Yosemite Road Trip! (Part 2)

Continued from Yosemite Road Trip! (Part 1)

Tip #2: Pack all food, toiletries, and water in a separate bag from your clothes.

Since we didn't follow Tip #2, we were stuck at the car until 1 am sorting our toiletries. Funny the bear in the movie looked like it was tearing apart our car...as soon as we turned to sleepily wobble to our tent, a huge bear saunters across the parking lot 100 feet in front of us. Not a welcome site. After waiting out the bear sighting from the front seat of our fortress, er, Chevy Aveo, we decide to make a break for our bunker, er, canvas tent.

On our second attempt to just get some sleep after our long drive, we were welcomed into the campground by shouts of "BEAR!" coming from all over. Not in the mood. At all. After a few tears, cussing, and thoughts of leaving right then and there, we survived the first freezing cold night.

Tip #3: Sleeping bags don't keep the cold out if they aren't zipped up/zipped together. Especially when it's 35 degrees.

So, by now you've realized we're not the most experienced campers. Funny that I always ask for camping gear for gifts. Maybe it makes me feel more outdoorsy.

After a nice long rest (until 11am) the second day was a zillion times better than the first waking up under the eye of half dome and brisk autumn day. Instead of braving the tourists in the Valley, we drove one hour south to Mariposa Grove to see the Sequoia forest. On the way we stopped to see Bridalveil Falls, one of the few waterfalls still flowing in October. The short hike was worth the time to see a light mist spraying over the precipice above.

We have tall redwoods in the Bay Area, but these trees were just beasts. We passed on the $16 tram ride and decided to take a short hike up to see the sites. It was a busy trail, but much less busy than the bustle of activity in Yosemite Valley. And the car trip there and back was equally breathtaking.

We decided to drive to Glacier Point to see Yosemite Valley from above. The short half-hour drive leads to a point directly above the visitor's center in the Valley below; it was as if we were in an airplane looking out over the mountains, and it was such a clear day. The Sierras just went on and on in every direction. This short drive was definitely the highlight of our trip.

We grabbed dinner back at Curry Village with the rest of civilization. The lounge/lodge/restaurant had all of the comforts of home: a fireplace, big leather couches, and the Cal football game opposite the National League playoff game on television. So much for getting away from reality!

Our second night was much less eventful with our lessons learned from the night before. We called it a night early to avoid any bear encounters. It was too cold to do anything anyway.

On our way back to the Bay Area we stopped by Hetch Hetchy Valley and O'Shaughnessy Dam. My wife claims I was slightly giddy as we drove up the deserted road to San Francisco's drinking water supply reservoir - maybe I was a little. Funny that we've both studied this place in school as a history major and an environmental engineer.

The Hetch Hetchy area of Yosemite was much easier to wrap our hands around than the main park. There were several great day hike trails (although we were too exhausted to try), not many people, and still an amazing view.

Tip #4: Get a National Parks annual pass. It's $50 and entering Yosemite is $20...and entering Yosemite again to see Hetch Hetchy is $20.

The only thing in my life that has compared to visiting Yosemite is visiting the Louvre in Paris. Both places are utterly unique and breathtaking and completely overwhelming. When we go again, we hope to rough it a little more during the day and pamper ourselves more at night. It is truly an amazing place that cannot be described through pictures or stories, but needs to be experienced first-hand in its harsh beauty.