2 June Day 4 - Yosemite Park - 5 h hike

It was an early rise - 5 a.m. but I didn't mind, having been refreshed by sleeping in a nice bed instead of my tiny tent. After a delightful breakfast it was into the car and off to Yosemite. When I was planning the trip I had not given any thought of coming to Yosemite. Most of the cycle routes that I had looked at went north-east through Sacramento but because of I wanted to visit the Muirs I instead chose to come through Yosemite. It was a decision I don't regret, even though the cycling was killer.

Wellesley took me on a walk from glacier point along the Muir trail. John Muir was a Scottish immigrant who wrote extensively in the mid-1800's about Yosemite and was instrumental in getting it national park status. He also share the same great-grandfather with Wellesely. We started off at Glacier point where we admired the peaks and the valley. It is really stunning. Since  a child Wellesley had been coming here and he pointed everything out by name and described how he had walked them.

As we started down the trail there were two deer who were fairly non-chelant about our passing by. We walked through forests. It was just so lovely. The trail went down to a river and then up again before we descended to a waterfall for luch. It was just spectacular and the views magnificant.

The trail was also almost completely deserted. This is something I've found elsewhere that while the places are busy near the road once you are a couple of hour away it is very quiet.

There were a lot more people at the waterfall and we had a nice lunch sitting on the rocks. From there it was down to the valley floor. One thing I love about Americans is the way in which they are so open. One of them stopped us and said to Wellesley 'How old are you'. When he replied 73 the guy was most impressed. I would have been more circumspect in getting such a question answered.

We caught the shuttle bus to the car park where Evelyn was waiting. After a visit to the post office and the visitor centre it was back home for Sabbath and a phone call from Lis. What a fantastic place and I would recommend Yosemite to anyone who appreciates nature. Wellesley said it is ranked the Numbe 1 tourist attraction and I can see why.

On to the Next Day