The United States Of Eating - US (and Toronto) Aug/Sep 2016

[NoName]

Yosemite National Park – Day 2 – Continued……..


I finished the reconnaissance for the big one the next day and jumped on the free Yosemite Valley Shuttle bus to Yosemite Village. The Valley shuttle is a great service for visitors and allows easy, quick transport between a number of areas of the valley. With parking being at such a premium in this part of the park, without the bus seeing a significant amount of the area would be almost impossible as most of your time would be taken up with finding a parking spot. The service allows patrons to find one spot and go from there. The shuttle runs between 7am & 10pm each day with services every 15 or 20 min.

The shuttle map can be found here:
https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/valleyshuttle.pdf

There are also paid bus services between Yosemite Valley & Tuolomne Meadows as well as Yosemite Valley & Glacier Point.

First stop in the village was the Grill Deck for quick lunch. Went for the burger, fries and bottomless soda which was a reasonable price (around $12 or so from memory) and was pretty good. Just your standard sort of burger but cooked well with plenty of flavour as to satisfy my stomach.





Next stop was a trip to the village visitor centre and a quick look through as well as to enquire on the weather forecast for the next day. 30% chance of thunderstorms after 11am. Would my chance at hiking up Half Dome be ruined by the weather? Hopefully not!





Next door was the Ansel Adams Gallery which was full of Yosemite related art works. Mainly photos and drawings. The photos in particular were absolutely amazing. They captured many famous (and not so famous) parts of the park brilliantly. The highlights were the photos by Ansel Adams who was a photographer and environmentalist famous for his photography of Yosemite. I guess sometimes photos can (nearly) do these sorts of places justice. If only I was a professional photographer!

 

[NoName]

Yosemite National Park – Day 2 – Continued……..

Next on the itinerary was Lower Yosemite Falls which was a quick one stop ride on the shuttle bus. Jumped off, a short 5 minute walk through the woods and I was at the base of Yosemite Falls. The falls themselves are the highest in North America and the 5[SUP]th[/SUP] or 6[SUP]th[/SUP] highest in the world depending on who you read. As noted previously, being late in the summer the falls do not flow nearly as much as they do a few months earlier when the rivers are still strong from the melting snow so the scene wasn’t as good as it can be. The hike to the top of the upper falls is on my list to do next time I visit which hopefully can be done earlier in the year than this time. For those interested it is a very strenuous hike of about 7.5 miles round trip with a pretty decent elevation gain of 800m. Your knees won’t be happy with you but your eyes will be – the view would be amazing.



Lower Falls - As mentioned before, being so late in the summer the falls have dried up.


Upper Falls



Across the road from the Lower Falls trailhead is Cook’s Meadow. Given its proximity I decided to have a wander through it. It’s much the same sort of landscape as Tuolomne Meadows which I visited a couple of days earlier. The meadows offer views of Yosemite Falls, Half Dome and generally great shots of the valley walls.

 

[NoName]

Yosemite National Park – Day 2 – Continued……..


The last destination of the day was Glacier Point which is basically a lookout type area about 1,000m straight above the valley floor. Originally my very ambitious plans had me hiking up the “4-mile trail” from the valley but having been advised by a family member that I should try to rest in-between my two big hikes, I decided that driving up was the better option. A quick ride on the shuttle bus back to Half Dome Village and I was in the car for the 1hr drive to Glacier Point. It’s a fairly easy but slowish road up which culminates in a final 10 miles along a very windy road past the Badger’s Past ski area and a few other hiking trails before you reach the end of the road and Glacier Point.

The views of the entire valley below are truly spectacular. If you are a non-hiker then this will be your go to spot for scenery.

Yosemite Valley


Vernal Falls towards the bottom left and Nevada Falls in the centre


Half Dome





My accommodation village directly below. The tiny white dots are the tent cabins.

 

[NoName]

Yosemite National Park – Day 2 – Continued……..


About a 30 seconds (literally) up the road is Washburn Point which also provides great views as well as Half Home as a slightly more side on angle.








