Current Events > First trip to Yosemite was a success! Epic pics ITT

(+) Yeah! (+)

First day I climbed the mist Trail up to Vernal and Nevada falls. Ended up doing about 10 miles this day.

Gonna dump more pics in this topic of my hikes if youre into National Parks!



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Did you camp there? I hear it's crazy hard to book a spot.

Stalolin posted...

Did you camp there? I hear it's crazy hard to book a spot.

No, stayed at an Airbnb near Mariposa and drove in each morning. Even the drive into the park was gorgeous haha

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Tag, for yes.
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Dog Lake. Took a dip in there, just up to my knees. It was cold af, but super pleasant since it was getting hot in the park each day. Mornings would start brisk, at like 55 degrees, then heat up to around 94 in the sun. Cools down at night though. Literally perfect weather.



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gosh I miss Yosemite. I havent been there in 12 years.

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Was it hard to get to those places? My wife and I have been wanting to go for ages.

Wow. Beautiful pics.

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ScionTC_07 posted...

gosh I miss Yosemite. I havent been there in 12 years.

Go now!! As long as you can get a day reservation. The park is like...25% capacity due to Covid. Park is empty, compared to normal peak summer time apparently fly.

Stalolin posted...

Was it hard to get to those places? My wife and I have been wanting to go for ages.

First pic to the falls? That was a difficult hike, but I consider myself a pretty novice hiker and I got through it. Definitely tough and steep, as up to the 2nd falls was like...2200ft of elevation gain total from
the start.

Second pic has parking at the lake. I hiked there though from Lembert Dome. Speaking of...heres Lembert Done!



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MFBKBass5 posted...

Go now!! As long as you can get a day reservation. The park is like...25% capacity due to Covid. Park is empty, compared to normal peak summer time apparently fly.

That means it's a perfect time for camping there? SWEET!

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Sad_Face posted...

That means it's a perfect time for camping there? SWEET!

Absolutely, if you can get a reservation. Longest I had to wait to get into the parks at around 6-8am the last few days has been like...a 2 minute wait max? I was told its usually way way longer.

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I think this Sentinel Dome hike was my favorite, while watching the sunset up 8100ft in the sky.



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One of the most iconic views of the park. Seeing this in a picture absolutely does not do it justice.



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Incredible national park, hope to go back one day.

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Just got home and Im already sad Im not still there :(

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Was Sam there?

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wow the water in that lake looks so perfect

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TC knows the way to the Great Valley.

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I went a few years back. It was an amazing sight. I would love to see it now with barely anyone there.

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Very nice pictures!

Fun fact, my friend named one of her Children Ansel after Ansel Adams!
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i went when i was 5
saw a bear

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SiO4 posted...

Very nice pictures!

Fun fact, my friend named one of her Children Ansel after Ansel Adams!

Thats a great unique name! Nice.

Verdekal posted...

TC knows the way to the Great Valley.

I can lead you to the Promise Land.


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MFBKBass5 posted...

Thats a great unique name! Nice.

It is, which is nice.
She lives a bit outside of Modesto, she works for Gallo.

Do you know who Ansel Adam is?
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SiO4 posted...

It is, which is nice.
She lives a bit outside of Modesto, she works for Gallo.

Do you know who Ansel Adam is?

Yep! Read about him in the Yosemite guide book I got for the trip. Famous photographer of the park right? I think they had some of his pictures in the guide

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Gorgeous pictures. Were you the guy who got the AirBnB for free?

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ScazarMeltex posted...

Gorgeous pictures. Were you the guy who got the AirBnB for free?

Yep! The guy was super super nice. Incredibly nice new cottage, too.



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MFBKBass5 posted...

Yep! The guy was super super nice. Incredibly nice new cottage, too.

Very swanky. Glad to see you didn't get murdered ; p

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ScazarMeltex posted...

Very swanky. Glad to see you didn't get murdered ; p

Same. The cottage was out in the middle of nowhere California, with zero cell service. First night I got there was at like 11pm, and it was PITCH BLACK out. No lights anywhere.

That part was slightly terrifying >_>

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Wow. Incredible pics mane

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So beautiful. Ive always wanted to go. But Sequoia National Park is on the way so we always end up going there. Its beautiful there too but I always wanted to at least experience Yosemite once.

BudDupree48 posted...

Wow. Incredible pics mane

thanks mayne!

Cleo_II posted...

So beautiful. Ive always wanted to go. But Sequoia National Park is on the way so we always end up going there. Its beautiful there too but I always wanted to at least experience Yosemite once.

You need to. I was sad to not get to see any of the giant sequoias. Yosemite has two or three different Giant sequoia groves, but I was mainly hiking waterfalls/domes and exploring lakes.


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Not big on selfies, but when on the top of a peak



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thanks for sharing. great pics. do you visit parks often? i am moving to the pacific northwest soon and aim to make hiking a major pastime

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rivers posted...

thanks for sharing. great pics. do you visit parks often? i am moving to the pacific northwest soon and aim to make hiking a major pastime

Thanks! My dad used to take my brothers and I around the Texas State Parks a ton as a kid.

Have always enjoyed hiking, but have made it a point to visit larger national parks I havent been to. In the last few years Ive been to Rocky Mountain National Park, Catalina Island(off the coast of Cali), Banff National Park in Canada, and Yosemite.

Thinking of driving out to West Texas to go to Big Bend National Park next week. Surprisingly have never been to that area of Texas.

