Link Muir, Mist trails — autumn ecstasy
With one small change, you can transform one of America’s most popular hikes into one of its best.
In Yosemite Valley, the Mist Trail has become the park’s landmark hike, up to 317-foot Vernal Fall and beyond to 594-foot Nevada Fall at the foot of towering Liberty Cap. Even in autumn, when the waterfalls become silver threads compared with spring’s free-fall torrents, hikers from around the world venture here for the views, photography and adventure.
But it gets better. From the brink of Nevada Fall, instead of returning on the same trail, the one small change is to instead venture a short distance ahead and link with the John Muir Trail. On the JMT, less than a mile from the brink of the fall, the trail is carved into a rock wall, where you can turn to your right and get a world-class panorama of Nevada Fall, the canyon below and 7,076-foot Liberty Cap above, and beyond to the littleseen south flank of 8,842-foot Half Dome and its shoulder.
It’s the kind of view that can define a trip, the kind of moment that can affect how you feel for a long time.
To complete the hike, you then go down the canyon and reconnect with the Mist Trail near the bridge below Vernal Fall, a fantastic loop.
If you park at Half Dome Village (formerly Curry Village), you can take the free shuttle bus to the No. 13 stop next to the bridge at Happy Isles. That makes it a 6.9-mile loop hike with 1,900-foot gain on the way up. If you instead park at the lot next to the Yosemite Stables (now closed), it adds a mile each way, for an 8.9-mile trip.
A trip to Yosemite can crown the arrival of fall. In the High Sierra, the aspens are turning yellow, and in the weeks to come, the maples and oaks will blaze into color along the Merced River in Yosemite Valley. The nights are cool, the afternoons warm, and after a light rain last week, the air is crystal clear. What some call “Ansel Adams clouds,” the puffy cumulus, along with alto cirrus, have been arriving most afternoons to provide a dramatic backdrop above the granite showpiece of the world. Lodging, campsites, parking: A month ago, finding a room or a campsite was like looking for an armadillo at the North Pole. When I booked this trip for late September, I had 128 lodging options available in the region, according to the reservation website. Even with the campgrounds in the park closing this week at Tuolumne Meadows, White Wolf and Bridalveil Creek, I found another 15 campgrounds in the region (but not in Yosemite Valley) with space.
Yosemite Valley still gets jammed on weekends, but now you find tourists from Europe and beyond. In an hour span, we met people from France, Holland, Germany, Spain, Japan, China and Australia. The start of school, the return of football and the Giants trying to make the playoffs have kept many in the Bay Area and Sacramento at home.
With that comes a change in culture in the park. Europeans are much more likely to park at Half Dome Village, and then take the free shuttle around the valley to all the points of interest. Those from Southern California with their “L.A.” hats seemingly would rather jump off the brink of Yosemite Falls (now dry) than take a bus, even with parking spaces difficult to find after 10:30 a.m. Ambitious climb: No matter where they come from, many visitors find their way to the Mist Trail. The hike to Vernal and Nevada falls evolves in stages, like a rocket heading into space. Some of those early booster rockets can fall off in the early going.
The trailhead, next to the bridge at the Merced River at a spot called Happy Isles, is at an elevation of 4,035 feet. The free shuttle (stop 13) takes you right there.
The trail starts wide, paved and crowded. Most make it to the bridge, 0.7 of a mile with a 400-foot gain, for a view of Vernal Falls. It’s only a wisp right now, nothing close to the spring torrent, but still very pretty.
For those affected by the altitude — or who are out of shape — this can be the end of the trip, with a restroom and water fountain available on the opposite side of the bridge.
It’s another half mile — and a 600-foot climb — to the brink of Vernal Falls and beyond to beautiful Emerald Pool. Much of the trail consists of rock steps with more views of Vernal off to the left. Below the lower end of Emerald Pool, the water is so low that there are dozens of boulders you can use to sit for a trail lunch.
From here, it’s another 1.5 miles with a 900-foot gain to reach the brink of Nevada Fall. The trail ventures up the left side of the Merced Canyon through a slot at the base of Liberty Cap, then turns right and emerges over a bridge and to a wide granite flat at the brink. The view below is a free fall into the Merced Canyon.
The best is ahead when the link with the John Muir Trail can be made. Within a mile, the signature view of Nevada Fall and Liberty Cap are revealed in a full panorama on your right. Walk a bit more and Half Dome and Mount Broderick then emerge.
Over the years, from John Muir to Ansel Adams and now to you, the view from this spot provides a moment that is a reminder of how lucky you are to be alive.