It’s our last day and we’re both so sad that it’s coming to an end. In an effort to savor every moment, we woke up early to make a yummy breakfast before heading out for the day. We drove to the valley and were early enough to avoid the crowds. We rode our bikes a few miles up to Mirror Lake. At this point in the summer, there isn’t much of a lake, but Half Dome towers above this area and there are many trails to explore. We headed off on the trail hoping to make our way to a nearby creek, until we were kindly stopped by some fellow hikers who noticed a mama black bear and her cub up the path. We watched from afar (very far!) as the mama and her cub walked back into the woods. At this point, we decided to turn around and hike back to the bike path. We then rode our bikes a few more miles to Mist Trail, the trailhead for many popular hikes. We envied those heading up to the top of Half Dome, a 16-mile hike, whose last 400 feet up must be ascended while holding a steel cable to assist with the steep climb. We’d had enough of the chain-holding, nail-biting hikes for one trip and decided to save that for next time (actually, we would’ve loved to do it, but being pressed for time we had already planned to stick to the shorter hikes). Instead, we set out for the top of Vernal Falls. This trail was insanely crowded and very steep. It was a paved path and didn’t feel as serene as our other hikes, but after climbing about a mile, we were rewarded with the spectacular sight of the falls and the meandering river that follows. We pushed up the last 1.5 miles that was mostly uneven, granite stairs. This was like the stairmaster from hell and it felt like it was never going to end. Eventually, we were at the top and enjoyed the calm, flowing waters with about 300 strangers. This hike was actually very enjoyable, but we both agreed that it would’ve been much more peaceful had we set out first thing in the morning to avoid the crowds. We were able to find a peaceful rock along the water and had a snack while watching the rainbow trout swim by. We headed back down the stairmaster and kept saying to each other that this was the perfect hike (besides the crowd) to end our trip on. We rode around the valley, toured the museum, and headed back to camp to enjoy our last evening. We made our best meal of the trip, had some wine, read our books, and played some more Connect 4 before having s’mores for dessert. It was a perfect ending to an indescribable journey!
