Waterfall Hiking in Yosemite National Park
[Music] welcome to the travel Squad podcast WE adventure the world together one passport stamp at a time we’re here to share travel news tips and our own adventures with you every travel Tuesday we share stories on a variety of topics including our hometown San Diego hiking weekenders national parks International getaways and inspiring you to go on your own Adventures even if it starts with your own backyard I’m Jamal Britney and I’m Kim and we’re the travel Squad podcast so grab your ticket and your passport and don’t forget your travel insurance and prepare for [Music] takeoff hello fellow Travelers hey squatties welcome to this week’s episode of the travel Squad podcast today we are bringing you to Yos national park for an adventure in one of the most amazing places in California yosity is a California National Park gem we all grew up in Northern California and I actually went to yosity quite often as I grew up and it never gets old there’s just so much to see and do and every time you go back there’s another area to explore or to learn about so you can spend a week two weeks or longer in y and do something different every single day I dare say yosimite is probably one of the top 10 national parks in the US it might even be higher but I’m giving that 10 scale is a little bit of buffer you know cuz there is some competition and people do have their favorites but yose is just so iconic with its Grand Granite Cliffs towering thousand plus feet high half doome the waterfalls and Britney is right we all grew up in Northern California I’ve been to yosee many many times but it’s one of those things that you appreciate it a lot more when you’re old and can enjoy that Scenic Beauty and I can’t even believe we’ve made it this far without having a Yus episode I actually did not go to yosee when we lived in Northern California my first and only time I’ve been I was going back up there for a wedding and decided to spend an extra day to go out there and I feel like I was a little bit robbed of my experience I mean I saw some good stuff when I was there but the person I went with just uh you know wasn’t the best travel buddy say well I’ll tell you what Kim we’ve said this many times before there’s so many more hikes that Britney has on her to-do list I know half Do’s on it we’ve talked in previous episodes about you saying H you’re not really going to do half doome but we’ll do a squad trip one time when we’re not doing half doome you won’t be with that person you’ll be with the cool squad us and we’re going to kill it out there that’ll be much better so let’s Dive Right on into this episode as always we’re going to start off with the tip tips first tips and this one we say every time and that is is to download offline maps but that is so important in this park because there is no cell phone service here none none at all there is no phone service even getting close to the park even at times so make sure to have those downloaded offline maps in advance to cover the whole area so if you need to route to anything in that area including your hotel or to a trail head you can go ahead and get there tip number two is get to the park early and the reason why we say this is twofold one in the morning you’re more prone to see wildlife because they’re out and about and waking up for the day and secondly you really beat the crowds coming into the park I mean I can’t tell you how many times we’ve done Trails there’s people on it but we do feel a good sense of isolation and then on our way down is when we start seeing the crowds and I can’t even believe people are starting these hikes midday so you do want to go ahead and beat the rush that way and get to the park early another tip that we have for you is to wear layers especially when you’re going in shoulder Seasons um it may be really cold in the morning and in the after and at night but during midday and afternoon it can get quite hot so you’re going to want to wear some layers to pull off and then going on with the Wardrobe you want to wear hiking boots that have really good grip there’s a lot of granite rocks in this park and so it can be really slippery in the springtime when things are really wet or even because there’s still snow in the springtime that and there’s lots of waterfall so even if you’re not there in the springtime you’re going to have the Mist Splash up the rocks are are going to be slick and slippery so you do want something with that good bit of grip and I guess talking about water the slush the waterfalls kind of keeping with the same theme pack plenty of water you’re definitely going to need it on the hiking trails and again even though you are in the mountains during summer if that’s happens to be when you go it does get warm and you’re going to want that also we were talking about what to bring what to wear make sure to bring crampons especially in the shoulder season spring there still may be snow on the ground or at the top of Peaks and so you’re going to want that just as an extra safety net crampons are essentially like chains for tires but for your hiking boots that make it easier to go in the snow Kim what was the other term that one of your friends used to describe crampons they were ice cleats wasn’t it ice cleat yeah I remember that I I’m glad you actually brought that up cuz I was going to say we need to mention another name other than crampons because people you went to to a snowy area had no clue what the hell you were talking about so crampons ice cleats whatever you want to call but they’re basically like you said chains for your shoes you need them when you’re hiking in the snow the ones that I got are really easy to put on you just kind of put them on right over your shoes you can do it in under 10 seconds and so we’ll link those in our Amazon storefront in our hiking products list so you guys can get those ones too also another tip for you guys in the summer you may need to have entrance reservations that is to enter the park I know for the year 2022 they were required starting in May and I want to say say that they were requiring them through August or September and so that is for you to actually even enter the park and that doesn’t include the price you pay to enter the park so you need those reservations during the busy season again that may through August September whatever you said and they do change that seasonally I guess depending on