Some places are just too special to pass up an opportunity to return. Yosemite National Park is just such a place. A friend was out in San Francisco for a business meeting and asked if I’d like to come out and spend a couple of days in Yosemite. Airline tickets were quickly purchased and the deal was done.  It might seem like a lot of trouble to fly from the East Coast just for two days in the park, but sometimes you just have to take what you can get.

I took an early flight our of Norfolk and arrived in San Francisco around 10:30AM. Instead of trying to rush out of San Francisco and go straight to Mariposa, we decided to take a leisurely drive down the coast to Monterey.  Once there, we did a short run along the Monterey Peninsula Recreation Trail. Probably about as close as I’ve ever come to one of those “Rave Runs” found in Runner’s World magazine.  A nice lunch on the Fisherman’s Wharf, a little more sight-seeing, and then back on the road to Mariposa.

We had really hoped to score permits for the Half Dome Cable Route but both the Friday and Saturday lotteries came up empty. So, we wound up taking the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail which was challenging enough.  Saturday was spent just wandering around the valley and concluding with a drive up to Glacier Point. Frankly, it’s hard to go wrong in Yosemite no matter what you do.

The hike up Half Dome via the cables, however, is still on my list. Within days of getting home, I was already making plans to get back out there and hike that route. Reservations have been made for Curry Village in June ’15 and I’ll try to score permits when the lottery opens up in March.  Keeping my fingers crossed…

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