Sunrise to Sunset
Since Katie was still feeling sick, she wanted to seep in to rest, so I took the morning to do some stuff without her. I Woke up at 3:50 to catch the sunrise at the Tunnel View. It was underwhelming since I was shooting toward the East where the sun was rising. I got there about 20 minutes too late to catch any stars in the first couple of photos, but that's OK because the stars wouldn't have been that bright anyway that late in the morning.
Then I went to hike Columbine Rock and planned to make it a little further to Oh My Gosh point. Columbine Rock was a little boring since there were good views of the valley before Columbia Rock, but I'm glad I went on to Oh My Gosh Point which had spectacular views of upper Yosemite Falls. I made the decision based on how I was feeling and what time it was to torture myself and continue on to the top of Upper Yosemite Falls. The views were worth the pain. It was nice to have done what felt like a more normal hike comparing it to where I was before Katie's accident but I would have much rather hiked it with her instead.
For some reason, my GPS was having difficulty on this hike. The trail on the map is a little screwed up and the stats are probably a little off from what it was. I think the elevation gain is about right but the mileage is inflated by about 1 mile.
After I got back to the Airbnb around 1, we went to the Gianelli Winery. This winery grows its own grapes on site, and we got to drive through the vineyard to get to the tasting room where we drank wine overlooking their property. This is what we were expecting for a California winery and they delivered with great views and good wine.
Since Katie hadn't done anything in nature (other than drinking wine), we went back to the Airbnb for a quick dinner which consisted of hotdogs and potatoes (which was a pretty terrible meal), then headed into the park to catch the sunset. We went to the same place where I did my sunrise shots to take photos of the sunset. We got there a little too late but the view and lighting was much better than in the morning. It was fun to have started and ended my day in the exact same location taking the exact same shot.
7.57 mi
4.8 hrs
6,713 ft
3,360 ft
Sunrise
I got to my destination for shooting the sunrise about an hour before sunrise. There were already about 50 people there who had the same idea as me. The sunrise was quite short when the sun started peaking out from El Capitan.
Deer In the Parking Lot
As I was walking from the parking lot to the trailhead I found a few deer. nothing too exciting but they weren't phased by me so I took a few shots.
Survey Marker at Columbia Rock
I was surprised to fins a survey marker at Columbia Rock since that wasn't the highest point in the area by a long shot. But it was cool to find one nonetheless!
Wild Lupine
I found a giant patch of lupines that had the sun hitting them just right.
Crossing the Bridge
I caught a spider crossing a bridge it made form one Lupine to another.
Wild Butterfly
Usually wild butterflies don't sit still long enough for me to take a photo but this one was a little slow this morning.
Yosemite Falls
At Oh My Gosh Point there was a fantastic view of Yosemite Falls. The lighting was harsh but it was a great sighting.
Cliff Face
At the top of Yosemite Falls you could see the cliff face that was directly to the West as I hiked up the switchbacks. The drastic drop offs and steep cliffs made the perspective of how high I had hiked impressive.
Raging River
Right before the falls, the river was flowing quite fast.
Over the Falls
At the top you couldn't really see the falls that well, but you could see some of the water going over the end.
Selfie and a Snack
I found a spot where I could eat a snack before heading down.
Next to a Tree
This spot was taken when I was ascending and knew that the large tree would make for good framing.
Wine in California
The first winery that we went to didn't have a vineyard so we were a lot happier when we made it to the Gianelli Vineyard where we had wine while overlooking a gorgeous vineyard.