how much traffic is coming into the park but keeping with that theme about Seasons some roads into yose are closed During certain times of the year mainly winter so from o October to May and sometimes even June depending on how much snow yosity got that year a very famous Road into the park tyoga Pass is closed so do keep that in mind lots of roads in and out of the park can be closed depending on the season because of the weather and snow tyoga pass is what connects Yos Valley to Mammoth and so during the winter months there’s no way to connect the two directly together you have to go up and around and so just keep that in mind if you’re in Mammoth and going to Yos or Yos going to Mammoth and while we’re talking about the seasons waterfalls are best to see in spring or early summer in this National Park they do kind of dry up towards late summer and fall and the waterfalls are one of the biggest draws of this park so you’ll definitely want to see them when they’re gushing all right so before we get into what to do in this park we want to tell you where to stay in Y national park and there are several different options I found difficult to find one that was low cost so you can kind of expect that but the farther you get outside of the park the more affordable it will get there’s one really really cool stay that I really wanted to do but didn’t get the chance to yet and that is yosity Pines and this is located in the grov land area you get to stay in covered wagons like think back to discovering the old west and the organ traila or Gold Rush the Gold Rush yes like legit covered wagons these are really cool it’s like a glamping type experience Jamal will never do it cuz there’s no private bathrooms I did not want to do it because of that I’m glad you brought that up Britney mentioned this on the last time that we went to yose do we want to stay at these covered wagon hotels and I asked her does it have a restroom and you know this is coming off just going to Viet to Guadalupe staying in the bubble hotel and it even had a personal private bathroom in the bubble Hotel so I said to myself you know this time I I really don’t want to do it I don’t really want to have to wake up up and actually go outside to use the restroom I’m not saying I won’t do it one day but this time on that trip I wasn’t feeling it yeah but it does look like a really cool stay I’d be interested in trying that out in the future and it actually wasn’t as expensive as I thought it was going to be when I looked at the dates which were for late April they were ranging about $250 for a night so it wasn’t terrible terrible but we did stay in Groveland which is where this was we just stayed at the Groveland hotel and this was a very old but historic building and it was very personalized and we got a complimentary drink at their bar oo oh yeah like when we checked in I could have sworn I heard her say hotel guests get free drinks and when she said drinks and it was plural I was like oh but I thought to myself no that can’t be true I don’t want to ask and sound like an idiot so once we got our key and went upstairs I asked Britney I said did you hear her say free drinks and she said yeah I thought she did too so we went down to the bar afterwards and they said yeah you get a complimentary drink which is still pretty pretty good and I really like this hotel it is a historic building like Britney said I don’t think there’s more than really eight rooms so during peak season you may not even be able to find reservations but I mean this hotel is literally from the 1800s and they have a restaurant and bar downstairs they even had an outdoor patio area which was really cool live band so after day in the park I think this is a really cool hotel and fits with that theme and the Western theme that you’re talking about with the cover wagons Gold Rush everything like that and it just fits perfectly into the area of yose the time that I visited I stayed in a little town called El Portal and this is located just outside of the park I wanted to stay as close to the park as possible but without paying in park fees for this day this was the Cedar Lodge it’s a pretty decent spot they had several rooms I would say you know your Standard Hotel large amount of rooms it did have a bar and restaurant with your typical bar food nothing crazy there really isn’t a lot of restaurants or anything else nearby so if you’re not going to eat at that Hotel restaurant then you really should bring your own food or plan to drive pretty far I thought this was a fine place to stay I mean no frills but a decent price the one thing though I will say is just be prepare that there is no cell phone service and there is no free Wi-Fi you have to pay for it right cuz I think this is one of the places I originally looked at and I was like I have to pay for Wi-Fi M I’m going to pass yeah very weird well that and there was only one place to eat and that’s why we actually ended up choosing Groveland further away from the park but we’re like okay well if we stay here we’re going to have to go to Groveland anyway to get food and other stuff and then come back so that’s why we chose that but I did like that location when we drove by it it looked really beautiful and we’re like oh that’s the hotel we were going to choose and that Kim stayed at so it is very nice and quaint and very rustic and I did like that another place to stay around the park is going to be in the city of Mariposa not this last time that Britney and I went but the time before that we stayed in Mariposa it’s a nice little Hillside mountain town and they do have a lot of mom and pop shops and I mean that in a really really good way you feel like you’re in the middle of civilization but not too civilized and it still keeps that rustic charm and then also the city of Oakhurst kind of same thing as Mariposa right those are going to be the two most major cities if you will or towns that are going to be close to the park and populated anything closer is going to be a little bit more isolated like we were talking about that seed or lodge area and El Portal or even in Groveland it was a little bit more popular but still very very small all right so let’s get into some of the main attractions in yosity National Park I mean we already mentioned that yosity is paying for its giant sequoia trees the tunnel view the waterfalls especially that’s why I go Jamal always makes fun of me cuz I will