Yosemite: On the Bridalveil Fall Trail

(Continued from Yosemite: Approaching Bridalveil Fall)

Featured Photo: “Bridalveil Fall, Viewed from the Trail”  Yosemite National Park, California—2023

There are actually two ways to get to Bridalveil Fall in Yosemite—two trails, each with its own parking area, having trailheads separated by only a few hundred yards. One trail is located along Wawona Road—the route that leads southward to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias—which we had traveled on our first day in the park. This trail has a large, designated parking lot that was recently improved as part of a rehabilitation project to better handle the increasing number of tourists. The round-trip hike to the fall along this trail is easy, flat, and only half a mile long—a quarter mile in and the same distance back out on the same trail. The destination is the base of Bridalveil Fall, “allowing you to get an up-close view of this often-windswept waterfall,” as it’s described on the National Park Service website.

The other trail is located on Southside Drive, which is part of the loop that takes visitors to the main sights in Yosemite Valley. Parking for this trail consists of marked spaces parallel to the often-congested roadway. Since we were headed through the valley on our way to the Ahwahnee, we had parked along Southside Drive. From this starting point, the trail is still relatively easy and flat—but a quarter mile longer—as it meanders through the woods until it reaches the same endpoint.

I left my sister in the car with the windows rolled down and crossed over the road to reach the paved path to Bridalveil Fall. Standing at the trailhead, I took my first photo of the fall in the distance, then set out on my quick walk.

I suppose it’s fairly obvious that the fall is so named because it resembles the veil of a bride. However, I imagine the comparison is more apt when the roaring water from a surge of melted snow cascades down the granite face of the Cathedral Rocks in the Spring and early Summer. During our visit in October, the waterfall seemed little more than a thin ribbon that might be pinned to a bride’s dress. Still, as I wandered into the forest, new views emerged between gaps in the trees, with the waterfall appearing as if in a wooded frame.

Farther along, the trail crossed over Bridalveil Creek, which continues its flow from the base of the fall—after plunging from the top of the granite wall—until it spills into the Merced River.

Still further on the trail, I got my first view of the boardwalk where it joins with the other path, carrying sightseers to the waterfall’s base, complete with a viewing platform.

I also observed what the park website describes as the fall’s “characteristic light, swaying flow”. As I neared the platform, the peacefulness of the forest faded and the noise grew louder—both the sound of the water as it crashed and splashed over the rocks and boulders at the base of the waterfall, along with an indistinct murmur of people gathered together to take in the beautiful view. I watched the narrow trickle of water as it was blown this way…

…and that…

…by the strong breezes. From the viewing platform, I captured a close-up shot of the windswept fall as the water seemed to evaporate into a gentle mist then disappear below the rocky precipice.

Having reached the terminus of the trail in ten minutes, I turned to retrace the path so I could reconnect with my sister in the car. Still, I paused occasionally to look back and captured one last picture (today’s Featured Photo) of Bridalveil Fall framed by the trees’ dark limbs and bright green leaves, with the clear blue sky above.

I came to a fork in the trail and decided not to follow the alternate path—leading to the Wawona Road parking lot—as that would have delayed my return. Proceeding in the direction of our car on Southside Drive, I kept my eyes forward, but kept looking up as I once again drew nearer to El Capitan…

…capturing several images of the granite…

…within various natural surroundings.

Emerging from the woods, I took another photo with a broader frame of El Capitan.

Near the bottom, you can make out the informational signs I had first seen at the Bridalveil Fall trailhead, as well as Southside Drive, which I had to cross again. Safely back on the other side of the road, I took one more photo of El Capitan in landscape view that was nearly the same as the picture in portrait orientation I took before venturing out on the trail.

Turning in her seat as I entered the car, my sister greeted me with a slightly annoyed look and said, “Glad you’re back, but it was so hot in the car.” She was right; it felt like I was climbing into an oven. Where we had parked there was no shade, and the sky contained no clouds to speak of, which meant the bright sunshine had made the car’s interior awfully uncomfortable. I apologized and started the car, then rolled up the windows, turning the air conditioner on full blast; but it only blew hot air.

Rolling the windows back down, we quickly agreed we should head straight over to the Ahwahnee, where we could cool down and relax with an ice-cold drink in the bar, before our dinner. Our route to the Ahwahnee, however, ran smack-dab through Yosemite Valley, resulting in a few more slight delays as we drove again by the sights we had explored two days before.

After a couple of minutes back on the road, we saw a sign for the picnic area at Cathedral Beach, which we had passed before but not yet visited. We decided to take a brief detour, so I turned onto the side road to take in the view. We drove beyond the open sunny field, soon reaching an area with lots of trees and a fair number of cars and people. I don’t recall whether I turned off the motor—or the air conditioner—but I took care to park in the shade this time, while I hopped out and marched quick-step toward the opening where I could see the Merced River. I took a photo out across the water…

…then turned my attention higher, zooming in on the Three Brothers…

…and looked back in the direction from which we had come, getting a shot of “the other side” of El Capitan.

Having been gone for only three or four minutes, I joined my sister in the car, which was finally feeling cool again, while she remarked, “That was fast.” I agreed that, by my usual standard, the photo-shoot at Cathedral Beach had been quick indeed. We would linger longer—nearly an hour—once we again reached the heart of Yosemite Valley.

It was not yet 3:00 in the afternoon as we approached the turn-off for the Yosemite Valley Lodge, where we’d previously parked, eaten, and explored on our trip. Our dinner reservation at the Ahwahnee was still three hours away and realizing it was our last chance to see the sights in this part of Yosemite, we decided to stop one more time. Heading out from the parking lot, we walked toward Yosemite Falls, showing barely a trickle of water falling…

…then continued on the path toward Yosemite Village.

My sister and I soon agreed to part ways. She wanted to get a cold soda and relax at Degnan’s Kitchen, as we had done previously, after our walk together through Cook’s Meadow. As for me, I caught a glimpse of Half Dome with my favorite tree and had to take another photo, as I’d done on Saturday morning when I walked alone in the meadow, while my sister had taken her solo bus ride through Yosemite Valley.

After that, I rejoined the trail that would lead me to my sister in Yosemite Village, but was in no hurry as I strolled along, soaking in more of the valley scenery for what I knew would be the last time on our trip: the gray-brown granite behind brown tree limbs and olive-green leaves…

…and the orange-red bark and bright green needles of a stately Ponderosa pine.

My sister had just finished her drink when I found her at Degnan’s Kitchen. We chatted briefly and then admitted—somewhat sadly—that it was time to go to our last stop on the Yosemite itinerary. Heading back to the car, I captured one more view of the granite walls, rising up beyond the early Autumn leaves…

…and took my last photo of Half Dome—at least, that is, until we reached our final destination.

It took 20 minutes for us to drive the short distance from the parking lot at the Yosemite Valley Lodge to the Ahwahnee—a journey of only a mile and a half, measured from point-to-point. But we had to travel five times that far, passing the same sights we’d just seen, as we obeyed the signs posted along the one-way roads that formed the loop through the valley.

Despite marking the end of our Yosemite vacation, we were looking forward to wandering around the luxurious hotel and eating in the grand dining room, with its tall windows and spectacular views. And when we got there, we could see it was truly a magnificent hotel. But our visit to the Ahwahnee did not turn out as we had planned.

(To be continued…)