Yosemite Falls

Day 2 and we decided to attempt the Upper Yosemite Falls trail, which is almost 8 miles return climbing 3200 feet. We had no idea if we could get up and down before dusk and whether we were even capable of it, but off we went. The main blip shows various stages... might not be easily viewable but I included them all for my journal.

The initial section took us to "Columbia Rock" giving great views over the valley and up to Half Dome. This was the "easy" part... we continued down to "Oh My Gosh" where Yosemite Falls come into view. Shortly after that Mrs C decided to head back as the next section was described as strenuous. I decided to continue to see how far I could get and as I continued the pull to go right up it became stronger... why would I go through that and not complete it... eventually reached the snow level and cooler air but was still warm. At one point people coming down were giving encouragement, "an hour to do, keep going"... 15 minutes later a kid said "it's 1 hour 15 mins to go".... OMG... whatcha doin' to me... however when I reached the top it was only 45 mins and about 3.5 hours total and the views indeed were amazing. There was the Yosemite Point further up but it looked too much and reduce the light later so didn't do that. There was a descent down to a view of the top of the falls which was steep and hanging onto a rail experience. I spent about 45 mins taking it all in... probably won't see it again... and begun the descent as 3 people just arrived, further down 2 girls were at least an hour away. When I reached Columbia Rock the valley was lit up with lights, and the remainder was by torch light. Mrs C met me at the bottom so I didn't have to walk further which I appreciated.... feet in the bath to cool down, beer and snickers brought me back to life.

Great experience, can't believe I/we did it, taking it easy from now.

Lots of extras added. Losing track of what blipday it is, mountain wifi via Elon Musk's Starlink not up to usual speeds!