My family and I took a trip to California over the Summer. One of our destinations on the trip was Yosemite National Park. We had an ambitious day of hiking planned for our first full day there. We started hiking at sunrise from Glacier Point down to Yosemite Valley. There were many amazing spectacles to gaze at along the hike down to the valley including the iconic Half Dome rock formation and two highly impressive waterfalls (Vernal and Nevada falls). It was hard for me to keep my eyes looking down at the trail with such surreal panoramic beauty.
From the valley we hiked back up to our car at Glacier Point via: four mile trail. The hike back up was very difficult due to the steep incline of the trail and also due to the fact that we were exposed to the sun in the oppressive, near 100 degree afternoon July heat. Just before sunset our long struggle was over. We had reached the top! Finally… Finally! Viewing the sunset from Glacier Point was more than enough of a reward for the challenges of our over 13 mile hike that day!
This picture taken of my daughter midway through the ascent of four mile trail:
