June 29, 2017.
Yosemite day 4. Bridalveil Fall and Toulumne Meadows
Distance: 2.5 miles
We started off the day slow at bridalveil fall. Based on our previous excursion and dealing with the shuttle, we decided to drive to the trailhead. It was paved and barely sloping. 0.5 miles roundtrip. A nice little warm up. We had decided to start the day early. Thank you bruce almighty! Even with the short walk, the parking lot was already crowded by the time we left.
We then drove off to see some sequoias at tolumne meadows. Unfortunately the largest grove in the park – mariposa grove – was closed for restoration. These would have to do. They did they not disappoint!
2 miles roundtrip. It was a steep grade down to 25 sequoias. The path was paved and more like a winding road. Once we got to the grove, there was a short dirt loop around where we could walk and then take pictures of standing and fallen trees. On our way back up to the car, a large tour group was coming down. Timing was just right.
Next step…checking out the “beach”. Also known as a sandy/rocky area next to a campground with volleyball nets, slacklining, and people playing country music. The weather was so nice, but the water was so cold! Some brave souls got into the water past their knees. One extra brave soul actually dunked their whole body into that coldness.
As part of our due diligence as tourists, we hit up the majestic yosemite hotel and the visitor center gift shop for souvenirs. and as creatures of habit we stopped at degnan’s for pizza. Fun story from degnan’s…we were talking about all the places we had been for our annual road trips and the petrified forest national park came up. The guy next to us overheard our conversation and chimes in “sorry I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I did some backcountry camping there. Rocks that used to be trees. pretty cool.” We burst out laughing. We barely saw some of those petrified trees. Not as impressive as we thought. Yosemite on the other hand. Much more impressive than I could have imagined.