Yosemite National Park, Mariposa Grove

We rolled out from just before 6am for the three hour driver into the park. When we arrived, all was looking good, though we were denied any camping spots (full + waiting list) that we were hoping to get for a single night. No big deal though… we figured it may happen and we would just day-trip and head off to some other local attractions before night fall. We entered the park via the Hwy 120 route which offers some spectacular views as you dive downward into the valley. The first place I wanted to bring Timmy was the easy hike to Yosemite Falls as it is so easily spotted from the valley floor and would (hopefully) get him pumped up for some more strenuous hikes later in the morning.It was doing just that until he slipped on a wet downed-tree near the lower falls and hurt his butt/back. After that he was in a very different mood.

The valley-floor hikes are not difficult in the slightest with their paved trails, but by the time we neared the end of this trail hiking in the valley became increasingly difficult due to the amount of people in the park. Driving from point to point would have been a waste of time, so we used our bikes and rode out and up to Mirror Lake. We (I) then intended for us to hike up to Vernal Falls as I did last year, but Tim’s mood instead brought us into Curry Village for some ice cream and a break in hopes of cheering him up before a long uphill hike.

Timmy instead chose to forfeit the hike and take the drive over the Mariposa Grove to see the Sequoia’s, which I had yet to see myself. While not as exciting as I had envisioned it (I thought it was hundreds of Sequoia trees), these trees are still very awe inspiring. We did hike about a mile out to see some more of the trees, but by that time Timmy was done (and grumpy) so we returned to the van and started heading back through and out of the park while he got in a much needed nap.