Simply Yosemite: Walks and day hikes in California's valley of waterfalls

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — I can still recall the first time I caught sight of Yosemite National Park's majestic Vernal and Nevada falls, years ago, for that is when the seed of a wish was planted.

Unlike popular and justly famous cascades like spray-wispy Bridalveil Fall or the impressive 2,425-foot broken ribbon that is Yosemite Falls, Nevada and Vernal falls cannot be seen from the main Yosemite Valley loop roads.

They are, however, visible from high above and from a distance, from the panoramic Glacier Point view on the valley's south rim, an automobile route open in summer and autumn.

My thoughts upon first seeing the two in their upper Merced River vale from Glacier Point went something like this:

Whoa, those are pretty big waterfalls, a little off the beaten track. I need to — no, must — hike to them someday.

So I did.

And yes, the two are away from the road, but the John Muir Trial and aptly named Mist Trail that lead to them are NOT unbeaten tracks by any means.

During the booming spring runoff, I discovered, the lovely but puff-inducing path to Vernal and Nevada falls is indeed popular: with families and school groups and hikers of all ages from all around the world.

I had a particularly nice chat with a fellow from Germany, who had just arrived in California and Yosemite after a visit to Iceland. (I tried not to let my jealousy show.)

The trek to these paired waterfalls, Nevada a ways just above Vernal, strikes sort of a middle ground between simple roadside sightseeing and valley walking and Yosemite's more epic one-day adventures.

Despite their rigors, among the park's most popular day-trip hikes are the 14.2-mile ascent and descent on the ridge-line-and-chain trek to Half Dome's summit and the 7.6-mile Stairmaster hike on the cliff-hugging route alongside Yosemite Falls to Yosemite Point, 2,969 feet above the valley floor.

But it's good to know, isn't it, that there are wonderful, even leisurely walks and hikes to be had in the Yosemite Valley meadows, along the Merced River and tributary creeks, to the easily accessible (if sometimes misty) bases of Yosemite and Bridalveil falls — and, if you're up to an uphill trudge, to Nevada and Vernal falls.