Third time's the charm, they say. There is no such adage about the fourth time, but does the writer not hold a license to modify these to cater her writing needs and avoid resorting to additional clauses? Case in point: It is my fourth time at Yosemite National Park; or the third time in less than a year, to use the third-time-charm-thing. I am resting on a rock, legs stretched ahead, debating with myself the can's and can-not's of a novice blogger. I shield my eyes from the bright sun as I look up straight at the sky. The sound of the water gushing through small rocks on its way to the eventual fall is quite reassuring and the idea of another post takes shape in my mind.
Let's go back a week in time to one of my run-of-the-mill Monday mornings in the lab. For most part of the hour left between e-mail replies and lunch I am switching furiously between social networking sites. After "productively" wasting several minutes in discovering Murat Morrison's blog on Quora, I check my Twitter feed and leap in excitement at this.
The greatest lookout of the natural world, Glacier Point, will open at noon in @YosemiteNPS: http://t.co/RmIQEpXrXv pic.twitter.com/a6HYK4S9l2
— SFGate.com (@SFGate) April 14, 2014
At once I call my roommate and we waste no time in sketching out the weekend plans. A few days later we start to Yosemite early (for a particularly bad hangover) Saturday morning. A seemingly never-ending drive later we reach the national park late afternoon only to find a throng of people and a panic attack. We attribute the crowd to spring break and the onset of an early summer; the panic attack to discovering that we don't have with us a memory card for The DSLR.
While we make salvaging plans that included, potentially, a 2 hour drive to the nearest Walmart, we realize that we don't have enough time to find parking, catch a shuttle and then start on a hike. Unfazed, we alter our (non-existent) plan and head to Glacier Point. En route we stop at the Bridelveil falls which reaffirms my ability to slip on firm ground and my fear of loud kids.
Once we get on the Glacier point road everything is suddenly very silent. We pull over at the first trailhead that we encounter and meet a short trail to the Sentinel dome. The trail was perfect - hardly any people, patches of snow, expansive views of the valley, did I mention there were no people?
In case the reader has noticed, yes, that is a photo of a random road taken from inside the car and does not bear any significance to the trail.
Around sunset we reach Glacier Point, possibly the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I am out of words now and urge this picture that I stole from Wikipedia to say a few on my behalf.
We laugh at the full 4G AT&T coverage 3200 feet above the valley and I silently thank my friend for being there, for sharing my travel instincts, for making no fuss when plans invariably go wrong.
The next morning we start early, after I wake up from a dreadful dream involving violent dogs, unruly teenage boys and tragic hope for impossible futures. Now equipped with The Memory Card we stop at the quintessential Yosemite photography spot, Tunnel view.
Our next stop is the crux of the trip, the guitar solo of a 70's rock song, if you will. The Mist Falls! The trail starts with a short mildly steep stretch adorned with breathtaking views of mountains of granite. We then climb a few hundred steps with every step I am worried of slipping down and breaking an ankle. As we climb closer to the falls we get drenched in its spray. Talk about beautiful! I don't understand how I have been to Yosemite thrice without coming here, one of the most crowded hikes in the park.
That's where I am now. The top of this falls.
I experience a multitude of emotions, deep respect for the mountains shaped by ice age glaciers standing tall against all tests of time; gratefulness for my own fortune to be in a place five thousand miles away from home, and love for a beloved friend whom I miss the most of all. For now this will suffice. No more thoughts, no more alarms.
Song in my head: Wherever there is light by No-Man.
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