Adventure 008, Hike 033 - East Yosemite Valley Loop Trail

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 008, Hike 033 – East Yosemite Valley Trail

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  July 9, 2012

Location: Yosemite Valley

Hike Info:

Trail: East Yosemite Valley Trail

Distance: 3.56

Duration: 1:10

Elevation Rise: 200'

Description:
Thing One needed to see about picking up a wilderness permit for our John Muir Trail adventure in Yosemite Valley. Once he got the permit, he thought, why not go for a hike—this does seem to be a common theme for team Thing One, Thing Two. So after looking around, he saw that he could hike around the eastern end of the Yosemite Valley and come back to the Curry Village parking lot. This trail even has a name—the East Valley Loop. Life is sooo good. There is also a West Valley Loop trail as well, heading off west and either cutting across at El Capitan or going all the way down to the Pohono Bridge before turning back up the Valley.



So Thing One took off from the Wilderness Office, he went behind the village store and the Medic Office, and picked up the trail. This trail is partially paved. But even at noon on a summer weekday, the trail has very little in traffic. Imagine that in the Valley. The trail skirts behind the Ahwahnee hotel and then head off under the Royal Arches and Washington Column. Because you are close to the walls of the Valley, you continually are looking straight up at the Valley top. Of course, you do need to watch where you are going or else toes get stubbed or you run into a tree.



When you approach the north-east corner of the valley, you can do another hike up to Mirror Lake—Thing One did not as he decided to save that one for another day. So he turned south along the east wall where he could look up at Glacier Point and Half Dome. Here you work up a boulder slide of rock from Grizzly Point. Nothing technical, it is just a reminder that the Valley is a work in progress and that huge chunks of rocks still come down the side.



As you approach Happy Isles, your sense of solitude ends and the crowds which go up to Vernal Falls begins. Tomorrow we go up this same way, starting around 8am. But in the meantime, I make my way back to the truck parked at Curry Village. I then take off back to Fresno. A content camper.