The Mist Trail, Yosemite National Park, CA

The Mist Trail is without a doubt the most beautiful hike I have ever been on. This trail is comprised of two jawdropping giant waterfalls, Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall. My husband (Jay), friends (Blake and Ashley), and I did this hike on June 26, 2011.  The waterfalls were exploding! The trail is pretty tough! We followed The Mist Trail to the top of Nevada Falls (gaining about 2000 ft) and took the John Muir Trail back down to Happy Isles. This trail is also very dangerous (three deaths occurred here in July). The Mist Trail also leads to the summit of Half Dome if you continue to the left on the JMT just past  Nevada Falls.

JMT Trailhead

First View of Vernal Fall

Blake and Jay going up the SLICK stairs

starting to get soaked...you can see the water spots!

Jay and I in front of Vernal Fall

The best test I have ever given my Gore-Tex! Getting HAMMERED by Vernal Fall!

Top of Vernal Fall and The Merced River

Side View of Vernal Fall with Double Rainbow

 

Silhouette of Blake

Liberty Cap and Nevada Fall

The Wild and Scenic Merced River

Approaching Nevada Fall

Side view of Nevada Fall...this part of the trail was TOUGH

Wow!  I've been to Yosemite once and didn't get to spend enough time in it.  It will be my next big back packing trip.

Great pictures Ashleigh! What a beautiful place….

Thanks, guys! I will add more to it tomorrow and more Yosemite pictures.

Ocalacomputerguy, I don't blame you! It is amazing!

I'm glad to see you post a trip report.  I've seen some of the photos you uploaded and hoped you hadn't abandoned us.  

I was wondering where in Yosemite your avatar photo was taken at. 

You wouldn't happen to be redoing that roan highlands in June would you?  Gonzan is doing it the weekend of the 9th and I'm shooting for the 16th.  We're hoping to catch the rhododendrons and azaleas in full bloom.

Great stuff, Ashleigh. 

I as well think it's great to see the trip report. You've got a bunch of good photos :) 

Very nice tr Ashleigh. Yosemite truly is a beautiful place. 

Thanks for the great pictures, I love yosemite. What a great place for your wedding and honeymoon, congratulations. As you can see in the picture below there was a little less snow commimg over Vernal Falls when I was there in January. You will also notice that there is no one else in the picture. because of the lack of crowds it was one of my favorite trips tp Yosemite.

Continued from Original Report!

Merced River turning into Nevada Fall

Sign where the JMT heads toward Half Dome

Blake overlooking Nevada Fall. There is no way to describe the waterfalls at Yosemite until you experience them up close and personal yourself!

Nevada Fall exlposion! As if these waterfalls aren't amazing enough by their sheer size and volume, they have rainbows and sometimes DOUBLE rainbows!

USGS Marker at top of Nevada Fall

I really love these reports from places so far from home.  Thanks again A!

Thanks again, guys! Makes me wish I was there again right now! :)

Ocalacomputerguy, the profile pic was taken at Glacier Point. I am actually thinking of doing a "trip report" of some of my wedding pics, since they are so unique! I am not sure about returning to Roan in June, I think my husband and I are going to try to do Mt LeConte in GSMNP in June...but it is always a possibility! I hope you and Gonzan enjoy your trips! I'll be glad to provide any insight! :)

Gary C, your picture is awesome! Lucky you got to enjoy solitude on that trail. It was the biggest CF ever when I was there bc there were SO many people on it! I did enjoy it a lot more once we gained elevation and lost some of the crowd!

Would you be willing to post a Trip Report from your Roan hike? Just being able to see where you camped, where you got water, etc. in the timeline of your trip would be wonderful.

sure! can't do it today, but I will get to it within the next few days or so! Since it's been almost a year, I can't promise it will be 100% accurate, but I'll give it my best shot!

That would be great, thanks! 

Liberty Cap looks like a nice climb. I'll have to see if I can  get down there someday. Nice photos.

Ashleigh, my son and I are heading to Yosemite in 3 weeks.  Your pictures and comments are fantastic!  Thanks for sharing them.  I would love to hear your thoughts on hikes we should take.  I worked in Yosemite 20 years ago, but I've never really been able to visit for days on end.  I'm stoked!

Rango, have so much fun! You are lucky! I really don't think you can go wrong with any trail in Yosemite, all that I went on were amazing! Make SURE you contact the wilderness permit office ASAP to get overnight permits. I was not able to get a Half Dome permit, but if you try for a weekday you may be able to snag one if you act quickly.

You should definitely do The Mist Trail! Start ad early as possible to avoid the crowds! I also recommend the Pohono Trail. You can make this a day hike or overnighter (does require permit for overnight stay). The campsite at Inspiration Point is the best campsite I've ever stayed at. The trailhead is across the street from the Wawona Tunnel View parking lot. Yosemite Falla is also supposed to be an amazing hike. Honestly the best thing I can tell you is to get The Lonely Planet's guide to YNP, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia. It is incredibly helpful and descriptive. It tells you pretty much everything you need to know about hiking in Yosemite. One more piece of advice...make sure you take the Tioga Road across the park and visit Tuolumne Meadows on the way!

You know the guys who built that Mist Trail had to reblast the granite away a few times to get the trail right. Brings back memories from when I stayed in Yosemite from January to May 1980. Winter camping at its best.

I am glad that they did! I sure did enjoy hiking on it! That is cool that you were there for a lot of the development!

I'll second the Tioga Road.  YART has buses that travel the route in case you don't rent a car. 

I'll try to find some of the shots I took out the car window (we were in a hurry to get back to vegas) and post them.

Ocala, we'll meet you at the airport!

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