Yosemite Day 4

By Kyndal Goen

Kbg45@txstate.edu

Total Steps Taken: 20,888 (179 floors!)

Fact of the day: Nevada Falls rests along the Mist Trail and stands at an elevation of 5,971 feet. Higher in elevation than Yosemite Falls in fact!

The Mist Trail

On the last day of our time in Yosemite, everyone in the group was mostly getting the last bit of footage and interviews they needed, but overall enjoying their remaining couple hours in the park. However, my feature story still needed a little bit of work. This led to hiking the notorious Mist Trial in search of wildflowers in bloom. The trail was listed on the map as being a six-hour total hike and cautioned against beginners. In addition, the clerk who gave out the map explained that there was a super bloom happening at higher elevations and that there were likely many wildflowers along the trail. And so, I decided to take on the solo mission.

View from Nevada Falls
Photo by Kyndal Goen

The journey started around 9:15 a.m. after a quick stop at the village market for a couple healthy snacks. Taking the shuttle a couple stops down to Happy Isles hikers can simply cross the bridge to the trailhead. Now this trail may seem to start out easy, but it becomes quickly apparent that the path is much steeper than previously imagined. Around a quarter of the way into the trail, a Yosemite Conservancy informational table is set up. They are there to help people navigate the trail and answer any questions hikers have. From there, I was able to acquire a flower identification key to reference during the hike. After their checkpoint, the dirt path slowly turned into a seemingly never-ending flight of stairs. Rounding the corner of one of the switchbacks, suddenly I could not only see the Vernal Falls, but could feel the mist spraying against my cheeks. Soon the gentle mist began to get stronger and stronger until it was as if the trail was fixed in the middle of a raging storm. But still, the trail continued upward, as did the journey to find fields of vibrant flowers.

Mountain Pride
Photo by Kyndal Goen

Reaching the top of the waterfall was such a gratifying, powerful moment. However, there were not many flowers at the top of this fall, so the hike continued on. After stopping to admire the view, dry off a bit and eat a couple of snacks, I continued my journey up the mountain to next waterfall: Nevada Falls. Along this trail, wildflowers immediately started to show themselves with pops of orange and fuchsia at just about every turn. The trail to the next fall was much less wet but every bit as difficult. Step after step, my legs began to turn to Jell-O and my spirits began to weaken. But eventually, I reached the top of Nevada Falls. Successfully capturing several species of beautiful flowers on film, I began my decent down John Muir trail. The long walk down the mountain offered time to silently appreciate all that I had seen and accomplished on the hike. Sometimes it takes a little time by yourself to truly let the power and beauty of Yosemite sink into your heart and memories forever.