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Mandi got us a permit for Yosemite this year. I have been coming to Yosemite for many, many years and in every season. It is mid-May, and they had the biggest snowstorm of the year only two weekends ago. I have never seen the waterfalls this big. We have two and half days, from Friday through Sunday and we want to maximize our time and do as much as we can. So, on Friday, we drive straight into the park via HWY 120, destination Hetch Hetchy. We do a 7-mile hike to the Wapama falls. After, we drive to the Valley and have dinner at the historic Ahwanee hotel. On Saturday, first thing is driving up to Glacier Point and from there, down to the Valley floor, where we park at the Yosemite Valley Lodge. From here, we spend the day exploring the Valley. On Sunday, we drive from our hotel in Yosemite West, to Wawona followed by a hike to the Mariposa Grove to see the big Redwood trees, before returning home. A perfect weekend trip chasing waterfalls in Yosemite.

Hetch Hetchy

We leave early Friday and arrive at the entrance at Hetch Hetchy just before noon. Soon after we pass the backpackers camp, we manage to find a parking spot right next to the bridge. We decide to hide the bag of snacks under the car, in case the bears smell them. If so, we prefer to make it easy for them, rather than have them break open the car. We cross the bridge towards the tunnel that leads to the trailhead, and we marvel at the beauty of the reservoir and the amount of water streaming down on the other side of the dam.  It is the main water source for most of us in the Bay Area. I have done this hike twice on backpacking trips to the Rancheria Falls in 2000 and 2020. Normally the trail goes along the waterfalls. Not this time.

Crossing the Tueeulala Falls

The first part of the trail is pleasant, and we see tons of beautiful butterflies. However, when we get closer to the Wapama falls, we realize that the Tueeulala falls, have taken over part of the trail. Water is streaming at a fairly high speed across the trail. We look at each other. Do we and should we really do this? We watch as a father with a young boy on his shoulder crosses from the other side towards us. When he reaches us, he tells us that it is not as bad as it looks. The rocks underneath are flat and not too slippery. We should just carefully negotiate our way to the other side. As we really want to see the Wapama falls, we decide to go for it. We stay close to the hill side of the trail, but at one point, the water really pulls us towards the edge. Somehow, we make it to the other side without falling.

Wapama falls

We continue our hike and soon we reach the footbridges that go along and across the Wapama falls. Previous two times, the bridges were high over the water and the falls would have turned to gentle streams underneath the bridges. We would take of our shoes and wade in them, and the kids (and some adults) would swim. Not today. The water is gushing all over the trail and by the time we cross all three bridges, we are soaked. It is exhilarating though, and once on the other side, the sun warms us quickly. We have to do this again of course, but not until after we have a picnic lunch on the side of the trail, taking in the spectacular views of this force of nature. 7 miles and 3 1/2 hours later, we are back at the car, where we are glad to see that the bears did not touch our snacks.

Dinner at the historic Ahwahnee hotel

We stop at the Evergreen lodge. After this adventure, we deserve a drink. I have a refreshing local white beer and Mandi has a cocktail. We change from our hiking clothes in our summer dresses. We are having dinner in the dining room of the Ahwahnee hotel, and they have a dress code. It is a pleasant drive into the valley, with hardly any traffic. After all these years, I have still not been at the Ahwahnee hotel, and I am excited. The hotel is beautiful with high ceilings and floor to ceiling windows with views of Valley from every side. Although we are impressed with the views, we are not with the food. The kitchen is being remodeled, so instead of the al-la carte menu, there is a buffet. The food is mediocre and on top of that, most dishes have lemon, so there are limited options for me.

Night in the Valley

After a stop at the gift shop, it is time to go find our hotel. It is a beautiful clear night with a soft light from a half-moon. The stars are coming out. We pass El Capitan, where see several little lights on its face. These are from climbers, either climbing at night or sleeping in their portaledge, ready to climb again first thing in the morning. It is fun to look at, not on our list of things to do. Watching the valley from Tunnel viewpoint is absolutely magical. But now we face the challenge of trying to find our hotel. By now it is pitch dark, we have no cell service, and we need to avoid the multiple potholes in the road. After some wrong turns, we finally arrive at Yosemite West, Scenic Wonders, ready for a well-deserved shower.

