Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias
Hike Review:
I hiked the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias Trail on the way up, and took various side trails on the way down to avoid repeating most of the trail.
The main trail starts off as a boardwalk, then turns into a fire road on the way to Wawona Point.
There was a huge crowd at the beginning of the trail that turned into just a few people near the top. Because of that, there’s a lot more noise on the trail.
The trail itself was pristine with no trash to be seen. I found the slope of the trail to be gentle and even throughout the whole hike.
There were lots of points of interest to see—fallen trees, standing trees, trees you could walk through, a vista point, and a closed wooden cabin.
I had 3-4 bars of LTE signal (Verizon) for most of the hike.
What I Learned:
I took the bus to the trailhead, as driving was not allowed past the Mariposa Grove Welcome Plaza. The bus was just totally full on the way to the trailhead. On the way back, there was more than a busload of people waiting at the bus stop, so I just hiked the extra two miles back to the plaza.
Media Consumed:
The Leavers
What Happened?
8.4 miles, 2 hrs 54 mins, 1440 ft of ascent
I drove through the southern gate of Yosemite and immediate turned right into the Mariposa Grove Welcome Plaza. I had ignored this turn many, many times, but not today.
I parked my car, used the clean restroom, then bought myself a few postcards for the girls. I then ran to catch the bus, which ended up being totally full—thankfully, I was one of the last to get on. The short ride up to the trailhead was uneventful, and because I was one of the last to get on, I was one of first to get off! FIFO for the win!
The first mile or so of the trail was just an exercise in passing slow hikers in a respectful manner; the rest of the trail was just an exercise. When I got to Wowona Point, I took a few pictures, drank some water, then started hiking down. I took side trails where I could, which meant less people and more interesting things to see. On the way down, I climbed through a fallen tree and pulled myself up a small boulder. All too quickly, I started to hear the din of the people at the trailhead, and picked up the pace.
When I got there, I saw the bus pulling out, so I expected an empty bus stop. Instead, I saw a bus load full of people waiting for the next bus. Knowing that the bus came around every 20 minutes or so, I decided to hike down to the car. I finished the rest of the hike in 40 minutes, and headed off to get dinner.
