Stoney point

Stoney point is one of the oldest Rock climbing, bouldering places in LA. I had been thinking to climb to the top of it for sometime, but time and having nobody to go with, kept me from it. But at last, I could make it to the top with Siraj.

Upper yosemite trail hike. Took our best effort, but totally worth it!!!

All these photos are uploaded to flickr. You can see them here.

So, the most adventurous part of our yosemite trip, was the hike of Upper Yosemite Trail. As I love mountaineering, I did hike some mountains back in Sri Lanka, and was not bad at that either. And my friends used to ask me 'did u "climb" any mountains lately?'.....well, if you know me, you know what I mean. And for the record, I was doing Rowing too, for about 6 months, in the University which in fact needed a good fitness level.



So I think now I am in a position to justify choosing the 2nd most strenuous hiking trail in the yosemite valley (Infact, I chose the most difficult one, The four mile trail, which was closed due to bad weather conditions), regardless of what the yosemite web site says.

But the liveliness of the yosemite falls in the spring gave us the strength with a cool breeze.


"Upper Yosemite Fall (strenuous)

7.2 miles/11.6 km round-trip; 6 to 8 hours; 2,700 feet/823 m elevation gain

One of Yosemite oldest historic trails (built 1873 to 1877), the Yosemite Falls Trail leads to the top of North America’s tallest waterfall 2,425 feet (739 m) above the Valley floor. Do not stray off the marked path, as you will find steep drops adjacent to the trail. Enjoy spectacular views from Columbia Rock located one mile (and dozens of switchbacks) from the trailhead"


Anyway, we started off from the famous CAMP4, at about 1.00pm. We had only one still camera, so I gave that to my parents and sister, who were taking another easier hiking trail, and decided to take the video camera (Sony SR42) to video and use my phone to take photos (Yeah, thats why these photos does not look that good. They have burn-ins).

Yosemite, the exotic natural wonder

First it was a trip to Lake Tahoe, to ski / ice skate. But after considering the equipment and winter clothes needed for that, we changed that plan in to a hiking trip. Even though there are hundreds of places to visit in California, Yosemite National Park will probably be the top of the list for many. And it was, for me.

So here we were, in the week end of 'Sinhala new year', on the freeway 5, heading north. We had to pick Rosahn ayya who was in San Francisco. That actually added another 500km to the journey (One way!!) which was about 1000km total. It was about 11.00am, Saturday, when we entered the park. And it was all true..!!

The first glance of the Yosemite valley from famous tunnel view point.


and snow was somthing new for me too.

Then we stopped at the cascade creek falls, which almost made me feel like i'm back in Sri lanka...!!


Snowy mountain peaks on the horizon with a startling view of half dome.


The Yosemite Falls, One of the tallest waterfalls in the USA.






Yosemite point.
We hiked the upper yosemite trail, while my parents and sis took a easier trail running through the valley. My next post will be about that.

Roshan ayya on the way back.


Standing at the edge of the highest point of the hike. It's kinda harder than it seems. Specially with wind, standing at the edge of a 2000ft fall!!!!!


And yeah, It was still snowy, and that was pretty much the first time in my life I saw/touched real snow.

All my photos have been uploaded to Flickr. check those out too.

A new start!!

It has been more than a year since I moved to USA. And it has been a lot longer since I last hiked a mountain. And as my friends will agree, I really get exited every time I breath the cool breeze atop of a mountain, every time I see the green wilderness below me that has never been spoiled with the touch of a human foot, and every time I feel the chill of mist covering the tree tops. Feel me?? the photo here was taken in Horton Plains, in 2005.

Well, I miss Sri Lanka. Among many other things, I miss the small mountains of Ambewela and Pattipola and for sure, the famous Horton Plains, not to mention the silky waterfalls around my home town, Bandarawela.

Ok, enough grieving. I started this blog to share my outdoor adventures with my friends (including you, whoever you are..!!). The trip to Yosemite National Park couple of weeks ago gave me a boost in morale. And I definitely will be going back and definitely will continue to visit other places like that. It was amazing, hold on for my next post..!!