With the must see Glacier Point ticked off the list it was back down the road to the village. Only one stop on the way which was Tunnel View - this is a photo spot where three of Yosemite’s most famous attractions can be seen at the same time. It comes at the end of a tunnel you go through as you descend into the valley on Wawona Road. The cliff on the left is El Capitan, far in the distance in the centre is Half Dome and dark spot at the bottom of the mountains on the right is Bridalveil Falls. Unfortunately as mentioned a few times now, being so late in the summer the falls have almost run dry so it’s hard to see anything there.






Continuing back down to the valley I reached the camp fairly quickly. Another pizza for dinner and then an early night as the next day was the big one.

 

[amaroo]

Liking the TR. Funnily enough, I was watching a video on El Capitan yesterday .... 19 day climb!

[video=youtube;dxwFP62QdrM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxwFP62QdrM[/video]

 

[NoName]

Liking the TR. Funnily enough, I was watching a video on El Capitan yesterday .... 19 day climb!

[video=youtube;dxwFP62QdrM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxwFP62QdrM[/video]

Glad you are enjoying it. I will add posts on my half dome hike tonight. I might even post the GoPro video I made climbing up the cables at the end. Should be good for a laugh at my expense if nothing else.

 

[NoName]

Yosemite National Park – Day 3


So the day had finally arrived. As I said in my original post on this thread, when I visited Yosemite in 2010 the idea of hiking Half Dome was planted and ever since then it has grown and grown. I had been obsessed with doing this hike and now I was actually about to do it! I spent the previous night filled with both excitement and nervousness, so much so that I got barely any sleep. I had gone to bed around 8pm but just couldn’t sleep. Tossing and turning and then when I did fall asleep, waking up an hour or two later. Easily the worst night’s sleep of the entire trip but it didn’t matter, the adrenalin going through me had me bursting with energy when I got up for good and headed out the door.

My preparation for the hike began in early March when the decision was made to go ahead with the trip. I started with a short hike up Mt Warning – 4.5km each way and maybe 400m elevation change. I was sore and sorry the next day and the reality hit that if I wanted to do this then I needed regular training. And so began several months of sporadic, semi-useful “training” where I would walk around local bushland in an attempt to get myself fit. The lack of elevation change on these walks was offset by an increased pace. Would it actually help me now? It better!

Since 2011 permits have been required to hike to the summit of Half Dome. They were getting more than 1,000 people per day on the weekends making the trek up and this was causing overcrowding and associated safety issues going up the cable route. Now, permits are limited to 350 per day – 250 allocated in a lottery, another 50 as part of wilderness permits (people wanting to camp overnight in designated wilderness areas) and the final 50 as a daily lottery held two days before each date). Without a permit you can hike as far as the bottom of the sub dome before a ranger will turn you away. So, in mid March I loaded up the NPS (national park services) website, created an account and entered the lottery - US$4.50 for entry regardless of the number of people in your party, added the maximum 7 possible dates in order of preference with just the one person on the entry (you can apply for up to 6 people in your party). On the 13[SUP]th[/SUP] of April results were in and I had secured my permit for my number one date preference! Fantastic news! Another US$8 for the actual permit and it was on!

At 5:45am on the 23rd of August I was off with around a half mile walk to Happy Isles and the Mist Trail trailhead. As mentioned, I hiked this first section yesterday so I knew what I was in for (for the first section anyway). Ran into a middle-aged woman getting out of her car and we decided to walk the first part of the trail together. This was on her bucket list and she was also very excited to be doing it. She had a full backpack with tent and camping equipment etc and was hiking to Little Yosemite Valley to stay the night before ascending Half Dome the next morning. She was also very slow and after about 500m insisted that I go on by myself. I hope she made it to the top! Soon enough I reached the Vernal Falls Bridge that I had hiked to yesterday and after a short break to fill water bottles from the water fountain and to have a muffin, it was on into unchartered waters.

The full hike can probably be divided into four sections: the Mist Trail to the top of Vernal and then Nevada Falls which is about 5km and gains about 600m in elevation, then a relatively flat section through Little Yosemite Valley followed by a turn north and a long steady climb, the hike up the sub dome which is a seemingly never-ending set of very steep stairs carved into the barren granite face and finally, the last approx. 200m up the cables on the face of Half Dome at a greater than 45 degree angle.

