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<\/a><\/p>\nLook at that madman…he’s literally at the edge of the cliff there, right where the waterfall begins. \u00a0One wrong step and he’s done for. \u00a0All for a photograph.<\/p>\n
\u00a0To illustrate the point, he’s below this pool. \u00a0Holy cow. \u00a0My heart starts beating faster just thinking about it. \u00a0Thankfully the rock is super rough around here and the grip is pretty great. \u00a0Still, that guy has some cahones.<\/p>\n \u00a0After hiking a bit around the edge of the cliff, we followed the river up towards the main trail, where the bridge in this photo is. \u00a0We paused here to soak our feet and eat sandwiches we brought.<\/p>\n \u00a0The water is super clear, just like at that lake. \u00a0And there’s some pretty good sized trout hanging out in these pools.<\/p>\n \u00a0Obviously lots of swimming. \u00a0I bet this place gets packed when there’s more water. \u00a0Not a bad spot – thinking back on the bachelor party, this probably a pretty great place to camp for the night. \u00a0We need permits next time.<\/p>\n \u00a0After resting for about an hour, we decide to finish the extra mile to Yosemite Point. \u00a0So. \u00a0More climbing. \u00a0It’s not as steep now that we’re up here, but there’s still some elevation to gain.<\/p>\n \u00a0Nearing Yosemite Point.<\/p>\n \u00a0That’s a pretty big tree to have lost its grip on the rock.<\/p>\n \u00a0We caught up to the bachelor party again. \u00a0Love this idea so, so much.<\/p>\n \u00a0Yosemite Point.<\/p>\n \u00a0No one is up here! \u00a0Hell yeah! \u00a0Finally, some peace away from the crowds. \u00a0Another sturdy fence too.<\/p>\n \u00a0I could sit up here all day and enjoy the view.<\/p>\n \u00a0We explored the top a bit. \u00a0I felt like a little kid up here, running around and picking out higher and higher points to look off of.<\/p>\n \u00a0Gonna climb that and walk to the edge.<\/p>\n \u00a0JA eventually follows.<\/p>\n \u00a0It had a pretty neat view.<\/p>\n \u00a0Someone camped here recently. \u00a0Those are the leftovers of a fire. \u00a0A pretty neat spot, but I bet it gets really windy.<\/p>\n \u00a0It’s getting late and our legs are pretty worn out. \u00a0But we’ve recovered well enough to start heading back down.<\/p>\n \u00a0Getting pretty filthy. \u00a0You can’t see in this pic, but my actual skin tone is a lot lighter under all that dirt.<\/p>\n \u00a0Quit taking pictures and come on! \u00a0Four miles of descent…should be easier than heading up, right?<\/p>\n \u00a0Cool little lizard hanging out on the trail.<\/p>\n \u00a0Heading down all the torturous switchbacks. \u00a0I think I hate switchbacks at this point. \u00a0And no, going down was not easier than up. \u00a0Faster, sure, but my legs are starting to twitch.<\/p>\n \u00a0Not sure what those trees are, but the bark is red and they’re pretty damn cool.<\/p>\n \u00a0Descending back into the Valley. \u00a0The sand here does not help at all. \u00a0It probably stops us from sliding down rock, but it’s hard to move through because it’s deep, and makes the going slow. \u00a0I’ve never known going down to be this hard. \u00a0My legs are ready to give out, but we’ve still got so far to go.<\/p>\n \u00a0Obviously some people think it’s better to just ignore the trail. \u00a0I can’t say that I really blame them…but at the same time, just stay on the damn trail and quit ruining things for future generations.<\/p>\n \u00a0And we’re at the bottom! \u00a0I don’t know why I \u00a0thought this was amusing when I took it. \u00a0I think I was delirious. \u00a0Ending that hike was challenging. \u00a0My legs felt like jello and didn’t want to work. \u00a0We took our time getting back into the car. \u00a0We had originally planned on going back to the lake we were at yesterday to soak and let the cold water help our legs in recovery, but there’s no way we’re going to last that 1-2 hour drive back there. \u00a0Thankfully, there’s a river that winds through the bottom of the Valley and we’re not far from that.<\/p>\n \u00a0This is where we ended. \u00a0Both of us pretty much crawled into the water and sat there, enjoying the cold and washing off some of the dirt we accumulated. \u00a0Lots of folks were swimming and enjoying the river. \u00a0It was pretty nice. \u00a0We were done though. \u00a0So done, in fact, that we decided to brave the Valley tourist restaurants for dinner instead of going back to the campsite to cook for ourselves. \u00a0After drying off, we found temp parking, got pizza, ate, and then kept each other awake on the ride back to our tent.<\/p>\n Back to Yosemite Day 2 Part 1<\/a>\u00a0::: On to Crater Lake<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" July 19, 2016 Look at that madman…he’s literally at the edge of the cliff there, right where the waterfall begins. \u00a0One wrong step and he’s done for. \u00a0All for a photograph. \u00a0To illustrate the point, he’s below this pool. \u00a0Holy cow. \u00a0My heart starts beating faster just thinking about it. \u00a0Thankfully the rock is super rough around here and the grip is pretty great. \u00a0Still, that guy has some cahones. \u00a0After hiking a bit around the edge of the cliff,…<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n