middle of the trail, we found a large pile of bear dropping, what appeared (from our very untrained eyes) to be quite fresh. Needless to say that didn't put our minds at ease. Just a bit further up the trail as we approached a pond boarding the trail, we heard a splash and saw the tail end of that very same bear jump out of the pond and climb onto the rocks behind it. Then he just stared at us as we cautiously continued on the trail. We were glad to get in front of him, but the staring was a little unnerving. Of course Dad took the opportunity to get a good picture of him. Then he ever so slowly started traversing the rocks heading toward us. That was enough for us, so we calming yet quickly (not running) continued on the trail. By the time we got back to the car we were all exhausted, but ecstatic about the amazing hike, and the very curious bear. I wasn't scared of that bear one bit, probably because I slept through the whole encounter.

The next day we hit up Yosemite Valley and checked out some of the great waterfall. We couldn't help but check out some of the falls on the way into the Valley. After yesterdays adventure we couldn't just look over the bridge but had to climb down it. Bridalveil falls was pounding, it was hard to get a picture without getting soaked. Once again, umbrellas rule. People gave us weird looks on the way up, but wished they'd had one on the way back down. We also saw Yosemite Falls. It is such an amazing difference between fall and spring.

This time we took the southern route (Hwy 41) out of the Valley towards Fresno. There was a group of deer grazing in a pasture on our way out of the park. Perfect way to end the day. (Not to mention the comfy hotel bed and yummy food down the road in Oakhurst.