When people hear of hiking in California, the first thoughts that come into their minds is the Yosemite Valley. What exactly is there is Yosemite Valley that entices adventurous souls?
A hiker simply explained that there are some things in the Yosemite that clears the aches in his souls and washes his worries away. The place is pristine and peaceful that visitors are peculiarly friendly that they struck conversations with complete strangers like they were old friends. Tension is absolutely out of context and tranquility hangs around like Yosemite Valley is its last haven. And this is true even with not-so-good and even the worst weather.
Yosemite Valley offers a stunning beauty of waterfalls, rock formations, cliffs and wilderness. You might stare for hours on rock formations yet see a variety of images even after long gaze.
The Tuolumne River that runs from countless Tuolumne Meadows are downright stunning, making you feel that you are in another world.
Yosemite National Park is home to glacier-carved valley complimented with massive monoliths, superb waterfalls, towering cliffs and rounded domes. The national park is established by the end of the 1800’s in preservation of the Sierra Nevada. The elevation ranges from 2000 feet up to 13000 feet that impresses glorious sceneries, from natural granite formations to astounding waterfalls.
There are around 4000 visitors in Yosemite National Park yearly and nearly all of them get to see the wonder of the Half Dome. A portion of these visitors hike towards the top, some back out midway the hike while very few would dare continue it. Thus the half dome is dear to stout-hearted hikers.
The North Dome, on the other hand, is one of the most prominent hike trails in California. Many, however, have not heard of it. Nonetheless there are quite a lot of places from which you could view the amazing North Dome namely the Half Dome which seems to be the closest, the Glacier Point, the Sentinel Dome and of course the Valley Floor. The North Dome is near Camp Curry above Royal Arches.
There are a number of trails up North Dome, ranging from short trails to long distance trails. All equally having fairly high elevations.
The hike towards the summit of North Dome is pretty rewarding for you will get magnificent view of the half Dome, it seems so near that you’ll have the feeling of touching it.
Sentinel Dome is one of the favorite short hikes in the Yosemite Valley and among the few that are not crowded. Remember there are 4, 000 Yosemite Valley visitors and these are distributed among the great sites of Yosemite Valley and its famous hiking spots.
The trail upwards gives you the feeling of not moving upward at all since for one, the trail is a pretty easy route and second, the goal is always within sight.
The trail to the Yosemite Falls is among the toughest and challenging route. Because of this, horses are not allowed to be used which gives you no soft grounds. The trail is extremely laborious and is described best by saying “it’s like climbing stairs, constantly upwards” starting from the lowest part of the trail up to the top.
These are just three of the best sites in the Yosemite National Park and are hailed to be among the best when talking about California hiking. The good news is, there are a lot more others that may be equally stunning and challenging which gives the heart its leaps and the souls its immaculate stillness.