I spent the next 3mi (5km) on an uneventful meander, enjoying the beautiful forest and having the Merced River's company as it wound its way beside me. I took a little detour to Bridalveil Fall. It is known for thundering during the spring so much that reaching the trail's end is sometimes impossible because of the strong spray created as it plummets 620ft (189m) from above.
I crossed the river on its northern side and stopped at one of the valley's viewpoints. The granite cliffs rose above the treelines with a commanding presence whilst Bridalveil Fall tumbled in the distance from a hanging valley. Here I sat in silence, listening to the birds singing, the river babbling and feeling the trees filling my lungs with clean air. It was easy for me to imagine the valley's summer colour palette of green and grey slowly changing to a warm palette in autumn and a cool palette of white, grey, and icy blue by winger.
My next stop was the 100-million-year-old granite rock called El Capitan ('the captain'). A million years ago, glaciers carved this vertical rock formation. Whilst the summit of El Capitan can be reached via a trail hike, the challenge is in the technical climb up The Nose, a route ascending 2,900ft (880m) up the central buttress of the monolith. The first ascent was completed in 1958 by Warren Harding, an accomplished rock climber who succeeded in climbing some 28 first ascents in Yosemite. It took him 47 days to summit El Capitan and it would take another 27 years before The Nose was successfully complete in one day.
Leaving the climbing to the experts, I chose to enjoy this grand rock formation from the meadows adjacent to it. Laying out a picnic blanket in the centre with snacks and drinks, I took in the splendid 360 degrees of towering cliffs and surrounding trees. I think I may while away some time here in the sunshine amongst this magnificent landscape.
Today's exercise comprised of a 4.5km walk home from Elton John's Farewell Tour concert.
It wouldn't have been such a long walk had we not exited the stadium on the wrong side - resulting in us having to walk halfway around the outside of the stadium in order to get us back on track.
We actually hadn't intended on walking all the way home (hence not wearing walking shoes!). We were merely trying to get far enough away from the traffic jams to order a ride-share. Unfortunately, no matter how far we walked away from said traffic, we couldn't get a driver to accept our ride request. I later discovered why. . .
So with about 3.5km to go, we decide to abandon trying to get a ride and just walk. It was a pleasant enough evening (despite a bit of rain earlier). And just as we'd decided to walk, a taxi pulls up and asks if we want a ride. "Yes please!!" Only to have said offer withdrawn when his GPS told him we weren't worth the effort. Thanks.
Unfortunately, by this stage my body had had it. So what should have taken a mere half an hour, ended up taking twice as long. (Not helped by me needing to make a pit stop!) By the time we reached my street, I was really struggling and had to ask to stop for a rest about halfway down the road. I thought I was going to pass out. But managed to recover after a few minutes' rest and made it home without incident. But man, oh man were my feet SORE!!
But it was SO worth it. Every. Painful. Step.
I will never forget this night.
Note to self: next time attending a concert either pre-book a ride home, drive and park a couple of blocks away, or wear walking sneakers!!
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