plan trips specifically around waterfalls of course but they’re so beautiful I just love seeing them in just like all of their Majestic glory after snow melt and they’re just gushing down you know I give you crap about scheduling trips and planning trips around waterfalls because we’ve been to Yos and here are the best waterfalls I mean you can go somewhere else and they’re still nice I mean they’re always impressive no doubt but here in Yos they’re just Grand I mean you have yosity Falls it’s the tallest waterfall in North America they have Bridal Falls other Falls that you’re going to come across along very very famous Trails Vernal Falls Nevada Falls so I mean when you’re talking about water yosity is the place for and that’s why I kind of give you crap on the other places so would you say then you see yosity you don’t need to see something like Victoria Falls well that’s completely different I mean we’re talking like Africa and like safaris and there’s Lions around but I’m talking about within America Alaska may be a little bit different and even I’ve been to Niagara Falls and uh Niagara Falls is cool but I feel like just because you’re in nature the waterfalls here are cooler than Niagara I’m just going to come out and say it that’s my okay thought but you mentioned the tunnel view why don’t you talk about the tunnel view Britney because I don’t want to bypass that tunnel view is one of my favorite things about Yos yeah so if you enter Yos from the south let’s say you’re coming from Fresno or Oakhurst that area you’re going to go up through the park and one of the roads that gets you there is called tunnel View Road and you do go through a tunnel and then once you exit the tunnel you are just entering just the amazing Yus Valley with spectacular views I think you can see brid oleville falls in the distance and there is a parking lot to the left hand side for you to pull over and get some really good Scenic landcape shots I mean it’s great I think it is California Highway 41 that comes from Fresno correct Britney yes it is and so just imagine you’re coming up to a mountain and the road through it is a tunnel it’s several thousand feet long and then once you hit that daylight boom bam it is just the yosimite valley and it’s so awesome and quite honestly if you enter the park through another way it’s really you know you’re going to see the valley it’s going to be pretty but I think that tunnel view coming in that way is just exceptional okay so getting into hiking trails I think one of the most popular trails in yose is the Mist Trail this one’s about 7 miles and there’s several different waterfalls you can see along this Trail so if you don’t want to do the full seven miles you can see some of them and turn back and in fact if you go in the earlier spring or winter months you may not even be able to get fully through the trail yeah because of the waterfalls there’s a lot of ice and slush and water runoff so it could close the trail or make it unsafe so Jamal and I did it in 2020 for his birthday but Kim’s also done this Trail too Kim did you do both Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls yes we went up and saw both of the falls and then you know came on back was this before 30 or after 30 Kim because you talked about you can just kind of go up and turn around and make it a little out and back or did you do the full seven and do the loop I don’t know if we actually did the full but this was the trail where I saw a bear oh wow what part of the trail did you see it on in the very beginning when it’s like flat you know uhhuh kind of by the parking lot as you’re coming up in the campground area yeah it wasn’t even that far I was walking along the trail there were people coming back on from the other side of the trail staring and taking pictures into the side of the trail and we were looking trying to see what are they looking at couldn’t see anything and then as soon as we get past Bam Bam a bear Sprint out from behind us like 2 feet from me pretty much to the other side of the trail then starts digging around for food totally minding its own business that’s awesome we didn’t see one while we were on the trail but while we were looking for parking we passed by a campground in the car and there was a bear walking through the campground well I think we had already found parking and we were starting to make our way to the trail because the parking lot for that trail was full so we did like an overflow parking lot that’s kind of more by the campgrounds and yeah the bear was just going through the campground just all casual everyone’s just kind of chilling you know I’ve told you before you know I’m not really too scared of black bears and don’t around with them no doubt but for the most part if you see them you shouldn’t really be scared they’re just minding their own business I definitely screamed but only because it was just like it just popped out yeah well that’s amazing so on the first waterfall you’re going to get to on this Trail is called Vernal Falls and it’s about a th000 ft in elevation gain to get to the top of it and while you’re hiking it you have to go up a very steep Granite stairway of like 600 steps but that whole way up is just beautiful views of the waterfall it’s one where you you get the first glimpse of the falls you start to take pictures then you go up a little bit more and you’re like oh this is a better view got to take some more pictures and so you could be taking pictures the entire way up and while we were hiking it just during the time of day there was the sun was hitting the water perfectly and so there was just a nice Rainbow on it as well and made for a really good Scenic shot you should really just Google mrail yosity and see what we’re talking about I mean these are Granite steps that they have leading up to the waterfall I think that’s one of the really coolest aspects of this Trail is all the steps that they have and how it’s carved out of the true Granite that they have there that’s you know known in the region for that matter so really really cool Trail Scenic wise all around even without the waterfall I’ll do you one better go to travel squadpod docomo we put all of our new episodes into blog post with tons of pictures from the trip so if you want to see this staircase Mist Trail it’ll be right there waiting for you even better than Google and then when you get to the top of Vernal Falls you can actually