For our first day in Yosemite we started at Glacier Point with a fantastic overlook of Half Dome. These initial spots were certainly great for getting stunning shots practically from the car. Next we took a short 2 mile hike to Taft Point looking out over El Capitan and then added a few miles to Sentinel Dome to round out the afternoon. We moved on to Tunnel View with the classic shot down the valley, the stopped to get our first up close view up El Cap.
We drove to our AirBnB in Mariposa, and after leaving Fresno we thought we were leaving our best spot of the trip, but we were surprised yet again (and not only due to the bottle of wine waiting for us when we arrived). We had plenty of space, a great area to lounge inside, and a private patio outside to enjoy the cooler evenings. Our first night in Mariposa we enjoyed 1850 Brewery and I would recommend the River SIPA or the White Wolf for beer, and all the food was fantastic.
After our relatively first lazy day in Yosemite taking in the classic sights, we were up before 4, out the door by 4, and rolling into the park at 5am to get a jump on the Half Dome hike. All the information said this would be a solid 16.5 mile hike and to get started as early as possible. We followed that advice and were on the Mist Trail by 5:51 am. We moved quickly passed Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls and up to the ranger to validate our permit around 9 am. It only took 25 minutes to get to the top of Sub Dome, but it was grueling with the 650+ granite steps.
From there the cables to the top of half dome looked intimidating, and I certainly contemplated not going forward. After a few steps tho, it was easy to get into a rhythm kind of swinging back and forth from one side to the other and not really stopping each step to pull yourself up. We enjoyed basking in the satisfaction on top of Half Dome, proud of the hike but a little underwhelmed with the view from the top. We were back down Sub Dome and to the ranger by 11 am thinking we'd have plenty of day left for something after these 16.5 miles, but Yosemite had something else in mind.
We continued down and dip our feet in the Merced River to cool down before finishing the descent. It turns out we had to head towards Clark Point before descending, which added some additional elevation and put our total mileage a little over 21 for the day. While that was great, it was more than we were expecting in the moment. The only other unpleasant part of the hike is the descent syncs up with a handful of other trails so it becomes very crowded the closer to the parking area you are. We hit Clarks Point just before 2 and were back to the car by 3. We felt great about the way up, but the way down took more out of us than expected. We crushed some Pizza Factory that night while binging the Good Place knowing we'd be in Yosemite tomorrow, but it would be a calm day.
We enjoyed some coffee and a leisurely morning in the valley, getting a few shots from El Cap Meadow and going up to the base of the wall pretending we could fathom Honnold soloing it. Lunch in the village lodge was followed up with a visit to the Ansel Adam's gallery, and getting to overhear some instructions to Junior Rangers where we learned we could have a pint of raspberries a day (assuming we could locate them, which wasn't difficult).
Back in Mariposa we had a few drinks at The Alley and then enjoyed dinner at Local Grapes getting prepared for our last day in Yosemite before heading to Napa. After getting all of the tours booked we did a few easy hikes around the Lower Falls and Mirror Lake, which happened to be completely empty at the time. We bopped around for a few photo ops before posting up at Tunnel View to take in a slow sunset. If you contest the "slow" portion, please feel free to check in with Sara and I'm pretty sure she'll be impressed with my patience.
