I sort of imagine national parks to be similar to parks in England, in other words a few picnic benches and a pond. Yosemite isn't really like that. You could spend practically an eternity here exploring the forested valleys. Sadly we only had one full day, so it was important that we make the most of it. Since we are,
as I'm sure you can imagine, hikers by nature - Bear Grylls and I are very much kindred spirits - we elected to follow the reasonably demanding six-mile trail to the top of Vernal Falls.
We scrambled beside the rushing Merced river up a set of slippery stone steps, carved so elegantly (and precariously) into the rock that, after our experiences in Japan, I felt sure we would reach a temple at the top. While the roaring torrent of water cascading over the edge and thundering onto the rocks below is a singularly glorious sight to behold, it also generates a hell of a lot of spray, and we were absolutely soaked by the time we reached the top. The path is called the 'Mist Trail', which is definitely an understatement. Since it was a pretty hot day, however, this was quite a good thing, and we were rewarded for our efforts with some stunning views of the valley stretching out majestically beneath us.
Yosemite is just astonishingly, impossibly beautiful. It really does look like a canvas painting, or like it's been created on a green screen, because it's hard to believe that anything this spectacular could be real. Aristotle said quite a lot of things, including many pithy, university-friendly quotes, one of which I know to be, 'in all things in nature there is something of the marvellous'. Had he been able to visit Yosemite, he would have had to append his statement with, 'and in some things there are bloody loads'.
It's been a national park since 1909 (that makes it the centenary year, for those who are keeping up), and has always been looked after reverentially, by the Indians and the Europeans who displaced them alike. Even in America, a country that evolved from a colonising project based on the concept of 'land's gotta be settled', people used to engaging in a struggle to master nature took one look at Yosemite and said, 'hang on a minute lads, we might want to protect this'. I simply can't begin to understand the geological processes involved in creating a valley like this. It certainly makes you feel insignificant, in a good way.
Unlike in the Redwoods, this trail was reasonably busy, so we didn't feel the need to pollute the
air with our singing, even though there are both bears and mountain lions about (didn't see any - it's almost disappointing). Along with other equally intrepid hikers, we had to share the path with a number of national park workers whose job description didn't appear to extend much beyond 'smash up rocks for a living'. Still, there are worse places to do that job I guess.
Afterwards we intended to drive to Glacier Point, the clifftop with supposedly the most striking views of the valley, and indeed got much of the way there, but we were thwarted by the sudden onset of an enormous
thunderstorm; we didn't think it was a particularly good idea to drive to the highest point for many miles when there's lightning knocking about. Hopefully we might get a chance to go back tomorrow on our way out.
It's going to be a wrench to leave Yosemite, but it's time to head for the desert. Las Vegas is the next significant port-of-call, with an overnight stop somewhere on the way. Should be a cracker.
- Adam
No comments:
Post a Comment