get to the railing and look down and you can see the whole 317t waterfall splashing down the side of the falls it can be really crowded in the summer though when we got to the top there was quite a few people up there and there was actually an area where you’re not supposed to swim but there were so many people swimming in that like area as well it was a hot day it was a very hot day they needed to bring the Rangers out out there and enforce it though I’m not going to lie I mean if they tell you you don’t swim in a national park it’s for a reason so kind of jacked but you know PSA thank you Jamal you’re very welcome hey it’s Kaye quo for Price Line ready to go to your happy place for a happy price well why didn’t you say so just download The Price Line app right now and save up to 60% on hotels so whether it’s cousin Kevin’s kazoo concert in Kansas City go Kevin or Becky’s Bachelorette bash in Bermuda you never have to miss a trip ever again so download The Price Line app today your savings are waiting go to your happy place for a happy price go to your happy price price line hey squatties we want to share one of our favorite travel products with you liquid IV is a category winning hydration brand fueling your wellbeing while traveling one stick fits into 16 o of water to give you three times the electrolytes of traditional sports drinks and hydrates you two times faster than water alone their half oun hydration multiplier powder package is the one product you need in every suitcase carryon and day pack we use it while flying on planes because flights can be so dehydrating we 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including Utah’s Mighty five national parks and a week at Grand Teton and Yellowstone these fully built out 20 to 30 page PDF guides are available for instant download on our site right now every detail of the trip is laid out for you so all you have to do is download book show up and have fun the itineraries tell you where to fly into the exact route to take where to stay Park entrance prices where to eat driving distance between attractions the things to see and do even the hikes we recommend their mileage and the time to a lot for each one and believe it or not so much more be sure to head over to travel squadpod tocom to download your very own comprehensive travel itinerary today so continuing on from Vernal Falls on the Mist TR if you go a little bit further you’re going to come across another waterfall Nevada Falls and you could say how many do I really want to see but each one is more impressive than the last quite honestly and It just fits with the whole theme of what we’re talking about Yus it’s just really known for having beautiful waterfalls I want to say I went in 2018 and I went in March and I think it was like mid-march I can’t remember exactly but it was either Vernal Falls or right after Nevada Falls where the trail actually you could not go any further because of the snow the trail was closed oh it probably was right after Nevada Falls cuz at the top of Nevada Falls that’s where you start the hike up to half D yeah I think that’s what it was and so I would have done it Jamal but I couldn’t okay weather related incident for you okay I respect it but when you get to the top of Nevada Falls there’s actually a foot bridge that goes across the Falls which is really cool to see when we went we said again we went in Late July for Jamal’s birthday birthday right when we got to the top there started to be a little bit of a thunderstorm ooh and that that just like the noise of the Thunder you’re just kind of like what what’s going on and then it just started pouring on us that’s kind of cool it was actually really cool cuz at that point we were really at the top and we can see views into the valley so we I don’t want to say we were in the clouds the clouds were a little bit higher but it was that awesome Ambiance about it but it only lasted for about 10 minutes and then the sun was right back out and really hot that day so the rain was a nice little cool down and one thing that we didn’t mention in the tips if you are going to be doing these longer Trails do bring food with you in your backpack banana apple beef jerky get a pre-made sandwich from Subway or anywhere else for that matter and bring it with you because a lot of these hikes you know if you’re staying in the valley it is what it is it’s going to be flat but if you are actually going and doing hikes like we said they have Granite wall Peaks that are thousand plus feet high so how much elevation do you think you’re really going to be gaining on these trails and Hikes a lot so it is going to be a burner you do want to have food so I just want to throw that in there as I’m reminising talking about this yeah to get to the top of Nevada Falls it’s about 1,900 ft in elevation gain and once you’re at the very top again I was talking about that foot bridge that you get to cross and from there you can look down and this waterfall is like 594 ft so lots of water gushing down side of these Falls you can also take the Mist tril back or you can go down the John mural Trail which is the trail that we went down and it had really really good views of liberty cap and Nevada Falls and so that was a really nice Trail it’s a little bit longer though in length than the Mist Trail yeah and that John mure trail that Britney’s talking about keep in mind we’re talking about the portion within yose if you were a real Avid Backpacker you could take this Trail and Hike It even further south all the way to King’s Canyon and Sequoia National Park which is another 80 to 100 miles further south in the SE Nevada so it’s a very very long trail but just the continuation on from the Mist Trail down back into the valley and if you remember back quite a few episodes back with uh an episode we did with hiking with Brit where we had a guest on our podcast she actually did this Trail as well but she did it in late fall and she was saying that because she did in late fall that these waterfalls were pretty dried up so they weren’t as impressive as everyone was making them out to be but when we did it they were still pretty recent and that was in Late July and Kim you went in early March April did you feel like there was a lot of waterfall flow oh there was a lot yeah but again like the snow so we recommended in the beginning May June I think that really is The Sweet Spot yeah where it’s not too icy you