More information on the Half Dome hike can be found here:
Half Dome: Everything you need to know about Yosemite's most demanding day hike

The mist trail was tough, long and strenuous but provided beautiful views of the falls themselves and both up and downstream.



Vernal Falls


Looking from the top of Vernal Falls to where I came from


More and more stairs on the climb to the top of Nevada Falls


Nevada Falls

 

[NoName]

Yosemite National Park – Day 3 – Continued……..


The hike through Little Yosemite Valley was easy, a welcome relief followed by an increasingly steep and energy-sapping climb.





The sub dome was brutal, no other word for it! Think a stair-master at the gym that just doesn’t quit. A good 45min or so of up and up and up with barely enough room on the steps to stop and catch your breath.



Clounds Rest (Day 1 hike) taken from about half way up the sub dome


The agony of the sub dome continues!

 

[NoName]

Yosemite National Park – Day 3 – Continued……..

Eventually I reached the top of the sub dome with the cables in site! Excitement at being nearly there followed by a touch of fear at having to pull myself up these things! A 15min rest to take it all in, have some water and bite to eat and it was time to dive in. Go Pro onto the cheat and away we go! Not at gruelling as the sub dome but very tough all the same. I was already exhausted by this point so had to pull out all stops to get myself up. Short bursts were the order of the day – pull myself up the 3 metres between planks of wood and stop for a rest. Rinse and repeat 60-odd times and 18 minutes later I was at the top! At 10:15am I achieved my goal and had hiked to the top of half dome! Now how on earth was I going to get down?

The final challenge! - Cables in the centre of shot


Chest-mounted GoPro video of my ascent up the cables. If nothing else it will give you a laugh at my expense! Enjoy!
[video=youtube;76RvPnwyEjU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76RvPnwyEjU[/video]



Clouds Rest from the summit of Half Dome


Cairns on the summit


Yosemite Valley below

 

[NoName]

Yosemite National Park – Day 3 – Continued…..

Well I did get down and in reasonably good time. Down the cables – very slow going as people in front were treading very cautiously and in addition by now there was a lot more traffic coming up.

And down we go:


A short rest and then off down the sub dome. Again, this was pretty slow going due to the increased traffic coming up as well as the obvious steep decent.


Soon enough I was done with the sub dome and was heading down through the woods to Little Yosemite Valley. Past a couple of people still on their way up at around 1:30pm and thought they were leaving things a bit late. They were looking at an 8pm finish back at the bottom at a minimum. Through Little Yosemite Valley at a very good pace and pretty quickly I was back at the top of Nevada Falls. There are two options to descend at this point – the same way I came up via a long steep staircase directly beside the waterfalls or a longer but far easier hike down the John Muir trail. At this point I just wanted to get down as quickly as possible so went with the former. It was slow going and pretty tough on the knees but eventually I was down at the bottom of the two falls, back past the Vernal Falls bridge and shuffling my way down the final mile to the trailhead.

Should have paid more attention to the sign:


The different angle of the sun helped provide some nice shots of a rainbow in the mist of Vernal Falls.


Got to the trailhead at 3:30pm and thought about what to do to get back to my accommodation – walk half a mile or take the shuttle bus around 3 or 4 stops. Stupid question, I’m on the bus 5 min later. Got talking to a recent retiree from North Carolina who was visiting the park for the first time. He was an interesting guy and great fun to talk to, so much so that I missed my stop and ended up having to around the entire shuttle loop to get back. Kind of kicking myself I didn’t get an email address from him as he would have been great to spend some more time with.

Total time for the hike was 4hrs 30min up, 1hr at the top and 4hrs 15min down for a total of 9hrs 45min. Pretty good going I think as most reviews I had read had mentioned 10-12hrs. Good to be on the faster side of things.

