Walking / Hiking, Yosemite National Park

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Yosemite National Park has trails for all levels of hikers and some of them are quite advanced. The last portion of the climb to the top of Half Dome requires the use of cables for 400 feet of slick rock traversing. It is a harrowing experience for those with a fear of heights. Add to this, the number of people on the cables at any given time and you have the recipe for disaster. Surprisingly, there have been few deaths considering 50,000 people clime it every year. There have been a few deaths in the last few years but generally when the rock has been made even more slick with precipitation. For that reason, you should not attempt this if it looks like it might rain or snow or if it has just done either.

Make sure to grab a pair of gloves at the bottom of the cables. There is a big pile of used gloves left behind over the years. The cables are metal and can wreck havoc on your hands, especially on the way down.

Try not to look down and get a photo of yourself on the Visor, it looks worse than it is on the ledge itself. That said, I wouldn't linger. You never know when the Visor becomes the Headband.

It never fails. Despite the preponderance of warning signs and barriers all around Lower Yosemite Falls, we never fail to see people climbing all over the boulders at the bottom of the falls, even in the winter. This year was no exception, people were still trying to get as close to the falls as possible, even though the boulders were covered with ice and snow. Not my cup of tea.

The rocky areas around the waterfalls are generally slippery because, as you could probably guess, they get wet. These rocks leading to Bridal Veil Falls were very slippery and even in hiking boots with good traction, its still possible to take a spill. And if you fall, it may be a while before a park ranger comes by with a band aid and other firsr aid supplies, so be careful in these areas.

These signs were posted in numerous areas near waterfalls warning people to beware of the danger of falling while scrambling around on a boulder or getting too close to a cliff. This is probably because California is such a litigious state. Its also due to the fact that these areas are unstable and slippery and there's a chance of falling and getting hurt.

In addition to the boulders, keep an eye out for falling rocks as well. And not just on the trails but also on the roads.

Be careful when walking on high points, such as the top of a dome. There's a sheer drop off and I've heard its not the most pleasant way to see Yosemite. At least, that's what the park rangers say.

But if your approaching the edge to get a better photo or see a better view, exercise caution.

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On our second trip, we camped in the park and our family (myself, husband and two girls age 5 and 3) walked up the Mist Trail to see Vernal Falls. The trail was wet from the mist. On the way down, I slipped on the wet moss and fell forward down the trail. My oldest daughter was in front of me and I fell right on top of her, mashing her face into the rocks. She was skinned all down the front of her face - forehead, nose, upper lip and chin. But the worse was - her two front teeth were knocked loose and one was chipped.

She was very brave and didn't cry much, but I felt really awful. The scabs healed eventually, but her front teeth turned black. Fortunately, they were her baby teeth and within a year or so she lost them and the permanent ones came in OK.

Be safe when hiking, especially if you are not experienced.
Stay on the marked trails at all times. The hiking can be treacherous if you are careless. Wear the proper shoes and clothing, and be particularly careful in Winter. The hikes can become very icey.

Gotcha. The pot in question is the smoking pot that is located in Yosemite Valley Village. It is a given to most people that smoking any tobacco product would be a no-no inside the Park except for the designated areas. The pot is a clever idea that you stub out any smoking butts and drop it down the tube to the pot below. As Smokey the Bear says, "Help prevent forest fires".

I bought a book called "Off the Wall - Deaths at Yosemite". It's available at the tourist shops in Yosemite and should be recommended reading for all those who venture off the main road. I shudder at times when reading it as it records many wrong things I have done bushwalking (hiking) in Australia. Even simple short walks in Yosemite can end up fatally as the instances in this book clearly illustrate.
Some basic things to remember are: Take warm clothing no matter what the weather when you start; take plenty of fluid, take a waterproof box of matches, a map and a compass (GPS units can easily fail) and let someone know where you intend to go.
These are the main things people overlook.
People with great reputations as rock climbers, experienced walkers and astute horsemen have all perished. It's not a place to take lightly; you have been warned!

If you take the Yosemite shuttle to the Mirror Lake loop trail, it is quite easy to end up walking down the wrong trail. When you walk towards Mirror Lake after you have been dropped off at the shuttle stop, there is a bridleway path which is quite wide off the roadway to Mirror Lake with the Mirror Lake information sign right at the start of the bridleway. I walked this route thinking this was the start of the Mirror Lake loop trail, given that I didn't expect to be walking down an access road. Boy, was I wrong! I met others on the path who had thought the same as myself.

Stick to the road access route and you will pick up the walking trail approximately 0.6 miles down the road.

Luckily, in autumn when I went, Mirror Lake was bone dry (a bit of a disappointment) which meant it was easy to walk across one of the paths across the dry lake bed and pick up the loop trail but this was after I had walked out for over an hour and turned back.

The complimentary Yosemite park book you can get at the Visitor Centre tells you that this is a 2 mile, one hour round trip. I'd be a little surprised if this was the case, especially when the lake is full and there would be great scenery for photo-taking. The little green booklet, which is very useful, seems to underestimate the length of time to walk the easy trails listed given that most people want to stop to take photographs.