can do the whole Trail and have really good waterfalls another epic hike that you can do in the area hello hello talking more waterfalls is going to be yose Falls and this is the hike that Britney and I did on our more recent trip to yosimite and like I had already mentioned yosity Falls is North America’s tallest waterfall and cool fact I don’t know what time of year it is so I apologize for not having this information handy it’s also known as the firefalls because the sun will be beaming down on it at a certain time of year during sunset and it looks like the waterfall literally is on fire it’s a very famous thing to go into the park and actually see it during that time yes so this waterfall is 2,4 25 ft tall crazy crazy crazy tall Jamal and I stood at the base of this when we went for his birthday trip in late July but at this time the waterfall wasn’t gushing as much this is like the one waterfall I was like oh I’m probably the least impressed with but you could see how large it was and when we stood at the base of it I told Jamal I want to hike to the top during spring and so during our last trip that’s exactly what we did well when you’re at the base of it also they actually have a miniature model of what the trail looks like so we were looking at it discussing it saying hey next time we come to yose we’re doing this and sure enough we did but you mentioned it’s 2,425 ft tall we had to climb 2,425 ft High just to get to it as a matter of fact I think higher it’s like a 3,000 foot elevation gain that you truly have for this waterfall hike yeah this is 10 times taller than Niagara Falls wow double the Empire State Building like it it is super super tall and it is a burner if you go to the base of the falls you can still really enjoy it you’ll get really good photo opportunities to hike to the top it’s about 7 m and 3,200 ft in elevation gain if you’re not into the burner hikes you can see this Falls from far away too like as you’re driving you can see it and then when you get to the base obviously it’s extremely impressive so if you’re going to the park with non-hiking thing to see in Yos National Park and also you don’t have to go all the way to the top you can hike to different portions of the falls and still get really really great views um we actually found that some of the best views were not from the top of this hike actually interesting yeah and I’m glad you mentioned that so Squad tip for you guys Britney and I as we were talking about earlier got to the park early did this all to ourselves pretty much I mean there were people on the trail but we had read things online that pretty much said once you’re 3/4 of the way up and you can actually get views of the waterfall at certain points on this Trail not just from the bottom but when you’re actually on your elevation gain that’s really going to be the best views that you have and quite honestly that is the honest truth if you go to the top you can barely see the water actually like flowing over the granite Cliff’s Edge you can actually see it but you get amazing views of Yus Valley from the top so that’s really the payoff is the view Uso Yos Valley and even the most iconic view of Yus Valley which would be half doome you could barely see it only like a quarter of half doome can you see from the summit of yosity Falls so do it for the novelty and to say that you’ve done it and the view of yosity Valley it’s great but the best views of the waterfall are 3/4 of the way up if you don’t want to go to the top once you can stop seeing the waterfall from the incline then I would say maybe that would be a good turnaround point for you if you don’t care about what I just talked about and you get full views of half doome at the same time so you get like a twof for Half Dome to the right the waterfall to the left that’s where you’re going to get the best views and while we were hiking down we kept hearing people it was kind of like when we were on the Inca Trail where like everyone’s like moaning and groaning on your way up and we’re like on our way down we’re like haha suckers and one group in particular was like oh my God this sucks is it even going to be worth it so she stopped us and said honestly are the views worth it from the top and we’re like actually the best views if you’re going for the views are going to be pretty close do here and so they’re like okay we’re just going to hike a little bit farther to get just those views but not make it to the actual top but we did make it to the top and so I would say about 60% of the trail was not covered in snow but the very top third was covered in snow and we really did need our crampons I feel like if we didn’t have them we would have been slipping and sliding quite a lot bit more it was very slushy and some parts were pretty steep as well and so it was just nice to have the security of the crampons just feeling a little bit more secure and safe while we were doing that track there will be several points along this trail that you can actually see good views into the valley you know obviously the higher you get the better it’s going to be and better views of the waterfall but again if you don’t really want to go all the way to the top like you were saying Kim you can still get amazing views and it’s a nice hike and honestly on our first half of the hike do you remember when we came across the family of deer just kind of migrating their way down the mountain and everything so that was really cool I mean you could definitely going to see wildli we didn’t see a bear on this trip which was disappointing I would have loved to see another one but they are there rest assured and then when you do get to the very very top of this hike if you make it up there like Jamal said there’s some really amazing views of the valley but then we were like where’s the waterfall and so there’s actually a little side trail that will take you down um these pretty steep steps and there’s this railing that you kind of have to hold on to and you can get to the top of the waterfall and there’s going to be some railing that you could look over and see the Falls go down that can be little scary though that little portion of the hike it’s very very narrow and parts of it are exposed and so we were hiking back up from it and someone had peaked their head around the corner and she goes yep that’s a no for me and she’s like that’s a little too intense and she didn’t go down there if you do