John Guilford's Hikes

Date: 2014-07-08

Location: Vernal and Nevada Falls, Yosemite

People: (including myself): Pam

			  	Alt.	Miles
Happy Isles:		9:45	4000	0
Base Vernal Falls:	10:45		
Top Vernal Falls: 	11:00	5000	1.2	
Base Nevada Falls:	11:45
Top Nevada Falls: 	12:00	5900	2.7
Muir Trail:		1:00
Mist Trail:		2:15
Happy Isles:		2:45	4000	7.0

Take the Valley shuttle to the Happy Isles stop.  The trail starts there.  There are basically two trails you can take.  The Mist Trail is the shorter (and steeper) trail that climbs up alongside the falls.  The John Muir trail is a bit longer, but less steep and less crowded, and follows the south side of the canyon.  One common variant, which we used, was to ascend via the Mist Trail and then descend via the John Muir trail.  This avoids climbing down the steep and potentially slippery rocks while other people are trying to climb up.  Splitting the hike into the two trails also allows you to see new things on the way down making the trail into a loop rather than merely retracing your footsteps on the way down.