Yosemite National Park – 2-Day Icon Hunt

🚗 Getting There 260 km east of San Francisco ≈ 3.5 hr door-to-valley on a good traffic day. Leave at 05:00 and you’ll be under Bridalveil mist by breakfast. No reservations needed for day-use in 2024 (yet), but parking fills like hot concert tickets—arrive early or shuttle in from June-September. 🏕️ Sleep Cheap & Smart Valley: Upper Pines campground if you scored a reservation 🏕️, otherwise Yosemite Valley Lodge for walking-distance trailheads. Outside: Evergreen Lodge (15 min to gate) or Rush Creek Hilltop cabins—hot tub + Milky Way included ♨️🌌. 📸 THE Checklist (copy-paste to notes) 1️⃣ El Capitan 👑🧗 900 m of single granite monolith = biggest rock light on Earth. Best eye-candy: El Cap Meadow at dawn; climbers’ headlamps look like fireflies. Free telescope set-up most weekends—spot the portaledge camps mid-wall. Alex Honnold freak-factor: 3 h 56 min rope-less in 2017—watch Free Solo first for full goosebumps. 2️⃣ Half Dome ⛰️🌓 2 693 m of Cretaceous pluton. Cable route lottery opens March 1 (apply early). No permit? Hike to sub-dome or admire from Glacier Point. North-west face = 600 m vertical logo that birthed The North Face brand 🎿. Sunset alpenglow turns it into a giant peach—tripod + 200 mm lens mandatory. 3️⃣ Yosemite Falls 💦🔝 Total drop 739 m = tallest in North America, worldwide. Upper Fall Trail 6.6 mi / 3 900 ft gain—quad burner. Cheat code: hike 0.8 mi to Oh-My-Gosh Point for postcard upper-cascade view without the death march. Peak flow April-June; by August it can be a damp cliff—go spring for thunder-hose effect. 4️⃣ Mist Trail 🌈💧 Vernal Fall 1.5 mi one-way, last 0.3 mi soaked in spray = natural ice-bath. Nevada Fall add another 2 mi; if legs scream, stop at Vernal top—rainbow double-arch guaranteed after 11 a.m. Bring micro-spikes April-May—granite steps turn into Slip-N-Slide. Tip: start 07:00, descend by 10 to beat crowds & thunder-storms ⛈️. 5️⃣ Tunnel View 🚇👀 5-minute waddle from parking. El Cap left, Bridalveil right, Half Dome center—MAC OS wallpaper since 2002. Best light: winter sunrise (pink snow) or full-moon nights when granite glows silver. 🌕 6️⃣ Glacier Point 🧊👁️ 30 min drive up Glacier Point Rd (open ~May-Nov). 3 200 ft above valley floor—Half Dome selfie that doesn’t need a filter. Vernal, Nevada, Upper Falls all visible in one 180 ° sweep. Sunset = golden hour on steroids; bring headlamp for hike back to car 🔦. Road closed winter? Ski / snow-shoe 10.5 mi for the hard-core badge. 7️⃣ Bridalveil Fall Trail 👰💦 Easy 1.2 mi RT, mostly flat—family-friendly. 188 m ribbon blown sideways = “veil” effect; rainbow at base 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Waterproof jacket advised—mist saturates cotton faster than TikTok trends. 🧥 🗓️ 48-Hour Micro-Itinerary DAY 1 05:30 Enter park, park at Happy Isles → Mist Trail by 07:00. 11:00 Descend, tacos at Degnan’s Kitchen 🌮. 12:30 Check-in / dump bags. 14:00 Bridalveil stroll (crowds thinner post-lunch). 16:00 Drive Glacier Point Rd, claim sunset seat 30 min early. 20:00 Pizza at Base Camp—crash early (stars optional but recommended) 🍕🌌. DAY 2 05:45 Coffee to-go, shuttle to Yosemite Falls trailhead. 06:00 Hike to Oh-My-Gosh or full Upper Fall if quads allow. 11:00 Descend, ice-cream reward at Village Store 🍦. 12:30 Checkout. 13:00 Tunnel View 20-minute photo stop—traffic back to Bay usually lighter after 15:00. 18:00 Home, Instagram dump, watch Free Solo again to relive the goosebumps. ⚠️ Quick Survival Code Bear boxes everywhere—store anything that smells like food (toothpaste counts). 🐻 Water: refill at trailheads; falls ≠ drinking fountain—filter or carry. Altitude: valley 4 000 ft, Glacier Point 7 200 ft—pace yourself & hydrate like it’s your job. Weather swings 30 °F in a day—pack puffy even in July. 🧊☀️ Hit these seven icons in two dawn-to-dusk days and you’ll leave with legs like jelly and memory cards on fire—Yosemite bingo, completed it mate! 🏔️🎉 #US #CA #Sonoma