Eventually I was back at my cabin, had a quick change of clothes, grabbed my swimming gear and took off to the pool. I needed this one! Just stood submerged in the water except for my head for about 20 minutes to ease the pains. Hopped out, had a shower and was off to the pizza deck for a third night of pizza and beer. Smashed it all in quick time and before you could blink I was back in the cabin fast asleep.

 

[suze2000]

NoName, your GoPro footage reminded me of my trip to Mt Yasur in Vanuatu, but it was only a two minute pull up a cable. Well done you! I bet you felt an amazing sense of achievement when you made the summit.

 

[NoName]

NoName, your GoPro footage reminded me of my trip to Mt Yasur in Vanuatu, but it was only a two minute pull up a cable. Well done you! I bet you felt an amazing sense of achievement when you made the summit.

Thank you very much. And yes it was very very satisfying to reach the top. I knew it would be a very hard hike but it was much harder than anything I had imagined. Just made it even better when I got to the top. I'm actually planning on doing it again in 2018 and can't wait. I'll take a beer up inside an ice filled drink bottle this time for a real celebration.

 

[VPS]

I had to have another glass of wine just watching you get the top - well done

 

[NoName]

Yosemite National Park – San Francisco

Miraculously, with all my aches and pains I was able to get myself up just before 5am, pack everything and load into the car, check out and be on the road by 5:15am! Actually the aches and pains weren’t as bad as I thought and I could probably have done a shorter, less strenuous hike today if I had wanted to. But alas, it was goodbye to Yosemite (hope to see you again soon!) and off on the road to San Francisco. It was a pretty uneventful trip and I made no stops other than to put a small amount of gas in the tank and grab an energy drink in some town a couple of hours down the road. Hit a couple of patches of bad traffic as I got closer to my destination but before too long I was crossing the Bay Bridge and approaching the rental car return at SFO. Drove up the ramp, pulled the car over to the side and after a quick scan of the car’s barcode by the attendant I was on my way in about 2 minutes.

I was flying SFO-ORD-YYZ at 11:59pm that night so wanted to leave my bag at the airport while I reacquainted myself with the city. I jumped on the airport train and zipped around to the International Terminal G Gates to drop my luggage off at The Airport Travel Agency. The cost was US$35 for the one large suitcase I was leaving for the whole day.


San Francisco – One Day Only

Back on the air train for one stop to Garage G and down onto the BART for the ride in to the CBD. Took maybe 20 minutes to Powell St and then I was up the stairs and emerged right next to a massive line of tourists waiting to hop on the cable cars.



After about 20 minutes of waiting in the VERY slow moving line I remembered that they only half fill the cars and if you walk a couple of blocks to the next stop you can wait in a much shorter line to get on. Did that and about another 20 minutes later I was on a cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf. Probably saved myself a good half an hour by walking to the next stop. Cost was US$7 for the ride (was $5 when I visited in 2010 if I recall correctly) which is extortion but hey, I’m a tourist being shaken down wherever I go so what’s another $7. After a few stop and a couple of people got off I managed to get a coveted spot standing on the outside.



Coit Tower taken from the cable car

 

[NoName]

San Francisco – One Day Only – Continued…….

Off the car at the corner of Bay & Hyde and quickly walked the few blocks to Fisherman’s Wharf. I grabbed the obligatory clam chowder bread bowl from one of the many vendors and sat down to hook in. It tasted every bit as good as I remembered and I quickly wished I had ordered a second. The only criticism I have is the plastic spoon was very sharp and I ended up cutting up the inside of my mouth a bit.





Alcatraz


Next was the sea lions at Pier 39 that I somehow managed to miss last time I was here. We are probably the only tourists in the history of Fisherman’s Wharf who have missed them.

Pier 39

 

[NoName]

San Francisco – One Day Only – Continued…….


From there it was off to Blazing Saddles to grab a bike and ride across the Golden Gate Bridge. Having just done some pretty decent hiking over the past few days I was pretty sure I would need a motor assisted bikes – basically a bicycle with a motor that kicks in to make it easier for you to turn the pedals. It doesn’t do all the work for you, just assists when you turn it on. They tell you just to turn it on when you’re going uphill but the reality is it’s on the whole time. Hey, who doesn’t like going fast without putting in much effort? The bike itself was pretty good although I did lose the chain a couple of times when taking a big bump and had to put it back on myself.

