Days 7, 8, 9 and 10--Yosemite!

Yes, that white stuff is snow...

The first night in Yosemite we camped at one of the higher elevation campgrounds near the park entrance and there was definitely still snow on the ground. We took off early in the morning to find a campground in Yosemite Valley. For our first day, we decided to get acquainted with the park by doing all the easy trails. We saw Yosemite Falls from the bottom...

We also walked to the base of Bridalveil falls, which was very wet. We toured the Yosemite Valley store, which is seriously like a mini-Whole Foods, with all sorts of organic stuff, at least in the grocery section. No need to compromise on food here. We also visited the visitor center and Ansel Adams gallery. Finally, we hiked up to the beautiful Mirror Lake.

On our second day in the park, we hiked up to the base of Upper Yosemite Falls...

And up...

And up to the top of the Upper Falls. The trail is about 7.6 mile (12 km) round trip, with an elevation gain of 2600 feet (790 metres). This makes my legs hurt just thinking about it. Needless to say, I took frequent breaks on the way up and drank lots of water. The view from the top is gorgeous.

Feeling less ambitious the next morning, we drove to the Mariposa grove of giant Sequoias. Normally, there is a tram that runs around the park to all the trees, but since some of the roads were still snow covered, this was quite a hike. We did get to see the biggest tree there, the Grizzly Giant, which has a 2 metre thick branch and fire scars to prove its endurance.

After returning to Yosemite Valley, we took the hike up to a bridge where you can see Vernal Falls. We debated hiking to the top, but it was already late. Someday we will have to return and continue on to the top of the falls and the half dome. The same trail continues on to Mount Whitney, but we´ll see if we ever get the backpacking bug.

The following day was the day of our white water rafting trip down the Merced. The trip was run by Zephyr Whitewater Expeditions. The guides were very skilled, and whipped up an amazing lunch spread to boot. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who likes a bit of a thrill. I was a little freaked out before we started, but it turned out to be more fun and less terrifying than I imagined. We brought along a disposable waterproof camera, so please don´t blame this picture on my regular camera.