You should do it! Hiking is great, especially when youre having to push yourself and climb mountains. Definitely need to be decently in shape.

After Big Bend, I want to go to Zion(Utah) or Mt. Rainier National Park up in Washington. The Pacific Northwest has a TON of great hiking.

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I used to go to Yosemite about every year as a kid. Haven't been in so long tho!

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were the crowds mellow with the quarantine?

i'd imagine this is a perfect time to go to a tourist spot like this.

Poop2 posted...

were the crowds mellow with the quarantine?

i'd imagine this is a perfect time to go to a tourist spot like this.

Extremely mellow. Very easy to social distance. Even hiking the trails, people would put masks up when you passed them. They require reservations even for day passes right now. Park felt empty which was amazing.

Butterfiles posted...

I used to go to Yosemite about every year as a kid. Haven't been in so long tho!

Damn so I bet you know a ton about the park/landmarks. If you still live close by you should take a trip during quarantine! Literally the perfect time to go. (See above post)

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how far was your lodging? Weve been wanting to go but have a shepherd

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darkprince45 posted...

how far was your lodging? Weve been wanting to go but have a shepherd

About an hour. Beautiful drive up through Mariposa to get to the southwest entrance of the park.

Be careful with bringing dogs though, theyre not allowed on a fair number of the trails. I believe theyre only allowed on the more simple trails around lakes and such. If youre wanting to climb any peaks or domes, I dont believe theyre allowed.

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MFBKBass5 posted...

The cottage was out in the middle of nowhere California, with zero cell service.

Not sure how I misread it, but up until this post, I thought I read you were at Yellowstone. Then I saw this post and thought California? Wait, how far west does Yellowstone extend?

Finally scrolled back up and saw that you said Yosemite, lol.

Glad you had fun!

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Ah good to know. I just saw theres no day passes available until August 12th. Damn lol

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The Popo posted...

Not sure how I misread it, but up until this post, I thought I read you were at Yellowstone. Then I saw this post and thought California? Wait, how far west does Yellowstone extend?

Finally scrolled back up and saw that you said Yosemite, lol.

Glad you had fun!

Rofl yeah Yosemite. Havent been to Yellowstone, but one day for sure.

darkprince45 posted...

Ah good to know. I just saw theres no day passes available until August 12th. Damn lol

Really? Damn guess I got lucky. I saw that they announce when you can register online, so if you wait it out and keep refreshing the site you can sign up right when they open.


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MFBKBass5 posted...

You should do it! Hiking is great, especially when youre having to push yourself and climb mountains. Definitely need to be decently in shape.

I'm prepared to get 0wned, but optimistic: walk 15 miles several days a week, have run decent half marathons without any running training, and do lots of farmer's walks.
for the big ones, zion and yellowstone will average about 8 hours drives for me, so going to try to experience them within a year.

thanks for the reply! you've seen a lot of cool things. have you ever felt in danger?
i've watched a lot of hiking videos in recent months, especially by kraig adams. recommend you check out his yt channel. he frames a beautiful scene and edits well. i'm also very fond of this by another uploader, especially the footage from 7:50 onwards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDzc71AAs8E#t=7m50s

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rivers posted...

I'm prepared to get 0wned, but optimistic: walk 15 miles several days a week, have run decent half marathons without any running training, and do lots of farmer's walks.
for the big ones, zion and yellowstone will average about 8 hours drives for me, so going to try to experience them within a year.

thanks for the reply! you've seen a lot of cool things. have you ever felt in danger?
i've watched a lot of hiking videos in recent months, especially by kraig adams. recommend you check out his yt channel. he frames a beautiful scene and edits well. i'm also very fond of this by another uploader, especially the footage from 7:50 onwards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDzc71AAs8E#t=7m50s

Oh yeah then you should be good! Ive never like, legit feared for my life...but Ive been in some extreme situations for sure. In March when I was hiking up in Banff, it was cold as FUCK up there. Like...the first day I got there it was a high of 6 degrees Fahrenheit.

And actually the first day in Yosemite, I was definitely dehydrated and felt pretty awful/dizzy and still had like 4/5 miles to go and I was out or water. I brought like...3 liters but that wasnt enough. Should have taken my friends advice and brought a Life Straw so I could at least get water from one of the lakes or rivers to drink.

Heres a good pic of mine that captured how cold Banff was



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breathtaking! you also frame a beautiful shot, but probably hard to make something like that look bad
i built a gaming pc a few years back and didn't do much with it, but realized how much i enjoyed getting out in nature when i realized i was wandering around in the valley benchmark demo by unigine for upwards of an hour. the real thing is mostly better, aside from being unable to fly.

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rivers posted...

breathtaking! you also frame a beautiful shot, but probably hard to make something like that look bad
i built a gaming pc a few years back and didn't do much with it, but realized how much i enjoyed getting out in nature when i realized i was wandering around in the valley benchmark demo by unigine for upwards of an hour. the real thing is mostly better, aside from being unable to fly.

Hahaha thanks! Yeah its super easy to make Banff look great. And thats hilarious. Ive always been a big nature fan, and am fascinated with seeing the natural beauty in the world. Going to Yosemite was SO nice after months of being trapped in quarantine staring at a screen every day. Its depressing.

ive always found that hiking and being in nature actually helps my mental health a ton. Have struggled with depression all my life, but doing something with a purpose like hiking to a peak or up some mountain and clearing my head and body with fresh crisp air is so damn therapeutic.

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