We, all 16 members of the group, met up in the park on Friday night where we moved into our heated (what a blessing) tent cabins. The next day, we strolled out for a nice early morning
After a couple hours meandering up the mountain and much questioning of whether we had been following the right "trail", we finally made it to Sierra Point. Our reward for our journey: a breathtaking view of Liberty Cap, Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls. Wow.
The first of a number of group pics we took.
After scrambling down the "trail", and determining that we took a wrong turn when we started the hike that led to a much more difficult start than necessary, we snapped a triumphant group pic.
Outside the communal lodge, you could see the little patch of snow (practically the only shred of evidence of the "winter"). We spent the nights in that lodge mooching free wi-fi and playing board games.
Half Dome sans cables (though you wouldn't be able to see them in this view regardless). Pretty magnificent no matter what time/season.
Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. A significantly greater amount of water pouring down than the last time I visited.
Feeling slightly more emboldened by our morning adventures, we climbed over some more rocks and got up close and personal with Lower Yosemite Falls (PARKOUR!).
The group and Lower Yosemite Falls.
A pinecone during golden hour. Taking pictures before sundown really does make them prettier.
Prior to this trip, we had heard about this phenomenon of Horsetail Falls at sunset during a weekend or two in February lighting up like a "firefall". The park rangers coned off an area where many, many cars parked and a horde of people gathered to watch this event happen. Unfortunately, due to the dearth of water for the water fall (and some minor cloud cover on the horizon), the view didn't really get any better than you can see above. DISAPPOINTED!!!
After a lot of walking around, it made us all very hungry. Well, it certainly made me hungry enough to order and eat all of this food: beef brisket, mashed potatoes, broccoli and a hearty black bean soup.
And for some evening refreshments, we tried this pouched wine purchased from the Yosemite general store. Named Climber, it comes from the vineyard of the family that owns and produces Clif Bars.
Day two began with a group hike up to Mirror Lake. Since we didn't get much direct sunlight on this particular trail, it felt extremely frigid. It still looked pretty though and once we got to the lake, we could look up at Half Dome.
The group pic in the shadows of Half Dome.
Why do they call it Mirror Lake? See above. Mount Watkins to the center left and Cloud's Rest hiding to the right. It doesn't get much prettier than this.
A bit more scrambling up boulders to setup this complex group pic. Trust me, it took a while...
Worth it? Well, I'll let you be the judge of that. I'm the one at the back right (outstretched arms).
On the way out of Yosemite Valley on the last day, we stopped at Tuolumne Grove. Being at a higher elevation, the signs of winter could be seen more prominently (as evidenced here in this pic at the parking lot). They even have to plow!
The roots of one of the fallen sequoias. You can crawl through the opening there at the center too.
Out you pop at the other end, where we took this group shot.
And last but not least, our final group shot at Tunnel Tree before climbing into the cars and beginning the drive home.
Thanks go out to everyone in the group who made for an enjoyable and exciting trip. Despite having so many people, we all got along pretty well and, as you can tell, did a lot together. Until next time...
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