in Yosemite

June 2009- Middle of Nowhere. Mountains. Brown Bears. Cascading Waterfalls. Roughing it.

Yosemite, or as an old co-worker unknowingly used to call it "Yo-sem-mite," is pretty cool. Nestled in a huge never-ending forest, it instantly makes you feel like a true mountain man (or woman). One general store, no restaurants, no street lights, and no fences (to protect you from REAL bears), it's a true wilderness experience.


Brad & I decided to stop in Yosemite on our way home from the wedding in Lake Tahoe, we also decided to camp last minute IN OUR CAR. Yes, while everyone had their little tents, cooking equipment, flashlights & mess kits, we were the yuppies sleeping in the back of our Ford Explorer. Who needs ghost stories by a campfire, when instead you can rig a DVD player in the back trunk of your car to play "The Godfather," (never leave home without it).


Not only did we not rough it outside, but we were the most ill-equipped campers you've ever seen. The only "flashlight" we had was actually a little book light/battery operated fan, truly pathetic. The only food we had was a leftover baby slice of cold pizza, that we rationed bite by bite. Our blankets? Not blankets at all, instead they were beach towels that were not big enough to share AND if a bear really did decided to mess with us, there was no knife to be had, other than a plastic knife we took from a rest stop earlier that morning. But like usual we had a great time & made the best of it.
Some of our highlights & recommendations include:

Wawona Campground
Pros: They take reservations, so you don't have to worry about rushing for first come first serve. It has the usual firepit, picnic table & has a nice creek throughout. Cons: The bathroom (if you can even call it that) is GROSS, it's basically an outhouse, I held my breath & tried my best to keep my visits to an absolute minimum. Then again for $20/night I guess I can't expect too much! Also, I felt like the surrounding sites were too close to us, but if you go during a peak month, I think you'll run into that at every campground.
Note: There's an entrance fee to Yosemite Park of $20 per car.
Bear Spotting
Can you see the baby brown bear? The best trick we learned when "bear spotting" is to actually not look for a bear at all, instead just look for the huge crowd of people on the side of the road taking pictures of the bear!
Half Dome
No we did not climb it, but we did go to a lookout point & I guess it's cool, as far as giant rocks are considered. One interesting thing I did learn is that it's the inspiration for the North Face logo, who knew?
Hint: It's the half round rock behind us... Doesn't it look familiar?


Upper Yosemite Falls
The toughest hike of my life. It's North America's tallest waterfall, and the 7th tallest in the world, it's 7.2 miles and 2,700 feet of pure StairMaster intensity. In fact, I just read it's the equivalent of climbing TWO Empire State Buildings, ok, seriously my calves are starting to cry in agony all over again just thinking about it. Let me preface my tale by saying, Brad & I had NO CLUE, what we were getting ourselves into. With only 2 water bottles & a flimsy backpack we bought last minute at the ONLY store in town, we thought we'd just do an "easy day-hike." After looking at the pretty pictures in the book, I haphazardly picked the Upper Falls Trail. 6 hours & several tears later, I was regretting my decision. But, truth be told, when we FINALLY reached the top of the falls, the view was unlike anything I've ever experienced. I know I look happy in these pictures...but I'm faking it.


Here's the BEAST! Here's us, (such amateurs) smiling with NO CLUE about what we were about to embark upon...
Here's us smiling because we think we're half way there...needless to say we weren't even close!
And for those of you who don't ever plan on trying to climb this thing (smart choice), here's a pic from the top of the falls...


Brad & I survived "Yos-sem-mite," I honestly feel like I deserve a t-shirt with the same sentiments! One day I'll be happy to send Brad & our future children back there again, & if anyone needs me, please tell them to check the Four Seasons!