This hike to the top of North America's highest falls is a real test of endurance.  The Falls is 2,700 feet in total elevation, or the equivalent of two Empire State Buildings.  It makes this steep 6.4 mile hike a challenge for anyone.  Plan on doing it in six to eight hours.

My son-in-law and I coaxed his wife to go but she wasn't thrilled and for good reason.  For about the first mile we were on switchbacks pretty much in the woods.  It was here that we encountered a black bear just off the trail blocking our passage.  After a couple minutes staring at each other we waved our arms in the air and he lumbered off, to our relief.

It wasn't until we had gone almost another mile that the lower falls came into view (The picture at the right was actually taken at the base of the lower falls hike).  Now we were going up what seemed unending stone steps.  My daughter and I had to rest quite a bit on the last leg of the climb but it was worth it once we got to the top.    

From this new vantage point one can only see the Upper Falls (a 1,430 foot drop) and the Middle Cascade (675 feet).  The Lower Falls is out of view (a 320 feet drop). 

Need I say that the trip down was a comparative breeze even though two of us made it on legs that had turned to rubber from the arduous trek up.

Although there are warnings about the frequency of accidents caused by the slippery stone steps, we did not find it so because there wasn't any mist blowing onto the trail.


This hike is a must for those who stay in shape.  It is strenuous!              
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We who believe Yosemite to be one of earth's best natural wonders should not forget the naturalist John Muir.  In 1889 he helped draw up the Park's boundaries and because of articles written by him, in 1890 Yosemite was set aside as a national treasure.  Two years later Muir co-founded the Sierra Club to protect his park. 

It is said that in 1903 the 65 year old Muir and then President Theodore Roosevelt were able to give Secret Service agents the slip and disappear for three days, camping in the Yosemite back country.

 Muir lived in Yosemite when it was still wild, from 1868 to 1874.  A British writer, upon visiting him in the valley, spoke of the scruffy, bearded young man as having unbounded energy and "a joyous, ringing laugh."  He spoke of how Muir leapt from boulder to boulder like a mountain goat, rhapsodizing about the wonders of God.  "These are the Lord's fountains," Muir pronounced before one water full.  Later during a storm he was heard to say
                           "O, this is grand...listen to the voice of the Lord;
                        how he speaks in the sublimity of his power and glory."
                                         
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                   Official Yosemite National Park website:  http://www.nps.gov/yose/
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                                            Other popular hiking areas
  
      ■  Go on a 16.4 mile hike up Half Dome in Yosemite Valley
   
      ■  Hiking the big island of Hawai'i allows you to see it's unique beauty up close
   
      ■  Try hiking Ricketts Glen in Pennsylvania where there are 22 waterfalls
  
      ■  Here is the most popular hike in the Mid-Atlantic region:  Old Rag, Virginia

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              Visits:       Hiking Half Done, Yosemite Valley
                  Photographs © 2003, Elton D. Hannaman
                  Contact: ehannaman@pa.net
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