Yosemite National Park 4K (2020): El Capitan, Little Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, The Mist Trail, + скачать в хорошем качестве

Yosemite National Park 4K (2020): El Capitan, Little Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, The Mist Trail, +

This was noBear's 2020 triple-shot National Park trip to Sequoia, Kings Canyon, & Yosemite. Originally we were only supposed to have a 1 & 1/2 days in Yosemite, as the bulk of this trip was to complete The Rae Lakes Loop in Kings Canyon. However, a bout of altitude sickness put the kabash halfway through the RLL, & we were forced to descend quickly & turn back. That trip video is on the channel, if you're interested. It's actually a really great video & adventure, despite the failed attempt. However, as with the majority of noBear's luck, this afforded us a much more fulfilling & varied adventure, as we were able to spend 3 full days in Yosemite. AND we DID end up scoring highly sought after permits for The Half Dome Cables, in case (on the off chance) we might have more time in Yosemite. The Half Dome Cables hike is truly a bucket list backpacker's dream! It also happens to be one of the top 3 most dangerous day hikes in the US, along with Canyonlands' 'The Maze' & Zion's "Angel's Landing". Ironically, Buldo scored permits for all THREE of those hikes in 2020!! Unfortunately, his Canyonlands & Zion trips were cancelled due to Covid. His Canyonlands trip was completely planned, outfitted for, routed, & paid for... TWICE! & it was COVID-Cancelled. Twice. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. Always the over-planner, Buldo DID manage to get 4 permits for The Cables in Yosemite for this week, on the off chance that something happened in Kings Canyon that forced the group to leave for Yosemite early. Lo, & behold... that's exactly what happened! To Buldo's credit, his uber-planning has afforded the group multiple back-up plans that have ultimately turned out to be needed. A few of those alternate permits have actually saved a few trips in noBear's young history. Nabbing Half Dome Cable permits is super hard. It's the most sought after permit in The Park. The fact that he got them was awesome, & the fact that we could now use them was a welcome surprise. We weren't able to do much backcountry backpacking in Yosemite, however, as we didn't have permits for anything else in The Park... nor were we prepared for such. We were able to hit some of the more majestic sites in The Park, though (specifically, the majority of Little Yosemite Valley). We were able to spend a good deal of time in El Capitan Meadow, appreciating "The Chief" from the Valley floor. We also day hiked Mirror Lake, at the base of Half Dome. & we spent the late afternoon of Day #1 soaking in the swimming hole near Curry Village. Day #2 was the day we had our permits for Half Dome. At this point in the trip, we'd hiked over 40 miles in 5 days... & a lot of those miles were difficult, high elevation miles in the High Sierra on the RLL. Whether we did The Cables was going to be a game time decision. We were definitely hiking The Mist Trail, & part of The John Muir Trail, so we'd be able to make that decision on the fly (as the Half Dome Cable hike meets at the junction of the other two). The reason the Half Dome cables is so dangerous, & the reason the majority of people who've died on that trail have perished, is due to slick rock. If you're unlucky enough to get caught on that trail during a rainstorm, you could be in very big trouble. The trail is dangerous enough as it is. If you've ever seen pictures of it, you know that it's essentially a vertical climb up Half Dome's sub-dome & it's actual dome. There are steel cables that you can use to pull yourself up. But the drop on both sides will see you falling thousands of feet to your certain death. If it rains, & that rock gets slick... it's going to be a very scary afternoon. We hiked up The Mist Trail, which was absolutely incredible! Instantly one of noBears' all-time favorites. When we got up to the top of Vernal Falls, a storm started to roll in. Our decision was made for us. So instead of taking a left up to Half Dome, we continued right onto the JMT. It was an amazing hike out, & we considered ourselves extremely lucky. That storm came in FAST. Had we left earlier that day, we may have decided to make that left. There was little to no warning with that storm. In fact, we didn't even see it. We saw lightning, & almost immediately thereafter... thunder. By the time we saw the storm, it was already on us. Who knows what would've happened if we were on Half Dome at the time. Regardless, it was an amazing day. We capped it off with a swim in The Merced, at Sentinel Beach. Then we went back to our hotel for the night (The Yosemite View, right outside of The Park entrance). We cannot recommend this hotel more! It was a luxury for us, & we were super glad we were able to book it on such short notice. Anyway, as always, thanks for joining us on our adventure. Yosemite is magical, & we can't wait to go back to explore its vast backcountry. If you enjoyed coming along for the ride, please consider "liking" & "subscribing". Mad Love for Ya Mutha, noBear