Day 10,11,12, & 13: Pacific Coast Highway & Yosemite National Park

Apologies again, bad service up in the mountains.

We were able to get a decent night sleep at the hotel in Bakersfield, CA and made our way to the Pacific Coast Highway/Big Sur the next morning (Wed, May 4th). It took us about 2 hours to get to the highway and when we arrived, we noticed a sign that read "route 1 closed in 23 miles". Joe and I read it out loud as we passed by but brushed it off completely. Who closes roads in perfect weather anyway? Well, we learned roads aren't closed for nice weather but they are closed for landslides. When we arrived at the 23 mile marker, the remainder of the Pacific Coast Highway was closed due to massive landslides. Our plan was to take the coastal highway north to the Big Sur, but instead had to turn around and drive an hour and 30 min. back the way we came. We made the executive decision to skip the Big Sur so that we could arrive in Yosemite at a reasonable hour (One of our rules is to not drive at night). Although we were bummed about skipping Big Sur, we did get some great photos of the Highway, Pacific Ocean, and Seals. Everyone should drive this road one time in their life. It's the windiest road I have ever been on, and considering the altitude/expansive views, I experienced a bit of Vertigo (luckily I wasn't driving). Below are pictures from the highway.

We arrived at Yosemite around 6:30 - 7:00pm and checked into our Cabin. Yosemite National Park is about 30 minutes from our campground so we decided to take a ride to the park with hopes of viewing wildlife in Yosemite Valley. We didn't see anything noteworthy so we turned around to head back to our campsite. By the time we turned around the sun had lowered it's head and day had turned to dark. While leaving the park I must have been trailing a dude from California pretty closely so he pulled over, got behind us, and shined his brights for what he thought would be the remainder of the long road out of the park, but It didn't last long. He had trouble keeping up. The next morning Joe and I went back to the Park and checked out the sites in daylight. This place is unreal. Everywhere you turn there is a waterfall or massive mountain. You can literally close your eyes, point and shoot your camera, and sell your photo to National Geographic. That's an exaggeration, but you get my point. The place is Disney World for photographers, adventurers, and nature lovers, but the park was lacking a "Small World" ride. There should be one of those rides in every town in the world. If you don't know what I'm talking about then google "Small World, Disney" and you will nod your head in agreement.

During the day, Joe and I hiked up to a waterfall called "Vernal" which was a short but wet journey. Below are the pictures from our hike.

Above is a giant Sequoia tree. I promise I am not that lanky. Joe's camera is so good it makes you look thinner.

On the way down the hike we met Carmen. Carmen lives in the town of Yosemite and knows the area very well. She was very helpful in answering questions like "how we could get to the giant Sequoia Trees and where did we park our car?" Trust me, for two people who had no idea where we were, Carmen hooked us up with some great info. It seems to be a reoccurring theme in this blog, but everyone we have met on this trip has been super nice. Earlier in the hike, Carmen (before we all formally introduced ourselves) asked if we would like her to take our picture in front of the waterfall. Joe and I respectfully declined because men don't do those things? I'm not sure why we declined, considering we only have 3 or 4 pictures with ourselves somewhere in the background. I digress, but I immediately thought Carmen must work in the park to be so nice. It turned out she was actually just a great person. Imagine that. It must be an East Coast thing to ignore everyone around you. I'm not sure, but know I am guilty of it. Anyway, I gave Carmen the URL for the blog to follow along which means I can't lie about the altitudes of mountains we didn't climb. Carmen, if you are reading, thanks again for the help and it was great to meet you.

Day 2 in the Park, Joe and I split up and did different things. We both agreed it was time to break away for a little and go on our own adventures. Joe wanted to spend the day taking photos of wildlife/scenery but for some reason I was in the mood to climb North America's tallest waterfall. So that's what we did. I told a Joe to expect me back in the parking lot around 5:30pm and off I went. The Hike was a total of 7.2 miles round trip and was a climb of about 2700 feet. This was not as long as the Grand Canyon hike, but the journey up to the waterfall was more difficult than the hike back up the Canyon. The hike was tough but well worth it. Below are some photos I took of the hike and some of Joe's pictures from today as well. (You shouldn't have a tough time distinguishing iPhone from good camera)

Above are two pictures of Yosemite Falls, the one I conquered yesterday. (There was a group of old ladies who climbed it ahead of me)... Just wanted to ground myself.

This is Half Dome. This is probably the most difficult climb in the park. There are cables that park services installs so people can safely reach the summit. The cables have not yet been implemented for 2011, so climbing Half Dome was not an option.

The above 2 photos I took from the top of Yosemite Falls.

Joe and I are currently on our way to somewhere in Nevada which will be our midway point to Yellowstone. We had planned on visiting Bodie Ghost Town in CA, but many of the roads to get there we closed due to bad conditions/snow so we had to skip it to ensure we made significant progress towards Wyoming. We may be able to see a different ghost town off rt. 80 in Nevada, so we may not need to skip the ghost town element completely.

There is a great deal of snow on the ground as we progress north on rt. 80 and the temperature is dropping. Hopefully we stay clear of inclement weather, otherwise we could lose precious time. I don't want to make any promises, but the next post should be from Yellowstone in a few days, Internet permitting. That is all for now.

Vin