this one Kim I think you could have made it I was a little yeah yeah I do think so I know I know you’re timid of heights but the point where it is kind of steep and you have to hold the rail if you were to fall there’s the platform area where you actually have your overlook so it’s not like it would be a fold to uh one’s demise in you it’s not a matter of if someone can do it or if I can do it it’s a matter of enjoying life and the experiences that I’m putting myself in and you wouldn’t enjoy it I don’t enjoy being anxious and heart rcing and scared and having to repeat in my head you got this you got this you got this I just want to be leisurely and look at pretty views and waterfalls I feel you on that the good news is it’s only like a 20 25t stretch where it’s like that so not terrible you don’t have not missing much not missing much but you won’t get to that view area good thing we have the pictures on our website yeah so another really awesome waterfall and this is kind of more hidden it’s not in y Valley it’s kind of in the outskirts of yuse it’s called wapama Falls and this is in the hch Hy area this area is very well known for backpacking and so um it is a little bit further to get too if you’re staying like near yosity Valley but if you’re staying on like the abot skirts like grov land it’s not super far cuz it’s on like the outskirts of that but one thing to know and we Jamal and I found this out is that the day area if you’re only going to do day hiking it’s only open from 8 to 5 yeah they’re real hard on that Gate entrance 8 to 5 and we were locked out of it so before we really get into wama Falls I kind of want to touch upon this you did mention Britney how this is kind of backcountry area it’s not in yosity Valley so when people think of yosity the main iconic thing is yosity Valley it’s that small little Valley that was carved out by a glacier that’s why you have those steep thousand plus foot high Granite Cliffs and walls and it really is to be honest a small area in the valley where most people are congregated the trails from there do spread out in the valley but wama Falls is in the hetchy area which you cannot get to from yosity Valley you have a complete you can get there if you want hike 40 miles Yeah by noig deal by car you cannot get there from yuse Valley but yes thank you so much for that clarification Britney if you’re an avid Backpacker and back country person who wants to do it overnight do that I think that would actually be really really fun but separate entrance area by car this is a damned up area so there is a lake there and just a little tidbit of information that Dam and all that water feeds into San Francisco so the hhy area is is basically what keeps San Francisco alive with water all coming from yosee so as we were driving to wama falls from the road we could see it we could see across the reservoir we could see just like this huge waterfall just coming down the side of it and we were super super excited to be able to hike next to it this hike is actually relatively flat I I do say that it does go up and down um so there is a bit of an elevation gain when you add it all up about 1,000 ft but it felt very doable in compared to the other hikes like M Falls or the top of yosity Falls yeah I wouldn’t even say 1,000 ft in elevation elevation that’s what it said on all Trails well all Trails I think may be leading us astray maybe it was but like you said even if it was you don’t feel it that way because where you park to start this Trail the parking lot is at the very end of the dam so you have to walk across the dam to go ahead and start the trail and once the dam is over then you have a tunnel that you walk through and then you have that little flat portion that goes along the lake before as you get closer to the waterfalls there is the up down up down but very gradual to where you really don’t feel the incline like Britney was saying yeah and with Pama Falls is about 1,000 ft tall so it’s pretty tall waterfall and it just comes down the side of this Cliff there are these foot Bridges at the very base and before you even get to the foot Bridges you can feel the mist and the spray of the falls just on you so much so that you are going to want to have a light rain jacket we actually put them on because it was just so Misty so wet and then when we got on the foot Bridge we were getting completely soaked it would have looked like we showered if we didn’t have this rain jacket on oh yeah you definitely want to have the jacket here this is where those layers come into play that we were talking about in the tips I mean you’ll get soaked if you do not have a jacket in this area but I really do like this area around the Falls because you’re right Bry they do have those foot Bridges so it makes it really really cool really Scenic as you’re looking up to the waterfall or even turning around and looking out at the lake it’s really just the first foot bridge that gets you the wetest if you continue on to the other foot Bridges you still get really awesome views of wama Falls and you’re not getting wet so those are probably some of the better photo opportunities uh when we went we got there right when it opened we were entering the gates right at 8 and so we were the first people on the trail and we came across some Backpackers who were leaving and they said you guys are the first people we’ve come across today so that was really cool to just like have it to ourselves for a bit and kind of speaking about that and the Backpackers we’re being real serious 8 to five before they close the gates and if you aren’t backpacking or spending the night they will lock that gate on you and you will be stuck in there so they tell you leave the dam at around 4:30 no later than that otherwise you’re going to be locked in and either spitting the night in the car or making yourself a little makeshift Ford out there with the other Backpackers and maybe they’ll share Provisions with you if uh you come across themo get out by five get out by five another thing about this waterfall is when it’s really really really gushing when there’s heavy snow melt it can actually be the water could be running across these foot Bridges and can be super dangerous um and they won’t let you past that so just keep that in mind that’s why we decided to go in late April cuz I guess in late March and early April that’s when that could happen happen possibly and then as you head