Yosemite Popular Hike 12/5/21

One of the most popular short hikes in Yosemite National Park is the Mist Trail, so named because of the mist that surrounds Vernal Falls at the top. This is a second look at this a beautiful hike from our visit to the park in 2017.

The hike is up one side of a canyon through which the Merced River flows down into the Yosemite Valley floor, the source many miles east and thousands of feet higher in the Sierra Mountains.

The distance from the trailhead at the east end of the Yosemite Valley to the foot bridge that crosses the Merced River 1/8 mile from Vernal Falls is less than a mile. Still, the elevation change of 400 ft, a 10% grade, is a challenge. Then, a few hundred feet from the falls, the incline doubles, the trail narrows and curves along the edge of a drop-off into the river, and steps cut into the granite disappear. Hikers need to pass in both directions on worn wet rock from the mist off the falls. A hand rail further up near the falls can be helpful, but is not to be depended upon.

Those looking for an additional challenge can climb up the right side of Vernal Falls to access a trail to Navada Falls. The safer, but longer route is to double back 100 yards and take the John Muir Trail a mile around to the top of Vernal Falls (another 1,000 ft gain in elevation), and three miles beyond that to Navada Falls (another 1,900 ft elevation gain). But for most, including us, the trek to Vernal Falls was a satisfying accomplishment in a very beautiful place.

Navada Falls Photo from

https://www.americansouthwest.net/california/yosemite/nevada_falls.html