Come for the Granite, Stay for the Waterfalls

Proof guest blogger Nathanael Billings on his recent Yosemite Trip.

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about Yosemite National Park? If you’re anything like me, it would be Half Dome, El Capitan, and of course the iconic Tunnel View. A climber’s paradise, these granite monoliths rise thousands of feet above the valley floor and overshadow almost everything around. Indeed, when you first enter the park, the views you’re granted with are striking. You’ve never seen rock come out of the ground like that before.

Everywhere you look there’s something new to be seen. You could drive around the valley 100 times and see a new feature on El Capitan every time. In the midst of seeing these gargantuan granite walls, there’s this sound that your ears can’t escape. The constant and never-ending crash of water… Between the giant walls that encompass Yosemite, waterfalls crash down with such force, the mind can’t comprehend it at times. How can that much water come off of those walls?

Yosemite and Bridalveil Fall are easily the most well-known waterfalls in the park. Rightfully so, they’re the two that are impossible to miss. In the spring-time dozens and dozens of new waterfalls careen off of the granite walls. Then there is the Mist Trail with Vernal and Nevada falls. A little smaller but just as impressive. In fact more so, because they’re a size your mind can understand. Looking at Yosemite falls, it doesn’t even seem real. You have to stand so far away to even see the whole thing and the sense of scale is nearly lost. On the Mist Trail though, you’re right in the face of these powerful falls.

For five days, we wandered through the rainy and wet Yosemite Valley. So rainy in fact, that my camera succumbed to the moisture… No real plan and a few times confined indoors from torrential rain, it was a humbling experience being surrounded by so much beauty. It’s a place that has long lasting effects on who you are as a person. While most people headed home during the rain, we stuck it out and what we experienced was something almost as unique as the park itself. If you ever get the chance to go to Yosemite during the rainy season I have one word for you… GO!