back the views are just really beautiful you’re going to be on the shore of the reservoir the entire time there are other waterfalls along the trail and it’s just really really nice and so I do recommend this hike I feel like it was off the beaten path out of Yus Valley and it was just a little different than what we’ve experienced before in Yus so I would love to go back to Yus I know Kim we were talking about how your trip wasn’t the best there and you would probably go back as well but there are so many other hikes to do you know there’s always a half dome there’s clouds rest there’s a beautiful lake called mirr Lake and it gives a really good reflection of the Granite Cliffs that I would love to go see I love that when you see a lake and you can see the reflection of the trees the mountains The Cliffs whatever it is that’s a beautiful shot so I would love to go back with you and experience that I would love to go with you you too Jamal well of course thank you I don’t want to be excluded on this one and uh you know I know Britney mentioned half I know you’re not going to join us on that but maybe you could join the first half and do Mist Falls Trail again because that’s the trail that you would take to Veer off then to half doome but I know I mentioned this earlier and again I I don’t really remember the dates but I do want to go back and look at the O Falls firefalls do yourself a favor quite honestly you know we haven’t been there during this time so we don’t have a photo to put up on our website for you to go look like the other ones but Google yosity Falls fire falls it looks like lava coming from these Granite Peaks at the right time so I just beautiful I want to see it and yosity National Park is a park that I will always continue to go back to I really do love it it looked like it happened in February of this year from February 10th through 28th of 2022 is when you could see yosity firefalls well that time has passed so I guess around that same time in 2023 but I guess those were the dates that it was happening here in 2022 so you know just look for when that’s going to happen they obviously know based off of astrological calculations or whatever when it’s actually going to happen and then also you know we did talk a lot about hikes and some of them were pretty strenuous really just driving around the valley you’ll just have a lot of Scenic Beauty and you can get out there’s a lot of rest stops and like areas to park and just get out and go through like the little Meadows take some really great photos as we were even leaving the the park and driving out there were just a ton of people just parking and just taking really great scenic shots around Sunset so you can enjoy the park even if you’re not a hiker yeah and I was going to say tyoga pass when it is open during non-winter Seasons would be a really good time to see more of the park that most people really don’t CU a lot of people stay in the valley tyoga is going to take you out of the valley through the mountains and again onto the Eastern slopes and even Eastern valleys of California and out and there’s going to be a lot of great overlooks in that area so if you aren’t the hiker that would be the time to go and do that and I I really can’t wait to do tyoga pass because again most people really see only yosimite Valley and that’s that small concentration area of where people are but yosity is very very large a lot of it is just Backcountry Wilderness so you’ll see most of that on the tyoga pass road Jamal and I have actually talked about it would be really cool cuz you know we live in Southern California to go up to Yus Valley then cross over tyoga pass and then come home through like the mammoth passageway and just do like that huge Loop M that would be nice go up on the Western sieras and come down on the Eastern side and then when you come down on the Eastern side further south you can actually see Mount Whitney which is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States that one’s in Sequoia but it’s a whole sier Nevada Mountain Loop that you can do on the road when tyoga pass is open I think that would be absolutely epic there is a lot to do there and now I just want to move on to my favorite time of the week because we also have a lot of questions of the week this week oh yes we [Music] do yosity is a hot National Park and you all have a lot of questions for us so the first one is one that we’ve looked into quite a bit they’re asking how do you get a half doome permit so you actually have to apply for a permit it’s a lottery system and so you have to go on recreation.gov the application period is open for the entire month of March and then they released the results in mid April to see if you’ve received them we’ve actually tried to get a half dome permit before unsuccessfully so it is pretty competitive looking back I’m I’m glad we did not get it you wouldn’t have made your way up the uh little chain and rope section there Kim you would just a freak out Kim would have had a freak out you would have pulled a Jamal and had a freak out yes for sure okay well respectable I know somebody who got a half dome permit was really excited to hike it and then that’s when the forest fires came in through yuse so they closed the park for a good bit of time because of that and I don’t think she’s going to be going back anytime soon unfortunately but she wasn’t able to secure her permit that she won and it’s very hard to get those everyone wants to do the half doome hike except for Kim apparently you know there are statistics online that show you’re going to have better chances if you want to book during the week or what time of year the cables are open basically through I want to say Memorial Day to like the end of October ish so there is a good amount of time to do it during the summer you can also try to do it like 2 days before your trip they have another Lottery system that you can apply to and you’ll find out like the day before if you can actually Hike It or Not question number two goes along with question number one Ryan asked us on Instagram if half doome is scary he said can I do it well I don’t know I guess that really depends I mean Kim thought she could do it and then saw really what the cable chains look like and I think the experience at Z on National Park and doing the chains over there has really done it for Kim so I think it really depends on where your comfort factor is