08-29-2017, 11:11 AM
The trail out is all downhill, past Vernal & Nevada falls. Stacy loathes it. She hates coming back. It's hard for backpackers because it's a high use tourist trail, and the tourists are lame and have terrible trail etiquette. You can smell them - their soap, perfume & cologne - so clean and unnatural. I'm sure they can smell us as we hadn't bathed in days. They struggle to climb with their daypacks and cameras. We struggle to descend with our backpacks and beaten bodies. When we got to the top of the falls, we separated because we thought Stacy was going to take the less traveled John Muir trail instead of the Mist trail. She didn't. She went to look at the view and then came the same way after.
The Mist trail was slippery, but stunning. With so much water, I've never seen so many rainbows. The tourists weren't too obnoxious, but Paul the squirrel and his accomplices were out in gangs at the top of the falls, much to Akio's dismay. I dropped a bag of nuts and nearly had my ankles gang raped by squirrels. We got hit with this ecstatic blast of mist on the way down, and Akio's moan of joy was amusing. A helpful ranger told us that the water fountain at the next bridge was out, which was helpful and allowed me to ration my remaining water.
When we got down to the shuttle, as I was stacking everyone's backpacks on the bus, everyone backed away in horror. "There's a huge spider on your back" they said. "please help me" I replied. A courageous Samaritan knocked off and stomped on it. "How big was it?" I asked. Eyes widened. "Big." It was a Raiders of the Lost Ark moment.
We got to Yosemite Village and had a fantastic lunch. The food there is great now, not that expensive considering. I bought the kids all commemorative Half Dome pins. They loved them. We caught YART back to Crane Flats and my car was in perfect shape where I left it. As we drove out, we saw another wildfire. We ate at Chipotle that night (the kids love that place).
Now I long for another drink of that Yosemite high country water. Best water in the world.
The Mist trail was slippery, but stunning. With so much water, I've never seen so many rainbows. The tourists weren't too obnoxious, but Paul the squirrel and his accomplices were out in gangs at the top of the falls, much to Akio's dismay. I dropped a bag of nuts and nearly had my ankles gang raped by squirrels. We got hit with this ecstatic blast of mist on the way down, and Akio's moan of joy was amusing. A helpful ranger told us that the water fountain at the next bridge was out, which was helpful and allowed me to ration my remaining water.
When we got down to the shuttle, as I was stacking everyone's backpacks on the bus, everyone backed away in horror. "There's a huge spider on your back" they said. "please help me" I replied. A courageous Samaritan knocked off and stomped on it. "How big was it?" I asked. Eyes widened. "Big." It was a Raiders of the Lost Ark moment.
We got to Yosemite Village and had a fantastic lunch. The food there is great now, not that expensive considering. I bought the kids all commemorative Half Dome pins. They loved them. We caught YART back to Crane Flats and my car was in perfect shape where I left it. As we drove out, we saw another wildfire. We ate at Chipotle that night (the kids love that place).
Now I long for another drink of that Yosemite high country water. Best water in the world.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse