I think I can say without hyperbole that Yosemite National Park is truly one of the world's great natural treasures. I just feel fortunate to live only a few hours' drive from it. I am not particularly well-travelled, but I don't doubt that the glacier-cut Yosemite valley, its sheer, solid-granite walls, and the surrounding ridges provide some of the most majestic, breathtaking vistas anywhere. In the summer of 1997 I took four day-trips to Yosemite to hike around the valley walls and rim. I have to thank my brother Jimmy for being a totally gung-ho Yosemite hiker and motivating me to drag my ass over miles of trails. It was incredible. I'm sure I will continue to return every summer. We did the Upper Yosemite Falls hike twice, the Four-Mile Trail to Glacier Point once and, for a grand finale, trekked all the way up to Half Dome and back in a single day.

The following pictures of my Yosemite hiking adventures are for your viewing pleasure. Please click on any thumbnail to view the full-sized picture associated with it.

The Upper Yosemite Falls trail is about three and one-half miles long and gains something like 3500 feet of elevation (I don't remember the numbers too exactly). Except for a nice, fairly long break of flatness in the middle, it is very steep and strenuous. In fact, it was my impression that it was more intense than some of the other trails we took later, though it was much shorter. Once you get to the top, you can take further trails along the top of the ridge, which we did to a small extent

We took the Four-Mile trail to Glacier Point and back (you can also take the longer Panorama trail). It's a bit longer than four miles, actually, and gains a few hundred more feet in elevation than the Uppper Yosemite Falls trail. It lacks the long flat stretch in the middle, but I found this to be a good thing since it meant that the rest of the trail wasn't as steep. Glacier Point is on the opposite side of the valley from Yosemite Falls and it is also at the point where Little Yosemite Valley (which runs behind Half Dome and contains Vernal and Nevada Falls) splits off from Yosemite Valley. Thus, the views are quite panoramic.

Half Dome is probably the most recognizable landmark in the park, with El Capitan running a close second. It's front face is incredibly tall and sheer and is scaled only rarely by the most experienced of climbers. The trail that runs around the back and up the east side, however, is accessible to the average hiker. It's very long (about 8.5 miles each way), and the cables needed to climb the last stretch (see below) are a bit intimidating, but in all it's really not that bad if you set your mind to it. And what a feeling of accomplishment! You gain 4700 feet in elevation and it's like another world up that high (8700 feet in all). This hike tooks us about eleven hours round trip.

One final word: The pictures are cool and all, but you've really got to go there.