are you scared of heights and again like you were saying talking about yosity Falls you don’t want to have that anxious feeling so if you’re okay with that and that’s not going to bother you I would say yes just do keep in mind this is a 16 mile roundtrip hike all the way from the valley to the top of Half Dome and we were talking earlier about Vernal Falls Nevada Falls those are high elevations that you’re actually going to be gaining and that is the start of the trail to haom there’s just a little offshoot that you would go in the opposite direction So based off of how we kind of describe that and continuing to hike a little bit more I’ll leave that up to you I definitely do think it’s doable people do it literally every day except for the days that it’s closed because of weather during the winter season so I would say yes just know what you’re getting into you can definitely go on YouTube and see videos of people I think it looks scary when you’re looking at it from afar and seeing the people climb the chains but the videos where they’re actually on the chains doesn’t look as scary when you’re in it I think it’s scary because there’s a lot of people it is pretty high up so it’s for sure doable and I think if you successfully do it or when you successfully do it you’re not going to regret it you’re going to love that you had that experience yeah everyone that I’ve talked to that has done it has said it’s been like one of the most amazing hiking experiences they’ve ever had so you know Ryan I hope that Jamal and I get to hike this one day and we can really let you know and if you happen to beat us to it DM us and let us know how it was I hope we can convince Kim also I hope so maybe maybe who knows things change TBD and moving on to question number three from Stella Stella’s asking what were your favorite places to eat in Yos National Park you know there’s not a ton of options cuz it’s pretty limited out there in the park you either have to bring your own food into the park or within the park there are some hotels and they do have some dining rooms so the awani dining room is a good place to eat at yosity Valley Lodge right outside of it there’s a base camp eery which is more like a food court so they have some options as well um and then there’s a village girl which I think the village Grill is that where there’s multiple places to eat it’s the busiest part in the park I think so I did go in there and I thought they had tons of food options obviously it comes with the price of being one of the only food places in the park but there was a lot there and if I didn’t already have things figured out I would have eaten there and in Curry Village they have a place to eat pizza and there’s a pavilion as well so there are some food options in the park but you’re limited to that so I know we didn’t eat any of the pizza there ladies on any of our trips but let’s ask ourselves do we think it’s going to be better than what they had in King’s Canyon on that Easter trip one time for us o I think you need to play that by ear I don’t trust any national park pizza anymore which is a shame because yeah that really disappointed me but I’ve eaten in some of the bigger national parks that actually have these type of cafeterias and stuff and the food for the most part is decent and pretty good I don’t know what happened with us on that pizza that day that was a major major disappointment so hopefully the K Village Pizza is going to be better than the one that we had at King’s Canyon question number four coming in about lodging again they’re asking where is the best lodging closest to Yos National Park earlier we talked about a lot of places around Yos National Park not necessarily within it but there is the yosity Valley Lodge which is right across from yosity Falls this one is pretty pricey for the night but super convenient really close to the base camp eery as well and the awani hotel that’s more of a Splurge item that’s if you’re really going all out maybe you’re celebrating an anniversary or something really special and then there are also glamping experiences within the park as well but again you probably won’t have any service so if that’s not important to you these are good places to stay you know the irony of us talking about there being no service do you know the one place that we actually had service in the park The Village eery negative on the top of Y Falls got some 5G action going on up there and that was about the extent of it so unless you’re willing to track up 3,000 plus feet you’re not really going to have it and do check and see if these lodges have Wi-Fi I’m sure they do if not all of them some of them but yeah I’ve never stayed in a national park in one of these hotels I’d like to do it but at the same time it’s like h it’s a captive audience I mean you’re about to be spending 300 plus night for a hotel and I just can’t do that you know i’ rather have the drive if you go into it knowing this is what I’m going to pay I’m expecting to do it I’m on board with it then you know special occasions are great for that agreed all right squatties thank you so much for tuning in to our yosity episode this week keep the adventures going with us on Tik Tok now and Instagram at Travel Squad podcast and send us in your questions of the week if you found the information of this episode to be useful or or if you thought we were just plain funny please be sure to share it with a friend that you know would enjoy it too and as always please subscribe rate and review our podcast and tune in every travel Tuesday for new episodes stay tuned for next week’s episode we have some more exciting adventures and tips in store for you bye everybody [Music]
Episode 166 is taking you to one of the country’s most iconic national parks – Yosemite National Park located in the central Sierra Nevada region of California. The gem of California boasts towering granite cliffs, gorgeous tall waterfalls, and bear wildlife spotting! We’ve been to this park several times and have a different experience each time. It’s a beautiful park with plenty to see equally without hiking and through Half Dome, one of the hardest and longest permitted hikes not for the faint of heart. In this episode we share the waterfall hikes we did, where to stay in Yosemite National Park, and the best time of year to visit for open trails and chances of spotty old Smoky.
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