The real negative I had was with the sales person at Blazing Saddles although it only became apparent later that night. When I was back at SFO and having a look through the brochure it became clear that I hadn’t been told all of my options. I had said I wanted a motorised bike and the girl immediately put me onto the most expensive without even mentioning that they had a range of motorised options. As far as I knew there was only one option and this was it. It’s not the money itself but I found this to be sneaky and dishonest and have emailed them outlining my concerns. The price I paid for the top of the range bike they had was US$88 for the entire day plus US$10 for the ferry back to SF. The cheapest motorised option was half that price. As of 4 October I have received no reply to my feedback whatsoever which adds to the disappointment of the experience. I would definitely love to ride across the bridge again but it will not be using a Blazing Saddles bicycle.

Ok, the more pleasant stuff now......
Off I went down the hill a couple of blocks and onto the path next to the bay. It was a very pleasant enjoyable ride along the bay to the Golden Gate Bridge, across the bridge and then down the hill to Sausalito. I’d definitely do this again but preferably with a little more time to ride further and explore more along the way.







The whole street next to the golden gate bridge visiter centre was full of identical houses. Thought they were cute.

 

[NoName]

San Francisco – One Day Only – Continued…….





Angel Island






Sausalito down below

 

[suze2000]

You saw the bridge! When I was there it was shrouded in fog which did not shift.

And...I went to Alcatraz and didn't know there were sea lions there...

 

[NoName]

You saw the bridge! When I was there it was shrouded in fog which did not shift.

And...I went to Alcatraz and didn't know there were sea lions there...

Yes I was actually very lucky with weather the whole trip. There was fog over the top parts of the bridge (have a few other photos showing this a little bit) but not too much.

 

[NoName]

San Francisco – One Day Only – Continued…….


Hooned into Sausalito and around to the bike valet which I have to say is taking charging money for nothing to a new level. Just a few employees hanging around a bunch of bike racks lined up like a car park telling you where to go and hook your bike up. Didn’t take my bike for me like you would expect when you hear the word “valet”, just pointed me where to go. The only saving grace of this “service” is that its only US$3. Asked the valet girl I had seen for a recommendation of where to eat and she rattled off the names of a couple of places. I asked her what her favourite was and she said she had some kind of rare food allergy so hadn’t actually eaten at any of them. Thanks for that, a recommendation from someone who wouldn’t have a clue, exactly what I wanted!

I decided to just wander down the main street and see what took my fancy. I didn’t have to walk far as I came across the Napa Valley Burger Co pretty quickly. It was packed which is usually a good sign. It was also primarily a burger restaurant so that was enough for me and I went in. I didn’t regret the choice of venue. It had a bit of a more up market vibe to it which was nice and appealed to me. It seemed like the kind of place which would be great to visit with a few others and hang out at the bar with for a couple of hours. In summary, really nice interior with excellent service and nice staff who were more than happy to have a chat and a joke. Classy but relaxed.



I only had about 30 minutes so to get seated and eating faster I took a seat at the bar. Quickly ordered the Stinson Beach BBQ Burger which had your standard beef patty with smoked gouda, onion ring, bacon and bourbon bbq sauce. It was fantastic. Up there with the burger I had at BurGR a few days earlier. I also had a side of fries (nicely cooked and tasty) and a pint of the Golden Gate IPA (enjoyable but standard IPA really). Price was on the high side (about US$40 after tip from memory) which was not unexpected given the quality of venue.



Having destroyed the meal in pretty quick time I was left with 10 min to get back to the bike and get onto the ferry. I had been told that only one ferry company allowed the motorised bikes to be taken aboard so with another commitment at 7pm I was limited to this one service at 3:50pm. If I missed this one I would have to ride back which wouldn’t have been ideal.

Got on the ferry in plenty of time in the end and went straight up to the top level for the best views of the bay and city as we returned to San Francisco.

Golden Gate Bridge from the ferry - the fog enveloping the top was cool.