Vernal Fall
Yosemite National Park, California
The Merced River rushes over the Vernal Fall and crashes through its boulder strewn stream bed on its way to Yosemite Valley. Note the hikers walking the Mist Trail in the right center of the image. That trail gets its name from the sheets of mist blown from the falling water.
The Mist Trail starts off innocently enough as a relatively flat trail. It soon startles the unwary with a steep climb up the side of the Merced Canyon. The trail levels out (relatively speaking) and eventually crosses a bridge over the Merced, then resumes its upward climb on the other bank. As the trail gets closer to the Vernal Fall, the mist becomes ever present and the trail itself morphs from a paved path to a sketchy staircase of slippery granite blocks hastily jack-hammered into the side of the mountain.
The people returning on the Mist Trail are of two demeanors: those who are exhausted and a bit grumpy and those who are clearly excited by their experience.
Vernal Fall
Yosemite National Park, California
The Merced River rushes over the Vernal Fall and crashes through its boulder strewn stream bed on its way to Yosemite Valley. Note the hikers walking the Mist Trail in the right center of the image. That trail gets its name from the sheets of mist blown from the falling water.
The Mist Trail starts off innocently enough as a relatively flat trail. It soon startles the unwary with a steep climb up the side of the Merced Canyon. The trail levels out (relatively speaking) and eventually crosses a bridge over the Merced, then resumes its upward climb on the other bank. As the trail gets closer to the Vernal Fall, the mist becomes ever present and the trail itself morphs from a paved path to a sketchy staircase of slippery granite blocks hastily jack-hammered into the side of the mountain.
The people returning on the Mist Trail are of two demeanors: those who are exhausted and a bit grumpy and those who are clearly excited by their experience.