Day 7

Today saw us get another early start – the alarm was set for before 7am – this is a holiday, right? This was our big hiking day :) I was actually really excited about it and ended up waking before the alarm.

We decided what to wear, got all our gadgets and cameras sorted, packed our bag and went to the food court to eat our included breakfast, which was what you’d expect from something called a ‘food court’.

Food court

While we were there we picked up sandwiches and water for the hike. On the way out we chatted to a nice Aussie guy called Mike who had already been in the park for three weeks climbing various rocks. Today was his day off (his fingers were sore) so he decided to get a one way bus so that he and his friend could hike the 16 miles back in!

Our hike was to be slightly less strenuous. A bus to Glacier point (7,800ft) and then a walk all the way back down to the valley floor (4,000ft) via the Panorama trail.

We got on our bus at 8.30am and were pleasantly surprised to find that our driver Bill was going to be our guide for the next 90 minutes and point things out and tell stories as he drove. He had a dry sense of humour and we found him very funny. I was just expecting a bus trip.

The views on the drive up were lovely, but nothing could quite prepare us for the view when we reached Glacier Point. There in front of us in the mid morning light was half dome. Amazing. And almost 4,000ft below us was the valley floor where we’d just been a few hours earlier. Astonishing.

We took lots of pictures, explored the various lookout points and then ate an ice cream with the most glorious view in front of us

Nice view with our ice cream

With freshly stocked supplies in our bags (gummy bears, trail mix and more water) we started on the trail down. The views just got better and better as we walked along it (I think I can guess why they called it the Panorama Trail now…)

Panoramic views

Trails are easy when you're going down

At one point we stopped to have a drink and then from out of the bushes on the trail behind us a deer jumped out! It tried to scamper away up the hill but couldn’t quite make it. Unsure of what to do it started wandering towards us before deciding to simply retreat and jumped back down the hill.

Deer

Further along the trail we met a couple called Theresa and Paul. They were hiking 232 miles in 17 days and had just set off from Glacier Point. Crikey!

There was quite a bit of wildlife around. Further down the trail a couple of lizards ran across the path in front of us. And there were squirrels almost everywhere.

Lizard trying to blend in

Squirrel!

We got a nice up close view of Illilouette Falls before the trail made us walk back up hill (grrr! Stupid switchbacks). As we were walking, Laura spotted a rattlesnake in the vegetation next to the path. I quickly started taking pictures and video. He came out of the brush and snaked across the path. When it was safe to walk by, I did so quickly and I was wise to do so as he hissed and shook his tail at me. Eeek!

More amazing views

Rattlesnake!

Around the corner we bumped into Theresa ad Paul again and told them about the snake and showed them the video. They were amazed as they’d been hiking for years and had never seen one on a trail. We’ve been very lucky on our two days in the park.

It was really hot by now, so we found ourselves a nice shady spot and had a sandwich with yet another incredible view in front of us.

After lunch the trail started going back downhill again (hurrah!) and soon we reached Nevada Falls. The view from the edge was terrifying (even with the railing) so we only glanced over – 600ft is a long way to fall.

Top of Nevada Falls

A little way back from the fall there was a gentle pool of water and we dipped our feet in and cooled off. After eating some of our trail mix we headed off down the trail and descended really quickly in a series of switchbacks that soon had us at the base of the falls.

Lovely view of the falls as we walked down the switchbacks

By this point we were running low on water and all the pools and waterfalls were like torture! Plus, knowing there was a swimming pool waiting for me back at the lodge made my mind crazy.

Nevada Falls from the trail as we headed towards Vernal Falls

Note the people at the top. We were stood there 30 minutes earlier.

Next we saw Vernal Falls, which was spectacular. The booming noise of the water hitting the rock was so loud we could actually hear it from Glacier Point. The waterfall must be even more spectacular when the snow melt puts it in full flow. In summer it's merely a trickle

Note the people on the rock at the bottom!

The descent from here was very steep and knowing we were so close to the end of the trail we finished our water. But lo and behold, about 3 minutes later we rounded a corner to find a tap and a drinking fountain! Wooohoo! Thirst = quenched.

The last bit of the trail was very busy and paved and we were glad when we got to the end and there was a shuttle bus waiting for us to get on. 20 minutes later, tired and weary we made it back to our room. I got my swimming costume on and cooled off in the pool for 15 minutes whilst Laura had a nap.

After a shower and a change of clothes we had dinner and returned back to our room to write the blog. What an incredible day.