Travel

My First ‘Proper’ Hike Was a Real Eye-Opener

My experience of hiking the Upper Yosemite Falls trail as a newbie (spoiler alert: I absolutely loved it)

I’ve never been on what I’d consider a ‘proper’ hike before. I’ve been on plenty of walks — some of them long — but they’ve always been on pretty flat, uncomplicated paths.

And when my wife and I set off on our first full day exploring California’s magnificent Yosemite National Park, just a week into our honeymoon, the plan was not to deviate from that modus operandi. We love walking, after all, and know where we stand with it.

Following my own sunrise jog (an incredible experience in its own right, and almost certainly worth its own piece) and a filling breakfast, we packed a few bottles of water and some cereal bars and left the comfort of the lodge. We set out early, in a bid to keep our options for the day open, and decided to head for Columbia Rock.

The foot of the trail is actually pretty covered, consisting largely of woodland and straightforward paths underfoot. It initially felt more like a stroll through the Forest of Dean than it did an ascent to a vista point in Yosemite. Gradually leaving the freezing, misty valley floor behind, we began to follow the path through the woodland with a ton of enthusiasm, desperate to see what this trail had in store for us. After around 20–30 minutes, we started to emerge from the cover of the trees just as the sun crept out from behind the park’s imperious Half Dome.

This route took us across the right-hand face of Yosemite Falls, meaning we had an ever-changing view of the valley to keep us busy as we went. That first hour vanished in no time, such was our excitement - most of the walking either of us had done to this point had been in England, so we’d never come close to seeing anything on Yosemite’s scale before. Every glimpse we got of the valley outdid the last, as we climbed higher and higher.

Before we knew it, we’d reached Columbia Rock, a stunning vista point that was pleasantly empty when we arrived. We decided to stop for a while and take in the views, while also trying to pluck up the courage to get a photo near the edge. I eventually crawled (not literally, as that would’ve been dangerous) over to the railings and grabbed them tightly while my wife grabbed a photo for me from a safe distance. One particularly bold squirrel provided us with some excellent entertainment as we gathered our thoughts, and enjoyed the spectacular views from around halfway up Yosemite Falls.

After ten minutes or so, a large party of young women turned up and we took this influx of people as our cue to leave after offering to grab a photo for them. Side note: as it turned out, this group was actually a hen party. Isn’t that great? If I ever have the opportunity to organise a stag do, I think I might just push for a walking holiday in Yosemite… beats a strip club, anyway.

Rather than head straight back, we decided to follow the route a little further. The next section of the trail looked steeper, and we fancied the challenge of going a bit higher. We were also still riding a wave of excitement, and it was super early (around 9:00). We had the whole day ahead of us.

Here’s the thing though: the further we went along this stunning trail, the more of it we wanted to see. Every switchback gave us a new, renewed view of the valley and it just kept on getting better and better. The morning sun had fully illuminated Yosemite’s rock faces by now, and the vast, unforgiving nature of this place was just screaming at us with at every glance up from our own feet. After another half hour or so, we sat down for a serious conversation:

‘What do you think, should we just commit to this and go all the way to the top?’

‘Maybe. How much further d’you think it’ll be?’

‘Probably at least another hour, but I think it’d be worth it.’

‘Okay, let’s do it!’

I’m paraphrasing, but you get the idea.

It’s worth saying at this stage that I’m actually in pretty good shape. No, I’ve not done any hiking before, but I’ve done a fair bit of running and am in the gym/ playing sports all year round. A 21-minute 5K or a 12-second 100m, however, requires vastly different muscle recruitment from a 2.5-hour climb on rough terrain, with a backpack now full of unwanted coats and jumpers.

I’d be lying if I said the next hour of the trail wasn’t pretty tough.

The trail continued with its numerous switchbacks, and just got steeper the higher we climbed. The path got sketchier as we went, too; there was a lot more uneven rock underfoot, with every step requiring some attention. We ditched more and more layers until we were just in our t-shirts, such as the difference in temperature 2,000–2,500 ft up and 5,000 steps in, and our calves began to feel increasingly worked. I think it’s fair to say we’d probably have turned back at Columbia Rock had we known how steep the rest of the trail was, but I am so, so glad we didn’t.

A tangible community spirit, first sampled about 10 minutes past Columbia Rock, only grew stronger the higher we went. We shared a playful rivalry with another couple, with whom we consistently swapped places along the way, while a group of hikers from Pakistan delighted me by indulging in some cricket chat whenever we encountered them. Other climbers smiled at us, allowed us to pass, and thanked us for letting them through as we went; it really did feel like everyone was willing each other to make it to the top.

And make it we did.

In a word, the view from the summit was exquisite. I had never seen anything like this before.

It’s tough to put into words exactly how I felt when we took in that first view. The sheer scale of everything around us, plus a genuine sense of achievement, presented me with a sense of clarity that I don’t think I’d experienced before. I suddenly felt this overwhelming sense of completion, like all that mattered was right in front of us. All I could think about was where I was. If anyone ever manages to bottle that feeling, they’ll make a fortune.

And the best part? We did this together. Exactly a week after our wedding day, we’d gone on this incredible, unscripted adventure. It represented a truly extraordinary start to our life as husband and wife, and we’ll have those memories for the rest of our lives.

I think we spent around 30–40 minutes up there, just taking it all in. We got plenty of pictures and exchanged photo duties with our “rival” couple from the trail. Those guys were seemingly a little more used to this all than we were and were discussing whether to carry on going to the next vista point.

To be fair to them, the route did look pretty enticing…

But we’d done everything we needed to. We’d already ticked every box imaginable and more. What had started out as a short wander had turned into something truly unforgettable, and we were just about ready for the descent. We bode farewell to the stunning view and began to carefully proceed back to the route we’d followed.

All things considered, I’d say our first ‘proper’ hike was a pretty successful one. As it happened, we’d conquered a hike rated 9/10 for difficulty across a host of forums (we looked it up when we got back on the off-chance it’d make our feet feel better), and it had been so worth it for the most incredible views imaginable.

Without wishing to exaggerate its significance, the experience has almost single-handedly inspired me to revise my bucket list. I said earlier that I had struggled to put certain aspects of that day into words, so I’ve tried my best to close this piece out by rectifying that.

Yosemite was formed millions of years ago and has been a constant feature of our planet ever since. It’s here now, while I tap the keys of my laptop, and it’ll still be here long after I’ve gone. I think ultimately that’s why I fell in love with it.

It is an ever-present, unforgiving masterpiece of the natural world.

It just… is.