On Saturday morning my brother Jason & I drove the 3+ hours from his home to
Yosemite National Park to spend a weekend climbing and hiking through the peaks of the Sierra Nevada. On the way to our lodging we made a quick stop to check out Bridalveil Fall, one of the smaller falls we would see today. Very cool. It was a cloudy day, but once we checked in (a few hours early - score!), we headed out to the trail head parking, and set off on our first climb. After about an hour of ascending a reasonably inclined (and oddly, paved) trail, and then a steep staircase carved into the mountainside, we reached Vernal Fall (elevation 5044 feet). The sky had cleared, but the mist from the waterfall cast a greyish (yet beautiful) curtain over everything in its vicinity. And due to the steady spray I had to swap out my jacket for my brother's spare raincoat! We took a few photos and then trudged up another chunk of the steep steps, but after checking the time, we decided to turn around about 150 feet shy of the top of Nevada Fall, rather than attempt the extremely dangerous descent in the dark. What amazing scenery, fresh air, vistas and scents unlike those found in New England's forests. And while it was beautiful, and an extremely fun day, I don't feel very comfortable with so many millions of tons of rock looming overhead on all sides. The total distance we traveled was about 4¾ miles, and we went nearly 1,850 feet vertically. It was a visual feast, a fantastic workout, and most definitely (and importantly), time well-spent with my youngest brother.
Once we were back at the tent cabin (wooden platform, canvas shelter with a heater, three cots, one outlet and one overhead light) there wasn't much else to do but find a place to hang out for awhile. We headed over to the
Mountain Room Lounge, and finding the inside packed with Giants fans watching their team lose Game 3 of the World Series, we decided to hang out at one of the outside tables 'til the place cleared out a bit. Jason had a serviceable
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and per usual, I decided to try a local beer. I opted for the
Mammoth Brewing Company's Epic IPA. What a beer! Extremely fragrant, nice and hoppy, and it went down smooth. Over the course of the evening I enjoyed four more of this delicious brew, but for my second beer I decided to try Mammoth's Double Nut Brown. It had a definite chocolate taste to it, and even a coffee-ish tang.
It was very good, though not quite as palatable as Wachusett's Nut Brown Ale. I am glad I got the chance to try it, but I returned to the IPA on the next round. We had dinner once we got a table inside, and hung out for a few hours watching random sports on one of the tvs, listening to the local band that set up right after the game ended, and enjoyed the friendly service of Maria, our
gorgeous waitress from Belarus. I was so smitten I didn't find out 'til my bro and I got back to the cabin that she had a wedding ring on (haha). Picture a tall blue-eyed Jessica Biel type, with a superhot accent and winning smile, and you will have some idea of how nice that part of the evening was. What a perfect day.
On Saturday morning my brother Jason & I drove the 3+ hours from his home to Yosemite National Park to spend a weekend climbing and hiking through the peaks of the Sierra Nevada. On the way to our lodging we made a quick stop to check out Bridalveil Fall, one of the smaller falls we would see today. Very cool. It was a cloudy day, but once we checked in (a few hours early - score!), we headed out to the trail head parking, and set off on our first climb. After about an hour of ascending a reasonably inclined (and oddly, paved) trail, and then a steep staircase carved into the mountainside, we reached Vernal Fall (elevation 5044 feet). The sky had cleared, but the mist from the waterfall cast a greyish (yet beautiful) curtain over everything in its vicinity. And due to the steady spray I had to swap out my jacket for my brother's spare raincoat! We took a few photos and then trudged up another chunk of the steep steps, but after checking the time, we decided to turn around about 150 feet shy of the top of Nevada Fall, rather than attempt the extremely dangerous descent in the dark. What amazing scenery, fresh air, vistas and scents unlike those found in New England's forests. And while it was beautiful, and an extremely fun day, I don't feel very comfortable with so many millions of tons of rock looming overhead on all sides. The total distance we traveled was about 4¾ miles, and we went nearly 1,850 feet vertically. It was a visual feast, a fantastic workout, and most definitely (and importantly), time well-spent with my youngest brother.
Once we were back at the tent cabin (wooden platform, canvas shelter with a heater, three cots, one outlet and one overhead light) there wasn't much else to do but find a place to hang out for awhile. We headed over to the Mountain Room Lounge, and finding the inside packed with Giants fans watching their team lose Game 3 of the World Series, we decided to hang out at one of the outside tables 'til the place cleared out a bit. Jason had a serviceable Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and per usual, I decided to try a local beer. I opted for the Mammoth Brewing Company's Epic IPA. What a beer! Extremely fragrant, nice and hoppy, and it went down smooth. Over the course of the evening I enjoyed four more of this delicious brew, but for my second beer I decided to try Mammoth's Double Nut Brown. It had a definite chocolate taste to it, and even a coffee-ish tang. 
It was very good, though not quite as palatable as Wachusett's Nut Brown Ale. I am glad I got the chance to try it, but I returned to the IPA on the next round. We had dinner once we got a table inside, and hung out for a few hours watching random sports on one of the tvs, listening to the local band that set up right after the game ended, and enjoyed the friendly service of Maria, our gorgeous waitress from Belarus. I was so smitten I didn't find out 'til my bro and I got back to the cabin that she had a wedding ring on (haha). Picture a tall blue-eyed Jessica Biel type, with a superhot accent and winning smile, and you will have some idea of how nice that part of the evening was. What a perfect day.
Sounds like a great day! I think it'd be cool if you posted the elevations of the peaks you've climbed.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, was happy to see the Giants win.