Imagine you’re hiking up the mountain in burning sun. One mile, second, seventh. Amazing views around don’t help you this time because it seems you have a bad day today. With wet clothes, your face red like a fresh tomato, panting, you reach the top. And you see them – Tourists with a capital T. Came there by cars wearing their fancy clothes, flip-flops and make-up, they cover the amazing views you came here for.
After hiking Four Miles Trails (which is actually 4,8 miles long – 7,7 km) and 1000 meters of elevation I reached the Glacier Point and I was thinking to myself that the possibility to reach this place by car sucks. Obviously it really doesn’t because it lets everybody not fit enough to get there on foot see some breathtaking views. But unfortunately it spoils the fun for those who actually hiked there themselves. 😉 Luckily we managed to escape the crowds. How? I’ll tell you in a minute.
Four Mile Trail from Yosemite Valley to Glacier Point
Four Mile Trail from Yosemite Valley to Glacier Point
Four Mile Trail from Yosemite Valley to Glacier Point
Because if I reached this famous viewpoint I’ll not let the crowds spoil the pleasure of watching this:
View from Glacier Point at Half Dome and Yosemite Valley
The view from Glacier Point is truly amazing and it’s worth all the sweating on Four Mile Trals to deserve it. We thought though that watching the sunset in such a big company won’t be fun at all. Especially that we had wine – we carried it all the way from our campground down in the valley and we didn’t want to share 🙂 Note: if you don’t want to camp or you weren’t lucky enough to get a free campsite, check this post and find out where to stay near Yosemite National Park!
So how did we escape the crowds and where did we enjoy our wine in peace? From Glacier Point it’s possible to hike further to Sentinel Dome. It’s 1,5 miles and 300 m of elevation more. But it’s worth it! The views from Sentinel Dome are equally beautiful, to all sides. And what is more – we were almost alone there. We could enjoy our wine and the sunset in peace 🙂 The only thing to remember is that in California, especially in the mountains, it gets cold at night. Nevermind that during the day you think you’re going to boil and the last thing you think of is carrying a warm jacket in your backpack. Just take it.
View from Sentinel Dome
Well deserved rest on Sentinel Dome 🙂
Sunset on Sentinel Dome
Sunset on Sentinel Dome
Going down after dark lasted forever. Never ending trail in the dark. I didn’t feel my feet anymore by the time I got down. But for such views I would do this a thousand times more. Despite the wet clothes and my face red like a fresh tomato.
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Lovely post and photos are quite amazing.
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