All the Falls in a day

Glacier Point
We get up early the next morning. We are ready for chasing more waterfalls today. As our hotel is on the road to Glacier Point, we decide to go there first. Also, because we want to beat the crowds. It is a beautiful drive up. The higher we get, the more snow we see. There are people, but it is not yet overcrowded. We take in the stunning views of the whole valley: Half Dome, North Dome, one of my favorite hikes, and Clouds Rest, one I still have to do. The mountains behind Clouds Rest still have snow on the top. We see the Vernal and Nevada falls to the right and at the far left the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, a gigantic mass of water, crashing down. Far below, the Ahwahnee Hotel is a little brown speck in the green valley below. There is no view like this.
Yosemite Falls

We park at the Yosemite Lodge parking lot. As we are still early enough, we find parking, but it is already filling up. You definitely need to be early on weekend days, or parking will be hard. We walk the short walk to the Lower Yosemite falls. They looked already big from Glacier Point, but standing at the bottom, you realize how big and powerful they really are. We see some little dots on top, people who were brave enough to hike to the top. It is a brutal hike I have done once and have no intention of doing again.

Mirror Lake

Next stop is Mirror Lake. However, first we make a stop at the market shop in Yosemite Lodge. We are both hungry, so we buy some sandwiches and snacks. From the Lodge, we follow the trail along the Merced River, bigger than I have ever seen it, until we find a bridge where we can cross. At the other side we find a nice picnic area. Refueled, we decide to walk towards Curry Village to catch a bus to the trailhead of Mirror Lake. Unfortunately, when boarding the bus, the driver tells us the road towards the trailhead is closed and the closest stop is at the Ahwahnee Hotel. Ironically it would have been quicker if we would have walked there from the Yosemite Falls instead of our several mile detour via Curry Village. We reach Mirror Lake. What is normally a calm lake, with beautiful reflections, is today a wild streaming river. Not much of a mirror to be seen, although I manage to snap one good picture.

Bridal Veil Falls
The last waterfall for today is Bridal Veil Falls. We catch the bus again at Curry Village. There is no stop for Bridal Veil and the bus driver tells us to get off at Cathedral Beach. There are no signs, and we don’t see a trailhead, so we start walking along the road. The road gets narrower and there is heavy traffic. We stop and reconsider. We see something that resembles a path, that seems to go into the direction of the falls, so we decide to take that instead. Still no signs. At a T-junction, we see other hikers and they confirm the trail will lead to the falls. After another 30 minutes, we reach the falls. They are magnificent and just when we are there, the sun comes back from behind the clouds for a beautiful picture. Timing is everything.
Chasing Dogwood

While my main goal was to chase waterfalls, Mandi had one more: chasing Dogwood trees. I had never heard of them until Mandi pointed them out. This was the beginning of the blooming season and once Mandi had pointed them out, I saw them everywhere. Their delicate white flowers blending in with their surroundings. You really had to know them and look for them.

Yosemite West
On Sunday morning we drive to Wawona and stop first at the historic Wawona Hotel, a National Historic Landmark and one of the oldest mountain resort hotels in California. The main building is currently under construction, but we can still go inside. We imagine how it looked in the late 1800, when it was just built. We continue to Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. The plan is for a short hike, but somehow, we end up hiking all the way to the grove. And it is worth it. The giant redwoods are majestic. Leaving the park, we see a long line of cars, waiting to get in. Starting at the north, staying inside the park and leaving from the South definitely made sure we avoided the long lines getting into the park.

Tips and tricks

We learned this weekend that Yosemite has bad maps and signage. Some of the maps still have the names from before they changed back to the original names. e.g. Half Dome village versus Curry Village. The signage on the trail is bad, nonexistent and inconsistent. If you want to hike, definitely get a trail map instead of the maps the park hands out. We tried to maximize our time and entered on the entrance to Hedge Hetchy. Then we entered the park to go to the Valley floor in the evening, when there is not much traffic going into the park. We had a hotel inside the park (although its description was confusing and mentioned in one line that it was located inside the park and in the next line “just 10 miles outside the park”), so we avoided lines the next morning. Go to the Valley floor early and park for the day and use their free busses to get around.
Photo credit: Mandi Mena, Mariel van Tatenhove

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