HOME: HIKING THE MIST TRAIL IN YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 11:27PM 
At one o'clock on Wednesday afternoon, Ted said, "Let's hike to the top of Nevada Fall" and I said, "Why not?". So we packed some snacks and headed off to the trailhead at Happy Isles on our bikes. First we checked out the USGS weather station located on the Merced River. On a recent evening walk, I noticed the bright monitors of the station from the bridge and investigated, surprised to see a small building that houses three live monitors with radar and satellite weather conditions for Yosemite. Apparently we also could have been captured by a webcam at this site (I looked at the page - we weren't). We crossed the bridge to the other side of the Merced and joined the throngs on the Mist Trail.
Mist Trail overlook - Yosemite Falls far in the background
The Mist Trail is Yosemite's most popular, and most crowded, hiking trail. Named for the mist created by two spectacular waterfalls, Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall, this trail is also the first half of the hike to Half Dome and provides access to the John Muir Trail. Why "fall" instead of "falls"? Because both Vernal and Nevada are waterfalls that descend in one section or fall, instead of multiple sections, or falls. Yosemite Falls is a classic example of a multiple section waterfall with it's Upper and Lower falls. The Mist Trail is steep and strenuous for your average hiker, but the trickiest part is navigating this extremely crowded trail in the summer season.
Bridge below Vernal Fall
Vernal Fall
Once past the Vernal Fall bridge, the trail ascends steep and slippery stairs to the top of the fall. Mist from the waterfall consistently keeps the stairs wet and by the time you make it up the Stairs of Death (not official - my affectionate nickname!) you are soaked. We bring our raincoats.
Once at the top of the fall, you can join the crowd of gawkers and nappers. An iron railing embedded in the granite lets you gawk over the edge of the fall, and the low-angle granite provides a relatively comfortable place to nap in the sun, which most hikers need after conquering the Stairs of Death.
Spectacular as the waterfalls can be on the Mist Trail, my favorite feature occurs on the hike between the two falls - a perfect place to rest before tackling the ascent to Nevada Fall. Designated the Silver Apron, this feature is a stretch of the Merced River where low angle granite causes the water to flow smoothly over the rock before plummeting into Emerald Pool (which in turn empties over Vernal Fall).
After a snack and some sun, we crossed the bridge and sighted Liberty Cap dead ahead. We ran into a hard-working wilderness ranger on the trail, Greg, diligently educating some hikers about the wonders of Yosemite. Greg will be spending his summer in Tuolumne Meadows this year, and Greg is a friend, so I warned him about being the friend of a blogger - say "cheese"!
The hiking distance between Vernal and Nevada Falls is roughly a mile, but there are more stairs to climb to reach the top of Nevada. However, these stairs, being farther from the fall, stay dry and switchback more for a less steep ascent. The Manzanita trees were blooming and we encountered several ancient pine trees whose enormous roots were entwined with the trail.
The crowds thin once you leave Vernal Fall behind, but the top of Nevada Fall is also roughly the halfway point on the Half Dome hike, so through-hikers continue and the rest stop to gawk and nap once more.
We managed the rest of our lunch sunning on the granite and Ted eventually succumbed to nap time. As we munched our sandwiches and pondered the view, the local pan-handling squirrels arrived to preview the menu. Unfortunately any trail that sees high traffic in a national park has it's own population of well-trained beggars, whether it's chipmunks at the top of Angels Landing in Zion or marmots in Yellowstone. In an attempt to discourage our furry friend, I chucked my shoe in his direction and gasped when the shoe knocked him square in the head. Needless to say, he didn't beg for sandwiches any more.
Once you've had your fill of waterfalls, you must descend to the Valley floor and you have two options: return on the Mist Trail or take the one mile longer John Muir Trail down for a different view of Nevada Fall with Liberty Cap and Half Dome as the backdrop.
If this travelogue of the Mist Trail has inspired you to take a hike in your national park, check out the great deal on national park guidebooks from Lonely Planet for the month of May - 30% off when you use the link below (and as always, a percentage of sales goes to toward the upkeep of JUNKET):
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Michelle Hansen
Check out my photographer friend Ron Renspie's video of descending the stairs on the Mist Trail near Vernal Fall at his photo blog of Yosemite, Broke Photography. Not for sufferers of motion sickness! Ron posts a new and wonderful photo of Yosemite National Park every day, so visit often.
CALIFORNIA, HIKING, SPRING, WATERFALLS, WILDFLOWERS, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, YOSEMITE VALLEY in HOME
Reader Comments (101)
Michelle,
I am all over that. Last year the boys and I got to the top of Vernall falls.
This year I want to get further. Thinking of leaving the boys and doing Half Dome without them
so I can actually do the full hike.
Have you guys done the entire Half Dome hike?
Kudos to you for succintly stating why Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall are in the singular. Oh yeah, and nice photos too! :-D
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