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Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park stretches across the Sierra Nevada Mountains and is known for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, and Giant Sequoias. Most visitors only venture as far as Yosemite Valley, but the park's incredibly beautiful high country is well worth the effort for those who take the time to visit it.

Comments:

I haven't been there since I was a kid. I thought the hiking was pretty satisfying.
Yosemite is one of my favorite places in the whole world. To the extent that I am religious, that is my temple. May is the one of the best times to see it.

Trip Report - Yosemite, May 2005

I just got back. Oh my god. That is one of the most beautiful places on earth! We bumbled into the Misty Trail and then proceeded to climb up to Nevada Falls without having any idea what we were getting into, which was good because we had no expectations. My husband kept thinking Yosemite would be a desert thing since he had seen photos of a friend's Utah trip before. So funny!

We were pretty shocked that we could go from the valley (hot, hot, hot) up to the mountains in less than four hours and find the passes snowed in.

The Misty Trail was crowded, and we joked that everyone was really polite and nice but they secretly wished we weren´t there so they could have it for themselves!

We also checked out the REALLY BIG TREES, the sequoias, but we went to the Merced Grove instead of the Mariposa Grove. Nobody else was there, and it was a nice hike. Man ... those things are big!

We were staying at the Yosemite Bug Hostel and liked it a lot. It was about 20 miles away from the valley, but it had its own trails and it felt like a camping ground. It's full of hippies but they aren't obnoxious, and the food was really exceptional, especially considering the prices.

It was kind of funny listening to California hippies talk. My husband and I were sitting nearby, and we kept wondering if they were joking around or if it was an undercover skit from "Saturday Night Live." "I am just so, like, into nature and getting into my feelings and recovering from not being breast-fed as a child ..." and they were all total strangers, too! What a culture shock! Hehehe!